- [Narrator] Back then, a train ride was a very uncomfortable ordeal, sitting on hard seats as the train lurched along.

In summer, you either sweated or opened the windows and got a lung full of coal dust from the steam engine.

(passenger coughing) The transformation of rail travel from punishing to pampering began after the Civil War, and it started in Chicago.

- They put a lot of work on the detail of these train cars.

- Yeah.

- [Narrator] Deluxe rail cars like this one , built by the Pullman Car Company on what is now Chicago's South Side, completely reinvented the idea of the rail car.

They were like luxury hotels on wheels.

- You know, honestly, in looking at this, this reminds me of someone's living room or someone's parlor.

- Yeah.

- [Narrator] You don't have to use your imagination to picture this kind of rail travel.

I rode a Pullman car at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, Illinois with Dr.

Lionel Kimble, a history professor at Chicago State University.

- Blanket, it has the Pullman blanket.

- [Narrator] This was built as a private car with custom features, but even typical Pullman cars made by highly skilled craftsmen were sumptuous with lounges, private compartments that could be converted into sleeping quarters, and dining rooms.

And they were equipped with the finest suspension to ensure the ride was as smooth as it could be.

To go along with the luxurious surroundings, the company's all powerful owner, George Pullman, wanted his passengers treated to impeccable service.

- Pullman wanted to make the most opulent experience that he possibly could.

So you have these people waiting on you hand and foot 24 hours a day, as long as you're on this train.

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] To provide that service, Pullman found a ready-made workforce, formerly enslaved people who'd recently been freed.

- We have this underemployed section of people in the Deep South.

Why not use them?

- And did it sound like it would be a good job?

- I think relatively speaking.

These guys wore uniforms.

They traveled the country.

You know, they made more money than most people in their community was making.

So they were seen by their community as something to be celebrated.

- [Narrator] But a Pullman porter's day-to-day life on the train was anything but glamorous.

They carried luggage, made the beds, served in the dining cart, and even shined shoes.

- They were responsible for buying their own shoe-shine kits.

They had to count the towels.

You know, if anything ended up missing, they were financially responsible for it.

They would work upwards of 80 hours a week.

Get relatively little rest.

- What's in here?

- Hey, look.

This seems to be one of the cars or sections for the quarters.

- Yeah, so essentially this is servant's quarters.

- Yeah, I think that's an accurate way to put it.

- So we saw the luxury of the private car.

And this is what the Pullman Porters had.

When they were off duty, they were in here - Right, the time when they were off duty.

What I also thought what was interesting is that there's a small restroom here.

- A toilet?

- Yeah, a toilet here, you know, 'cause African Americans weren't allowed to use the same toilet facilities as whites.

- [Narrator] But Dr.

Kimble says that as the porters circulated almost invisibly among the passengers, they kept their ears open.

- They learned about the world.

They learned about politics.

They learned about the economy, and they learned about international occurrences, and they were able to bring that information back into their communities.

It was the beginning of the Black middle class.

You may see us as your wait staff, but we're doing something a lot greater.

We're building something.

And part of the story of African Americans in this country is that we're always building something.

(bright music) (steam hisses)