Passenger Car, Heavyweight, Pullman Sleeper 12-1

History: Pullman was the leading producer of heavyweight coaches during the 1st half of the twentieth century. They were known for the quality and luxury of the passenger cars. The observation car was a common sight on heavyweight consists during 1920s and 1930s.

Sleeping, parlor and lounge cars of riveted carbon steel body-frame construction were built, owned and operated by the Pullman Company. These cars were better known by the name "Heavyweight Cars." Between March 1907 and February 1931 there were 8011 cars built.

The first steel passenger cars were 12-1 sleepers, such as this Plan 2410, which are simply a steel adaptation of the "Varnish" Plan 1963 car - "gothic" arched windows and all. 12-1s of the Plan 2410 and 3410 are one of the relatively few steel designs in true mass production: being churned out in 100+ lots for a total over 4000 units: 40% of the entire Pullman steel fleet.

The spread of accommodations is interesting: the lowest level of Pullman space - the open section - together with the best - a drawingroom. Sleeper cars have a relatively low occupancy capacity, and Pullman has long held to the open sections for maximum payload. The drawingroom on 12-1s is actually intended for families: the High And Mighty prefer all-room cars.

Some typical features of these cars are the two large restrooms (the mens room - at left - is also the smoking lounge while the ladies have a vanity table in their restroom). The drawingroom has an arrangement similar to the sections, plus a sofa which makes up into a third berth. The drawingroom, of course, has its own facility. Externally we see that the traditional clerestory vents have been replaced with the new sheet metal ventilators. These use the forward motion of the car to create a draft through the fore-and-aft openings which, in turn, causes a venturi effect drawing fresh air into the car through the center openings.

Railroad/Company: The Pullman Car Company, founded by George Pullman, manufactured railroad cars in the mid-to-late 19th century through the early decades of the 20th century, during the boom of railroads in the United States. Its workers initially lived in a planned worker community (or "company town") named Pullman, Chicago. Pullman developed the sleeping car, which carried his name into the 1980s. Pullman did not just manufacture the cars: he also operated them on most of the railroads in the United States, paying railroad companies to couple the cars to trains. The labor union associated with the company, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, which was founded and organized by A. Philip Randolph, was one of the most powerful African-American political entities of the 20th century. The company also built thousands of streetcars and trolley buses for use in cities.