Note: This post adds to the excellent article by E. Ayers earlier this month
.
Rail travel’s hypnotic rhythm, unique smells, and the
sense of adventure stir the imagination, but a few basic facts offer
enlightenment to the advent of personal travel by train. The first commercial
rail cars were in England in—believe it or not—1630--and were drawn by horses
over wooden rails to transport coal. By the mid 1700’s, iron rails had replaced
wood. The first steam-powered land vehicle built by Frenchman Nichola Joseph
Cugnot in 1769 laid the foundation for future locomotives.
In
the United States, Congress had invested heavily in the Eerie Canal and other
waterways and resisted the idea of railroads. Public opinion eventually won. In
1827, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first railroad charter granted in
the United States.
By
1852, its three hundred miles of track made this the longest railroad in the
world. Once the transcontinental rail lines were completed in 1869, America was
opened to settlers from all over the world. At first used only for transporting
goods, passenger travel soon developed.
A
wide variety of facilities awaited passengers.
On some lines, the coaches were little more than rough structures that
offered no comfort. Wooden benches with high backs—many times without a cushion
of any kind—tortured passengers on a long journey. Still, it probably was no
worse than riding in a wagon, and the train made the trip faster.
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| TRAIN TRAVEL IN 1895 |
Other
lines had coaches with padded bench seats, and still others with movable armchairs.
Toilets sometimes were no more than a curtained off chamber pot offering
minimal privacy. Summer forced passengers to choose between tolerating soot,
smoke and dust with the windows open or sweltering with windows closed.
In winter, passengers near the potbellied
stove roasted while those at the other end of the car froze. Sometimes cars
were reserved for women and their escorts and no males traveling without family
were allowed in these coaches. Often as not, all travelers jumbled together.
Soon
lines developed luxury cars designed to mimic fine hotel lobbies. A major advance occurred when George M.
Pullman began his line of luxury cars called Pullman Palace Cars. His company developed hotel cars, sleeping
cars, club cars, dining cars, and drawing room cars. According to George
Deeming, Curator of the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, these coaches required
high fees similar to luxury hotels and were not available to the masses.
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| Pullman Royal Blue Car 1890 |
The
first Pullman sleeping car appeared in 1859 at only forty feet long. It was a reconstructed wooden day coach with
metal wheels and a low, flat roof. A tall man was likely to bump his head. It had ten upper and ten lower berths with
mattresses and blankets, but no sheets. A one-person toilet stood at one end.
Two small wood-burning stoves furnished heat and candles provided light.
In
1865, the first real Pullman sleeping car came into service. It featured the first upper berth that folded
out of sight for daytime, heated air from a hot air furnace under the floor,
upper deck window ventilation, and roomier wash rooms. This car had black
walnut interior with inlay or mirrors between windows.
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| Early Pulman Car |
In another ten years,
the length had increased to seventy feet with even more elaborate wood interior
and luxurious plush seats. Pullman coaches offered privacy with curtained off
sleeping quarters or wood paneled compartments, and separate toilets for men
and women.
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| Toilet flushed onto the tracks |
At
first trains stopped for passengers to debark and eat or even to spend the
night in a hotel, as depicted in stories of the Harvey Girls and Harvey Hotels.
Time always pressed diners and the traveler had no control over what food was
available. Some dining places—due to necessity for speed—served the poorly
prepared rations.
A
few sites deliberately cheated travelers with slovenly hygiene and half-cooked
food. Others, such as Harvey, maintained high standards. At a dining stop,
passengers rushed off the train for a hasty meal, then rushed back on board
when the gong sounded. Travelers were forced to gulp and run if they were lucky
enough to beat the crowd and get served.
 |
| Pulman Dining Car |
The
advent of the dining car meant passengers could eat a proper meal on board,
provided they had the cash. The first dining car, the Delmonico, came into
service in 1868 on the Chicago & Alton line. Within ten years, they were on
most lines. In 1878, a full meal cost seventy-five cents, at a time when a
common laborer made less than that for an entire day’s work.
Pullman
dining cars marketed luxury. Fine
tablecloths had PPCC woven into the cloth, for Pullman Palace Car
Corporation. Uniformed servers delivered
well-prepared food to tables set with fine china, crystal and silver. Some cars
had fresh flowers in built-in silver vases at each table.
When I traveled on the train as a child, I always had to have oatmeal for breakfast because it was the cheapest item on the menu. About half past eleven, someone would come through the cars with a basket of prepared sandwiches for those who didn't want to spend the money to eat in the dining car. I always think of these when I see sandwiches for sale at a convenience store.
Shipping
also changed, with railroad cars providing speed and more protection for cargo
than horse or mule drawn wagons. For a fee, rail cars could be temporarily or
permanently customized for specific products.
In the Kansas, Texas & Pacific Railroad Museum in Dennison, Texas,
books intended for railroad employees detail modifying and repair of shipping
cars for a variety of purposes. Sadly, this museum was evicted from the KATY Building
in which it had been housed and forced to move to an unsecured location.
The
Great Western Railway constructed a bridge across Niagara Falls to link the
United States and Canada in 1855. It was
not until 1882 that a bridge crossed the expanse of the Mississippi River at
Memphis. Prior to that date, trains
departing West from Memphis were ferried, one or two cars at a time, across the
Mississippi.
In
1869 the first refrigerated rail car appeared and soon allowed the transport of
fresh produce and meats. One of the significant changes brought about by the
railroad in the West was elimination of the great cattle drives to the Midwest
or Northern markets. Centralized rail
shipping allowed ranchers to ship from locations near home.
After
the Civil War, train robberies occurred, particularly West of the Mississippi
River. Former soldiers carried out many of these, some returning home and
others looking for an easy income. Usually no one was injured, but watches,
wallets, money and jewelry were collected from the passengers. Sometimes
robbers forced passengers to drink liquor or sing as added aggravation.
Towns
grew and flourished along the railroad. Those communities bypassed by the line
often withered and disappeared. This happened to my ancestors, who backed the wrong town. Competitions arose between communities to
attract the railroad, often with bitter result.
For those fortunate enough to
live near a rail line, products never before seen became available. Railroads
brought easier travel, dependable shipping, and availability of goods to change
America forever.
If you are interested in more details about rail travel, consult your local library
for their selections or ask for one of the following:
The American Railroad
Passenger Car; John H. White, Jr.
1978, Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 21218.
Hear The Wind Blow: A
Pictorial Epic Of America In The Railroad Age; Lucius Beebe and Charles Clegg, Grossett & Dunlap.
The Overland Limited, Lucius Beebe, Howell-North Books, Berkley CA. [This
has a large section on Pullman cars.]
The Pacific Tourist: Adams
& Bishop’s Illustrated Guide of Travel, The Atlantic To The Pacific; Frederick E. Shearer, Editor; Adams & Bishop,
1881.
Railroads Across America; Mike Del Vecchio, 1998, Lowe & Hold, Ann Arbor
MI
The Railroad Passenger
Car; August Mencken, Johns Hopkins
Press. [This includes personal accounts by passengers over 150 years.}
