Also featured is an "interior of world famous dining car" with a Pullman Porter.īeyond the profit on the company's investment and the effect of the surroundings on the workers, George Pullman had an eponymous showplace to exhibit the living proof of his philosophy. 1882, print illustrating the various modes of travel and the variety of people who were traveling at that time, including immigrants. He saw the need for a rail car that would provide comfortable and elegant accommodations for overnight travelers and began designing his first sleeping car.Ĭa. These cross-country trains were considered cramped and uncomfortable, and it was this experience that led Pullman to turn his attention to the railroads. Pullman rode the railroads from New York to Illinois. Using his knowledge of relocating buildings to new foundation, Pullman devised a way to raise Chicago's buildings to the new grade level, thus making his early fortune. Built on a bog, the city of Chicago was unable to construct a sewage system without first raising the level of the streets. Pullman sought opportunity in the growing city of Chicago. Pullman dropped out of school when he was 14 and began working with his father, helping him move houses during the expansion of the Erie Canal. When he was young, his family relocated to Albion, NY along the Erie Canal. George Mortimer Pullman was born in Brockton, NY to his mother, Emily, and father, James. George Pullman from a July 1894, edition of Frank Leslies Illustrated Newspaper.