The
Towering Pine number 3467 was the seventeenth of twenty-two
new sleepers purchased by the L&N in 1953. These lightweight
sleepers were purchased by the L&N to replace aging
heavy weight sleepers. During the period following
World War II the traveling public had began to expect more
comfort and accommodations than previously expected by rail
travel. This sleeper order was a continuation of equipment
up grading by the L&N and represented state of the art
rail sleeping accommodations.
In November of 1951 the L&N placed an order for 22 new
sleepers cars. The  cars
were built at a price of $163,000 each by the Pullman Standard
Company in their Chicago plant. The sleepers floor plan
was a 6-4-6 configuration (6 roomettes, 4 double bedrooms,
6 sections) Built from Pullman plan number 4183. The cars
were 85 feet long, lightweight, smooth sided steel. In addition
to the L&N's order two connecting railroads the Chicago
and Eastern Illinois Railroad placed an order for four sleepers,
and the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railroad
purchased 3 sleepers.
On March 8, 1953 the L&N received the first of the new
sleepers. Number 3450 the Alabama Pine. The new sleepers
were named after pine trees to honor one of the South's
most important commodities. The final car, number 3471 The
Yellow Pine was delivered in May of 1953. The Towering Pine
and other new sleepers were delivered in the L&N's post
war blue sides, gray roof, and gold script lettering paint
scheme, which was adopted by the railroad in about 1946.
The new sleepers were used to replace aging heavy weight
sleepers on the Humming Bird, Georgian, and Pan American.
The new C&E.I, and N.C. & St. Louis sleepers were
also delivered in the same paint scheme and also named after
pines and placed into service on the Hummingbird and Georgian.
 A
Pullman Company survey incorporated the suggestions and
comments of over two thousand people into the design of
the new cars. The latest luxury features and improvements
in car design were incorporated into the construction of
the new cars. The new cars sat on 4-wheel trucks with 24-inch
center bearings and Helical springs. The new outside swing
hangers made for easier maintenance and a smoother ride.
The equipment was designed to provide the smoothest ride
possible, and was similar to equipment of the highly publicized
General Motors "Train of Tomorrow." The cars also
included two silver-framed stretcher-loading windows on
either side of the car.
The
modern interior design was also decided by customer preferences.
Interior improvements included sponge rubber seats and chairs.
Electro-mechanical air conditioning, fluorescent lighting
and circulating ice water in the various compartments.
The
six roomettes were equipped with sliding doors and curtains.
The seat backs were equipped with armrest and one side was
plastic faced for use as a beverage holder or shelf. The
cutaway beds could be raised and lowered with the compartment
door closed. No longer was it necessary to step into the
aisle to lower the bed. Beds could also be lowered without
the necessity of a porter. The clothes lockers in the "Pine"
sleepers were ten inches deep compared to the normal six
inches in other sleeper cars.
The
four double bedrooms were placed in the center of the car
to ensure comfort and a smooth ride. Two adjacent bedrooms
could be made into a large suite by a folding sliding partition.
In this configuration the two lower berths could form a
twin bed. All beds are provided with double coil springs
and a rubber topper mattress which were recent developments
by the Pullman Company. The reading light switches were
in easy reach of passengers in all berths.
Each
of the rooms and roomettes had private toilets and wash
stands. The non-folding wash basin was said to prevent dentures
from falling into the drainpipes. The washstands had foot
pedal operated water valves for the proper mixing of hot
and cold water. The wash basin could also be converted into
a dressing table. A section table could also be installed
in either roomettes or bedrooms where passengers could dine
without leaving the room or a businessman could work while
en-route to destination.
In the
six section accommodation there is a permanent stepladder
attached to both of the upper berths. These ladders were
a lightweight hinge type folding ladder attached to the
sides of berths at night. When a passenger put his weight
on the ladder it folds out into a regular set of steps.
It was no longer necessary to ring for a porter to assist
a passenger in or out of the upper berth. The men and women's
lounges were located at the end of the car for the section
passengers. These lounges were attractively decorated with
tile floors, wainscoting and china wash bowls. David P.
Morgan, Editor of Trains Magazine rated the new pine sleepers
as "The best Pullmans built."
The
1957 merger with the N.C. & St. L added her three Pines
sleepers to the L&N roster. The Towering Pine and many
ofthe other pine sleepers continued in service with the
L&N until 1971 when Amtrak took over the passenger service
of America's railroads. Amtrak passed up ownership of the
aging steel cars and their associated corrosion. The Pine
sleepers were retired on May 1, 1971. |
