In 1863, he began converting railroad passenger
cars into luxury sleeping vehicles, establishing the
Pullman Palace Car Company in 1867. For the next
25 years, the Pullman Company built, staffed and
operated most of the sleeping cars on U.S.
railroads. Pullman used his wealth to help rebuild
Chicago after the 1871 fire, and to erect the
Pullman Building in downtown Chicago.

In 1880, Pullman built his headquarters and a town for his employees on
4,000 acres of land south of Chicago. The town of Pullman was to be a model
of social organization and profitability. Pullman’s vision was shattered in 1894
following violent strikes by his employees and the railroad unions.

Pullman’s peers censured him for refusing to deal with strikers during the work
stoppage, and a subsequent government investigation revealed his
unsympathetic treatment of employees. Pullman’s labor troubles of
1893-1894 left him embittered until his death three years later.