Pullman history

[Anonymous]

I seek the advice of the experts. I am compiling a history of Union Pacific passenger cars, to go along with my previous works about UP diesel locomotives and cabooses. Below is brief history of The Pullman Company, plus the later Pullman-Standard. Can someone comment on its accuracy, and point me to something more detailed than White's very large book, which I have.

Don Strack
http://utahrails.net
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Pullman (Pullman-Standard)
On December 26, 1934, Pullman Car & Manufacturing (along with several other Pullman, Inc. subsidiaries), merged with Standard Steel Car Co. (and it subsidiaries) to form the Pullman-Standard Car Manufacturing Company.

The original Pullman Palace Car Co., had been organized on February 22, 1867, and after buying numerous associated and competing companies, was reorganized as The Pullman Co., on January 1, 1900.

Pullman Car & Manufacturing Co., had been organized on June 18, 1924 from the previous Manufacturing Department of The Pullman Company, to consolidate the car building interests of The Pullman Co. The parent company, The Pullman Co., was reorganized as Pullman, Inc., on June 21, 1927.

Pullman purchased controlling interest in Standard Steel Car Co. in 1929.

Standard Steel Car Co., had been organized on January 2, 1902 to operate a railroad car manufacturing facility at Butler, Pa. (and after 1906, a facility at Hammond, Ind.), and was reorganized as a subsidiary of Pullman, Inc., on March 1, 1930.

Pullman built its last standard sleeping car in February 1931.

An anti-trust complaint suit was filed in 1940 by the Edward G. Budd Manufacturing Co. of Philadelphia claiming unfair competition by monopoly. The suit was settled in 1944 when Pullman-Standard was ordered to sell either its sleeping car operating company, or its car manufacturing interests. On June 30, 1947, Pullman, Inc., sold its Pullman Operating Company subsidiary to 59 member railroads. In April 1956, Pullman-Standard built its last lightweight passenger car, Lot 6959 for Union Pacific. (For more complete timeline, see: http://www.eliillinois.org/30108_87/timeline.html)

"In 1940, just as orders for lightweight cars were increasing and sleeping car traffic was growing, the United States Department of Justice filed an anti-trust complaint against Pullman Incorporated in the U. S. District Court at Philadelphia (Civil Action No. 994). The government sought to separate the company’s sleeping car operations from its manufacturing activities. In 1944 the court concurred, ordering Pullman Incorporated to divest itself of either the Pullman Company (operating) or the Pullman-Standard Car Manufacturing Company (manufacturing). After three years of negotiations, the Pullman Company was finally sold to a consortium of fifty-seven railroads for around 40 million dollars. Carroll R. Harding was named President of this new Pullman Company. On January 1, 1969, at the age of 102, the Pullman Company ceased operation." (quote from http://www.newberry.org/collections/PullmanGuide.pdf)

Antitrust case:
United States v. Pullman Co., 50 F. Supp. 123 (E.D. Pa. 1943) 18
United States v. Pullman Co., 50 F. Supp. 123, 126, 137 (E.D. Pa. 1943) (defendant ordered to divest itself of one of two lines of sleeping car business where it had acquired all of its competitors).

"In 1936, lightweight, articulated cars of alloy steel were built. The following year, the roomette car with eighteen enclosed private rooms was introduced. And in 1956, the observation dome sleeper with an upper-deck observatory level came in.

"The United States brought an anti-trust suit in 1940 against the Pullman manufacturing and operating company. The final judicial decision in 1944 said that Pullman Inc. must separate car building from car operating. The company sold its sleeping car service transferring its operating unit on June 30, 1947 to a group of fifty-nine U.S. railways.

"Mention is made of two distinct practices introduced by Pullman. First, rather than operating railroads, Pullman leased his sleeping cars to the railroads and provided the complete services on them including supplying the porters, conductors, dining staff, and the food and linens. Second, Pullman gave names to each of his sleeping and dining cars rather than assigning them numbers. This was done for three reasons: it was good for the image of the company giving each car a personality; it permitted better operating and accounting efficiency because different categories of names signified different categories of cars; and geographical names also helped to "sell" the territory through which they traveled." (from http://americanhistory.si.edu/archives/d8181.htm)

Pullman Company History (from Model Railroad News)
The letter from Wait Kimbro in the July issue concerning the Pullman Company prompts me to write and add a few details. My grandfather, Lowell M. Greenlaw, was Vice President and General Counsel of Pullman during the lengthy antitrust case brought against Pullman by the government. Discussions began in 1938, the suit was filed in 1940, and the final dissolution of the company and sale of the sleeping car operating business to 59 railroads occurred in 1947.
The crux of the case was that Pullman had a monopoly because they built the cars, and the railroads had to use their cars since Pullman operated the sleeping car business. In later years, it always offended Granddad when he had to walk through, or worse yet, sleep in a Budd car!
The railroads long ago wrote off their investment in The Pullman Company, but the shareholders of Pullman, Inc., which continued to own the large manufacturing company, Pullman-Standard, have today ended up as stockholders in Honeywell. The Newberry Library in Chicago has many of The Pullman Company’s records and they are available for interesting browsing.
Carter G. Baker
Nashville, TN

(end)

[CSSHEGEWISCH]

The last lightweight passenger car mentioned above may actually be the last lightweight sleeping car. Pullman-Standard continued to build passenger cars after that date and concluded its passenger car building with the first Superliner order for Amtrak.

[Anonymous]

if you can find it, check Some Classic Trains and More Classic trains books

[passengerfan]

Don I was working along the same lines as you regarding UP passenger equipment but not having pictures I have more or less shelved the idea. Maybe some of my material might help if interested contact me through this forum?