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| Sleeping on a Train Made Easy With New Railroad Hall of Fame Inductee |
A New York native turned Chicago man who is responsible for adding an important piece of comfort to long train trips is now immortalized for that work.
George Pullman was one of three people inducted into the National Railroad Hall of Fame at a Galesburg ceremony yesterday. Pullman, hall Executive Director Julie King says, changed rail travel through the invention of sleeping cars that eventually bore his name.
King says Pullman at first converted former coach cars into sleepers, then eventually started building them from scratch -- all of which were the lap of luxury for their time in the mid-1860's.
King says Pullman experienced many of the things on train trips that led to the invention of the sleeper car in Chicago. "(Pullman's) life endeavors form a major chapter in the history of that city, and the Industrial Revolution of the United States," King said. "Rail travel had been a hard exercise in boredom, sleeplessness, and hunger before Pullman. He revolutionized train travel by building one of the most luxurious rail cars in American history. His name will always be synonymous with railroad luxury, comfort, and unparalleled service."
Pullman, King says, was the son of a carpenter, and learned that craft later in life. She says it was a skill that was proved to be crucial to the history of the railroad.
To download the entire National Railroad Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, CLICK HERE.
(Phillip Lowden Miller great-grandson of George Pullman, left, accepts a National Railroad Hall of Fame induction award from Bob Bondi, NRRHOF Founder/President Emeritus. WGIL News Story and Photo by Will Stevenson.) |
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| 06 28 09 by Newsroom |
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