The Beginning
George Pullman
George Mortimer Pullman was born on March 3, 1831, in Brocton, New York, but his parents soon moved to Portland, New York. After attending public schools, his formal education ended at the age of fourteen, shortly after the death of his father. Pullman then went to work in a general store and became the main source of income for his family. In 1848 Pullman joined his older brother in Albion, New York, where he worked as a cabinetmaker.
In 1853 Pullman became a general contractor and helped move several buildings that stood in the way of a project to widen the Erie Canal. The Erie Canal was a key waterway in Lake Erie that connects the Great Lakes and opened the region to shipping. Upon completion of that work in 1855 he moved to Chicago, where he entered the business of raising buildings onto higher foundations to avoid flooding; a problem caused by much of Chicago's land area being only a few feet above the level of Lake Michigan.
George Mortimer Pullman was always an inventive, innovative entrepreneur. Legendarily, an extremely uncomfortable overnight train ride from Buffalo to Westfield, New York, caused him to realize that there was a vast market potential for comfortable, clean, efficient passenger service. He had a great deal of experience with compact and efficient sleeping accommodations thanks to his experiences with canal boats on the Erie Canal. He formed a partnership with former New York state senator Benjamin C. Field in 1857, one of his close friends and neighbors from Albion, to build and operate several sleeping cars. Pullman and Field secured a contract from the Chicago, Alton and St. Louis Railroad to develop a more comfortable sleeping car. Pullman and Field converted two moderately successful cars. Field, more interested in politics than rail cars, assigned his interest to Pullman in exchange for future loans.
In 1853 Pullman became a general contractor and helped move several buildings that stood in the way of a project to widen the Erie Canal. The Erie Canal was a key waterway in Lake Erie that connects the Great Lakes and opened the region to shipping. Upon completion of that work in 1855 he moved to Chicago, where he entered the business of raising buildings onto higher foundations to avoid flooding; a problem caused by much of Chicago's land area being only a few feet above the level of Lake Michigan.
George Mortimer Pullman was always an inventive, innovative entrepreneur. Legendarily, an extremely uncomfortable overnight train ride from Buffalo to Westfield, New York, caused him to realize that there was a vast market potential for comfortable, clean, efficient passenger service. He had a great deal of experience with compact and efficient sleeping accommodations thanks to his experiences with canal boats on the Erie Canal. He formed a partnership with former New York state senator Benjamin C. Field in 1857, one of his close friends and neighbors from Albion, to build and operate several sleeping cars. Pullman and Field secured a contract from the Chicago, Alton and St. Louis Railroad to develop a more comfortable sleeping car. Pullman and Field converted two moderately successful cars. Field, more interested in politics than rail cars, assigned his interest to Pullman in exchange for future loans.
The First Cars
In April of 1863, Pullman built the Springfield, named after the town it was built in and President Lincoln's hometown, and the Pioneer. The cars were costly, comfortable, clean, and beautiful; the Pioneer alone cost $18,000 to build. In 1864, Pullman was also called to the draft, but like many young men with means, he hired a substitute to take his place in the Union Army.The Pioneer was the first, truly grand car that Pullman created. It was built in 1865 in the Chicago and Alton Rail Road Shed on the site of what is now Union Station in the Loop. It was the ultimate in sleeping cars with red carpeting, hand-finished woodwork, and silver-trimmed coal lamps. Cast iron wheel trucks topped with coil springs and rubber blocks provided a more comfortable ride. At $20,000, the cost of producing the Pioneer was extremely high. Pullman was sure people would pay for this comfort. The Pioneer was, indeed, luxury personified, but its height and width prohibited its use on existing track. When President Lincoln died, Colonel James H. Bowen, chairman of the Republican State Central Committee chose the Pioneer as a fitting part of the funeral cortege to accommodate the Lincoln family. Platforms and trestles were altered to accommodate the larger Pullman car, and thousands of people viewed the car as it made its way from Chicago to Springfield. This was a tremendous publicity boon for Pullman's company. The timing of its construction couldn't have been more fortuitous. In 1869, Pullman bought the Detroit Car and Manufacturing Company to consolidate all of his manufacturing operations into one facility. He built 5 classes of cars: hotel cars, parlor cars, reclining room cars, sleepers, and diners. Pullman also aggressively pursued his competitors, buying out the Central Transportation Company, his main competitor, in 1870. By 1875, the company had built a successful business model, of leasing Pullman cars to railroads and providing complete service for the traveling public.