Author : R. W. Kidner ISBN : 9780853615316 Cover : paperback Price : £8.95
The Pullman name is synonymous with luxury travel by rail. This book examines Pullman services throughout the British Isles. There have been Pullmans on British railways for 120 years. There was a shaky period in the 1880s when the Midland and the Great Northern purchased their cars from the company, and only the enthusiasm of the London, Brighton & South Coast Railway kept them in the public eye; but by 1911 more railways began to use them and in the 1920s all-Pullman trains gained notable successes. After the Second World War a number of new Pullman trains were introduced, still using stock of traditional design and livery. From 1960 the cars themselves, which had formerly stood out proudly in train, became very similar to ordinary coaches, and finally in the 1980s the name Pullman was sometimes used just to denote a superior first class. Fortunately a number of ‘traditional’ cars had been purchased privately and were often seen on the main lines until restrictions on permissible bogies affected some. The more modern stock has also largely survived – they may look rather unlike the cars of the golden age, but they keep alive the Pullman idea of perfection.