An interesting note on Mothball & Haul, one of the tracks for this year's IPTW
event. George Pullman was a building contractor prior to his involvement with
railroad sleepers.
"In the early 1850's Chicago had a serious problem in that much of its land
was only a few feet above the level of Lake Michigan, making it difficult to
keep cellars dry or streets drained. The new importance of the city as well as
requirements of health demanded paved streets, and yet it was feared they
would be washed away. The only solution was to elevate the streets along the
lake and the Chicago River four to seven feet, which meant buildings would
also have to be raised. Property owners disturbed by the costs fought the city
government's plan in the courts. By 1855, however, the way had been cleared,
and work began.
Pullman, arriving in late 1855 to raise buildings, opened an office and shop
on Madison Street west of LaSalle, not far from the river and the Chicago and
Alton railroad tracks. When in April 1858 the Tremont Hotel, the city's
finest, was lifted, Pullman was first in his field and consequently was
awarded the contract. Under his supervision, heavy timbers were propped along
the cellar's walls and ceiling, and a thousand men and five thousand
jackscrews were placed in position to lift the four-story brick hotel. Pullman
stood at a distance giving directions to foremen who relayed them to the
workers in and around the building. On his command the men turned the
jackscrews a set number of notches. At intervals the process was repeated, and
quickly the structure rose. Within an hour it was at the desired height.
People and furniture had remained in the hotel undisturbed. The cost of moving
the building was reported as high as $45,000. On another occasion, Pullman
raised simultaneously the entire block of brick stores on Lake Street, between
Clark and LaSalle. Not a pane of glass was broken. After such feats he soon
had more business than he could handle. By the end of the year, the twenty-
seven-year-old businessman was worth $.2o,ooo and known by Chicago's more
important citizens."
Stanley Buder, _Pullman, An Experiment in Industrial Order and Community
Planning, 1880-1930_, Oxford Univ. Press, 1967.
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