| George Mortimer Pullman |
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| ::darkshadows:: (bat@cave.org) |
2009/06/09 20:04 |
George Mortimer Pullman
George Mortimer Pullman was the president and chief designer of
Pullman Palace Carriage Works of Illinois. In 1863, his company
produced the Pioneer train car. The Pioneer was oversized and
overly luxurious. It was too tall to pass under bridges and was put
aside as a failed experiment. In 1865, however, President Abraham
Lincoln was assassinated, and each state offered its finest railway
cars for his funeral train. The Pioneer was included, and praised by
dignitaries. The publicity helped make Pullman a rich man. The name
Pullman at first was applied only to train cars made by the Pullman
company, but it was soon associated with any luxuriously fitted
railway car. For a time, the very rich had their own personal Pullman
cars, a sign of luxury much like a personal Learjet is today. Pullman
himself was reputed to be a ruthless businessman. One of the things he
required of his employees was that they relocate to a company town
called Pullman. There is also a town in Washington State named for
Pullman. The citizens of the town named it in his honor in hopes that
he would pay for libraries and other gifts. When they invited him to
the naming ceremonies, Pullman sent a thank you note and a check for
$50, the sum total of his gifts to the town.
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