Pullman (car or coach)
In the United States, Pullman was used to refer to railroad sleeping cars which were built and operated on most U.S. railroads by the Pullman Company (founded by George Pullman) from 1867 to December 31, 1968.
It also refers to railway dining cars in Europe that were operated by the Pullman Company, or lounge cars operated by the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits. Specifically, in Great Britain, Pullman refers to the lounge cars operated by the "British Pullman Car Company".
Additionally in some Western European countries in the 1940s and 1950s, some especially luxurious motor coaches were sometimes referred to as Auto-Pullmans.
In 1963, the luxurious Mercedes-Benz 600 was introduced, also with a long wheel based version called Pullman. Later, stretched versions of regular Mercedes-Benz S-Class cars were also called Pullman.
In the Greek and Italian languages, the word "pullman" is used to refer to a coach bus.
In Latin America, pullman may refer to a luxury bus as well as to a railroad sleeping car.
In the video game Sid Meier's Railroads!, Players can bid on the "Pullman's Palace Car" patent. This patent makes "Passengers pay an extra 25% to bask in its comfort."
[edit] See also
- Pullman train (UK)
- Starlight Express, a train musical in which two characters are modeled on a Pullman.
[edit] References
- Welsh, Joe and Howes, Bill (2004). Travel By Pullman. MBI Publishing Inc..
- Barger, Ralph L. (1988). A Century of Pullman Cars, Volume I, Alphabetical List. Greenberg Publishing Company, Inc..
- Barger, Ralph L. (1990). A Century of Pullman Cars, Volume II, The Palace Cars. Greenberg Publishing Company, Inc..
[edit] External links
- The Pullman Project
- Canadian National Railways Sleeping Car No. 1683 St. Hyacinthe — photographs and short history of a Sleeping Car built in 1929.
- Chicago Historical Society's Pullman website
- Sleeping in Comfort: Pullman Fundamentals
