Pullman

       

  

After spending the night sleeping in his seat on a train trip from Buffalo to Westfield, New York, George Pullman was inspired to design an improved passenger railcar that contained sleeper berths for all its passengers. During the day the upper berth was folded up somewhat like a modern airliner's luggage rack. At night the upper berth folded down and the two facing seats below it folded over to provide a relatively comfortable bunk for the night. Although this was somewhat spartan accommodation by today's standards, it was a great improvement on the previous layout. Curtains provided privacy, and there were washrooms at each end of the car for men and women.

Pullman established his company in 1862 and built luxury sleeping cars which featured carpeting, draperies, upholstered chairs, libraries and card tables and an unparalleled level of customer service. 

The Pullman Company is also remembered for its porters. The company hired

African Americans for this position. While still a menial job in many respects, it offered better pay and security than most jobs open to African Americans at the time, in addition to a chance for travel, and was a well regarded job in the African-American community of the time. Pullman porters were unionized in the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters under A. Philip Randolph. All of the pullman attendants, regardless of their true name, were referred to as "George" by the travelers. This tradition finds its origins after the company's founder, George Pullman. The Pullman company was the largest employer of African Americans in the United States at the time.

Pullman 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 1940's and 1950's, 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 Mexico, 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."