Hildene's 72-foot restored railcar named Sunbeam was configured as a private car for the Pullman Company’s charter service in 1903 during Robert Lincoln’s tenure as president, a position he held from 1897 to 1911. During this period, the Pullman Company was the largest railroad manufacturing company in the world and the largest employer of African Americans in the country, providing jobs as Pullman Porters to those freed by the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment.
In June of 2011, Sunbeam arrived at Hildene after two years of meticulous restoration following a two-year nationwide search for the right car: one that would have come off the production line during Robert’s tenure as president of the company. The car we decided on was the least modified from its 1903 configuration.
Upon the death of George Pullman in 1897, Robert became president of the Pullman Company. He remained in that position until 1911, when he became chairman of the board. He served in that capacity until 1922 and remained on the board until his death in 1926. During his presidency, the Pullman Company grew and was known for the excellent service the Pullman porters provided, and the company reaped great profit — as did its stockholders.
The Many Voices Exhibit
This exhibit explores the paradox of the relationship between the Pullman Company and the "Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters." Walk through the porters 100-year journey from freed people in 1863 to civil rights activists in the 1963 March on Washington.
