The Parlor Cars

If you were to take the Ohio & Mississippi train in 1880 from Lawrenceville, you might sit in one of the new parlor cars that ran on the day- express trains. These cars took travel from a basic mode of transportation to an experience of elegance and comfort.  They were sixty feet long and ten feet wide, having six-wheel trucks and the exterior painted a beautiful wine color, relieved by golden scroll work.  The interior was like an elegant parlor, finished in black walnut and ash, with velvet carpets, and lighted with the new patented Hick lamps.  At each end of the car there were cozy smoking rooms eight by ten, containing revolving chairs and movable seats.  Next to one of the smoking rooms was a Baker- heater and washrooms for ladies and gentlemen. The main body of the car contained ten black walnut and gold upholstered chairs and two settees. The windows in the smoking and retiring rooms were two feet by three feet and in the main body of the car they were three feet in width, all of plate glass.  The cars were appropriately named the ‘Queen City’ and ‘Mound City’.  

(A far cry from airplane travel of today. . .)