But, on the other hand, the uninviting, indigestible nature of the so-called refreshment offered at some railway eating stations had long been a byword. In most sections of the country it was practically impossible to procure a respectable meal or lunch while traveling. Railway officials had wrestled with the subject in vain. Recognizing the fact that the heart of the railway traveler is most susceptible to influences reaching it by way of his stomach, they made repeated and continued endeavors to improve the fare offered during the "twenty minutes for dinner" stops. With a few exceptions the results were not encouraging, and the traveling public continued its dyspeptic round three times a day.
The station eating-house was on an unsound basis, and its disadvantages were obvious. With the increase of the speed of through trains and the demand for shorter running times between terminals it became quickly apparent that a train could not be stopped three times a day to permit the passengers to gorge a hasty meal at the station restaurant. Three meals at a minimum of twenty minutes each was an hour lost, and twenty minutes for eating was as bad for the passenger as it was for the running time of the trains. There were still other disadvantages. In addition to the delay of the train and the tax on the passenger's digestion, there was the frequent discomfort of wet or wintry weather. On a fine day it was well enough to "stretch one's legs," but in rain or snow the tri-daily evacuation of the car was a decidedly unpopular feature.
The installation of "hotel-car" service by the Pullman Company sang the knell of the station eating-counter. The "President," a car combining sleeping and eating accommodations, was put in service in 1867 on the Grand Trunk Railway, then the Great Western of Canada. Its instant success necessitated the building of the "Kalamazoo" and "Western World," and in the years immediately following many hotel cars were put in service.
The second step in the evolution was inevitable. At best, the hotel car was only a sleeping car with restaurant accommodations. Eating and sleeping have never been associated in the modern mind; there must be a separate place for each.
To meet the demand, or rather to anticipate a demand which his keen eyes foresaw, Mr. Pullman set himself to the task of developing a car which would be only a dining car, serving no other purpose, and practical for operation in conjunction with through trains of the fastest speed. The first real dining car which Mr. Pullman constructed was aptly named the "Delmonico." It was a complete restaurant with a large kitchen and pantries at one end. The main body of the car was fitted up as a dining room in which the passengers from all the cars of the train could enter and take their meals with entire comfort. The "Delmonico" was put in regular service in 1868 on the Chicago & Alton, and other Pullman diners were added the same year. At about the same time the Michigan Central and the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroads also began to operate dining cars on their trains. To the Chicago & Alton, however, belongs the honor of having first inaugurated the dining-car system. The Michigan Central and Burlington did not put on dining cars until 1875. The Chicago & Alton dining cars were run between Chicago and St. Louis, and were constructed and managed by Mr. Pullman. The price for a meal was $1.00. Later the Alton acquired an interest in the dining cars, and finally assumed full control of them.
Making the cushions for the seats. Upholstery Department
Making the chairs for the parlor cars. Upholstery Department
Although founded and developed, and for a number of years successfully operated by the Pullman Company, the dining car is no longer under its management. Due primarily to the vast increase in this particular share of the business and the variety of service required by travelers in different sections of the country, it became advisable to turn over to the various roads the details of catering to their particular patrons. On some of the leading railroads the highest type of dining-car service is maintained and advertised as a particular feature. On other roads of lesser prominence a corresponding degree of service may be found. It is, perhaps, unfortunate from the point of view of the traveler that the Pullman Company found it necessary to discontinue a service that it had so auspiciously inaugurated.