Today’s collection of ads shows some of the faraway locations that soldiers were sent in the war, as well as how they returned. Many soldiers utilized the railroads to get to their ship-out points, and likewise many used it to get back home at the end of their service. As veterans returned from the front injured, specially designed Pullman hospital cars were used to transport them. Medical transportation by air was still a rarity, so the railroads played quite an important role in moving the wounded.

A typical hospital “ward car” had room for around 30–36 patients in double berths, and was often paired with a hospital “unit car” which contained a dressing room, a kitchen, as well as quarters for an officer and the cook. The total number of patient beds depended on how much space in the car was devoted to other necessities, such as a mobile surgery that included an operating table, supply cabinets, and sterilization equipment. Hospital cars were designed to be a bit more pleasant than the cramped troop transport cars, offering amenities like air conditioning, and little bit more space, necessary to accommodate soldiers on stretchers.

After the war some hospital cars were converted to standard passenger cars or sleepers, and others were sold to the circus. About half of the fleet was kept in reserve in case of another conflict, and some of these were ultimately sent to Korea for that war, while others were scrapped.

As a graphic designer, advertisements have always captured my interest. Wartime advertisements are something that have appeared on the blog before, with this post about the New York Central’s war ads. Although almost, if not all, of the American railroads published ads depicting their contributions to the war effort, there is a particular rail-related company that has a massive body of work when it comes to wartime ads which is rather impressive.

The Pullman Company, most notably known for their sleeping cars and porters, was extremely active during World War II. Despite being broken up in 1944 due to an antitrust case, Pullman advertised throughout the entirety of the war, often promoting the fact that their cars were one of the primary means of transportation for soldiers to get to their ship-out points, and later for their returns home.

Other advertisements asked the public to either refrain from riding trains or in sleeper cars unless absolutely necessary (at one point sleepers were restricted from operating over routes under 450 miles, yet public ridership was also up due to the rationing of gasoline), or to make sure that if unable to make their reservation they don’t just no-show, but cancel in advance so no space is left unfilled. In one case, an ad shows a furloughed soldier stuck in a station unable to return home to see the birth of his child as the train was sold out. Thankfully, someone cancelled their reservation last minute, allowing the soldier to return home. Another ad asks whether a soldier will make it to his own wedding, complete with a picture of an exasperated bride. This soldier likewise waits for a last minute cancellation on a sold-out train. My favorites, however, may be the ads containing the corny catchphrase, “Sleep Going to Keep Going.”

At the outset of the war troops moved in the standard Pullman sleepers that had been serving the general public prior. Eventually new sleepers were produced, devoted solely to troop transport. Riding the train as a soldier could be quite a claustrophobic experience—the New York Central operated cars with three-tiered foldable bunks, accommodating a total of 39 men. Besides the soldiers, additional riders may have included a higher-ranking military man designated as the “Train Commander,” a Pullman porter, or a railroad employee operating as an escort and liaison to the Commander. Another car operating as a field kitchen served three or four troop transport cars—initially out of baggage cars converted for that purpose, and later in specially designed troop kitchen cars.

As part of my collection of advertisements and timetables, I have a rather large assortment of Pullman ads—large enough to split it into multiple posts. Enjoy a little look back with the first part of my collection of digitally-restored Pullman advertisements below.