Pennsylvania Limited 1887 Postcard

From www.railphotoexpress.biz The Pennsylvania Limited Pullman Vestibule Train. Placed in service June 1887. In 1887 The Pennsylvania Limited was inaugurated, running between New York and Chicago. It was the first vestibuled train 1902 The Pennsylvania Special was inaugurated, replacing the Pennsylvania Limited between New York and Chicago. 1912 The Broadway Limited was inaugurated, replacing the Pennsylvania Special. A vestibuled train is a passenger train whose cars have enclosed vestibules at their ends, in contrast to the open platforms on early cars. Typically, a vestibule has doorways on either side to allow passenger egress at stations, a door into the body of the car, and, at the end of the car, a doorway to allow access to the next car through a flexible gangway connection. The railway car vestibule as a concept had been tried in various primitive forms during the latter part of the 19th century, but the first viable form was invented by H. H. Sessions and his staff at the Pullman Car Works in Chicago. Sessions' patent was challenged by others and reduced in litigation to the spring mechanism of his vestibule design. Further litigation by Pullman was successful in modifying the earlier rulings.