From Wood to Steel

From Wood to Steel. . , Wood cars were works of art, but steel, stronger and cheaper, was the future., The design and construction of wood railroad cars peaked in the mid-1890s, when "... a masterful system of spidery wood trussing produced sleek coaches." As demand grew for longer and safer car structures, heavier steel cars gained in popularity., As the cars changed, so did the Pullman Car Works and its workers. Steel car construction required bigger buildings, new equipment, and raw labor. Between 1900 and 1910, the Pullman Company built massive new steel erecting and repair shops and filled Lake Vista. On the shop floor, untrained Polish, Hungarian, Czech, and Italian immigrants and African-American migrants replaced skilled Swedish, German, English, and American-born craftsman. By 1926, the transformation was complete. "Pullman" now meant "steel.",

"Would I like to work in steel? Would I like to work in steel? No, no! I have done carving all my life, from a boy, and I could not think of trying to make things that have no beauty." , Thomas Phillips, wood carver, Cabinet Shop, April 1917

, [Captions:] , Left In autumn 1908, Pullman built a massive shop for constructing steel cars. The new Steel Erecting Shop at 111th Street and Cottage Grove Avenue encircled the old Front Erecting Shop's south wing (visible on the right through the steel frame) and partially hid the Administration Building., Bottom left A 1911 Sanborn fire insurance map shows the impact of the new Steel Erecting Shops, which dominated the Pullman Car Works, disrupting its carefully designed balance and symmetry., Bottom "Allendale" represented a new generation of heavyweight steel Pullman cars when it rolled out July 2, 1910.