It is difficult to enumerate the countless little details that are constantly incorporated into Pullman car construction. The berth light has been frequently changed to embody some new idea to improve its convenience and efficiency. The coat hanger, and the mirror in the upper berth are minor details, but their convenience is attested by their constant use by passengers. In the washrooms the design of the wash basins has been frequently altered to afford a more convenient resting place for the toilet articles unpacked from the traveler's bag. Even the location of a coat hook receives a consideration that would perhaps seem exaggerated to the casual outsider. Double curtains are now provided on the newer cars, one set for the lower and another set for the upper berth.
Once a month a Committee on Standards, composed of the higher officials of the company, meets at the big plant at Pullman. On a track near the main entrance, stands a car in which every practical suggestion has been incorporated for the inspection of the committee. Some of these suggestions are quickly eliminated by their experienced verdict; others, possessing apparent worthiness, are passed and are later incorporated in the construction of the next cars manufactured, when the public will become the final judge. Many of these improvements are of a technical character, and primarily affect the construction of the cars; others are of a more directly personal nature and contribute more to the comfort and convenience of the traveler. All that are passed by the committee serve to place still higher the standard that for fifty years has been constantly uplifted by the company.
At the end of its journey the Pullman car is thoroughly cleaned and disinfected. The first picture on this page shows the bedding being given a sun bath. The next, the appearance of the car when ready for fumigation, and the two illustrations at the bottom, the vacuum machine at work.
As a car-building material wood has had its day, and the concrete floor of the Pullman car is tacit tribute to the sanitary properties of a widely used material. On the floor of concrete the familiar green carpet is lightly stretched to be easily removed at the journey's end, and after the floor has been thoroughly scrubbed, returned after a complete cleansing with vacuum cleaners. Instead of insanitary woodwork, the smooth surfaces of steel which form the interior of the car offer no lurking place for germs, and soap and water at frequent and regular intervals maintain a high degree of cleanliness. Of course, the porter with his portable vacuum cleaners and his dustcloth, can keep the car tidy en route, but the real cleaning comes when the trip is over and a gang of professional workers with every appliance to serve this end attacks the cars. Then not only are the carpets renovated but the prying nozzles of powerful vacuum cleaners suck up every particle of dust from seats, berths and cushions. Each mattress is given similar treatment, and mattresses and pillows are hung in the open air for the action of that greatest of all purifiers, the sun. Blankets are given a similar treatment. Water coolers are cleaned and sterilized with steam. In fact, nothing that could harbor a speck of dust is neglected.
The slight, acrid odor sometimes noticeable in a Pullman car at the beginning of a run is caused by the disinfectants which are liberally employed. A jug of disinfectant solution is a part of the equipment of every car and this is used for all car washing and particularly on the floors and in the toilet and washrooms.
To protect still further the health of the passengers, the cars are regularly fumigated with a gas which kills all disease-producing bacteria. Whenever a car has carried a sick person it is fumigated as soon as it is vacated, in addition to the regular monthly, weekly, or other schedule of fumigation for various lines and terminals. In order that the district offices may be promptly informed as to the necessity of this extra fumigation, the conductor is required to note on his inspection report the fact that a sick passenger has been carried, and the car is immediately taken out of service and thoroughly cleaned and fumigated. Moreover, if space occupied by a sick passenger is vacated en route, it must not be resold until the car has reached its terminal and has been fumigated.