Does someone have the proper method for folding Pullman towels?

"A liberal supply of linen towels shall be kept in racks provided for in general washrooms. Do not put out towels too far in advance of recieving time. Unused clean towels should be returned to the clean linen locker immediately after all passengers are discharged. When setting up the car, 6 towels shall be placed in the shower room. They are to be folded triangularily and spread out in stacks of two or three as shelf space permits. Porters shall frequently check to see that an adequate supply of towels is maintained.


In private room accomodations the setup of towels is as follows:

rooms having only one bed.................................4 towels
rooms having two beds.....................................6 towels
rooms having three beds...................................8 towels
master room...............................................6 towels
plus 2 large and 2 small bath towels.

In rooms having overhead towel racks or shelves, towels shall be folded triangularily and placed with the point to the front. In rooms having toilet cabinets or recessed shelves, towels shall be folded into a square and placed in stacks of two or three, spaced evenly on shelves in an orderly manner. During the day, the porter or attendant must check to see that the supply of clean towels is maintained in room accomodations. Used towels left by passengers on hooks, shelves, or in cabinets in rooms shall not be removed unless they are noticibly soiled."

Refer to the second photo :
http://americanhistory.si.edu/archives/d8181b.htm

...and to the upper left in this image of a roomette of a sister car to our 'City of Lima".

Any assistance would be most appreciated!

John Isaksen
ELDCPS

Pullman published rule books for the Porters and Conductors on how to handle the passengers, business and "make the beds" on a Pullman Service car. I can't find mine but I think it has instructions for laying out the towels as well. IIRC the instructions call for no machined edges to be visable while folded. Lay your towel flat on the bed and fold both sides lengthwise to the centerline of the towel leaving it 1/2 the original width. now fold it again using the same method to fold the length it in half. The final fold reduces the size in half again hiding the visable ends inside the fold. The towel is then placed with the final fold facing the passenger.

I think there were instructions on how to roll washclothes and possible hand towels as well.

Now where is that book...

The quotation I offered was from an online excerpt of a 1952 Porter's manual, in lieu of a ready copy. Unfortunately, a folding diagram wasn't included...

http://www.scsra.org/library/rulebook.html

(My thanks to the Southern California Scenic Railway Association for making that available online).

Our interest in the folding details was piqued by the Smithsonian photo, which appears to have the towels folded specifically to have the blue band exposed - a really neat detail. Here's the direct link to that photo:

http://americanhistory.si.edu/archives/ ... 8181-8.jpg

Shortly thereafter, ELDCPS was donated a copy of a 1950 Modern Railroads article on the NKP's new sleeping cars, showing one of the roomettes, with yes, triangularly folded towels on the roomette shelf.

ELDCPS is taking perhaps a different view on equipping our cars than most educational restorations -- our equipment and supplies are intended to be used, not merely displayed. Therefore, acquiring a number of linens or blankets through donation or eBay for display is not really an option. We need to have a fairly large supply of goods that may degrade through use -- certainly not something we want to subject artifacts to.

As we're proceding with the interior restoration with "City of Lima", we've been looking at reproducing numerous other Pullman-related consumables to be used in hands-on "Living History" programs, which of course, will be germane for use by many of you and your organizations, as well.

Those who have visited our Store are familiar with our line of reproduction China and silverware, Pullman soaps, and other items:

http://www.eldcps.org/store/home.php

You may also recall my notes earlier this year about reproducing the Pullman Cedar blanket. Yes, the blankets are in production - we expect the first run to be in hand shortly. (More news on that later).

...so anybody find those instructions yet? ;^)

Best Regards,
John Isaksen
ELDCPS

The only thing that I would add is that an old AT&SF chair car attendant showed me how they did it. He showed me that after the towel was folded in thirds (to make a long strip with the blue stripe on the outside) it was then folded much like you would fold an American flag, except it was folded from both ends at the same time so it met in the middle and when it was finished it upfolded like a book. He could do both sides at the same time. When finished it was neat and tightly folded. He then demonstrated to me how the towel could be tossed from hand to hand without unfolding.

These would then be layed on the towel shelf in a way that they were visible and easy to pick up...like a book with the spine showing. Towel shelves were usually highest and longest shelf in the lounge. In the morning extra towels would be put in the lounges when a lot of passengers were expected to be using the facilities. The back of the couch in the men's room would fold up so men could lay their shaving kits there and extra towels would be placed in a convenient location on that shelf. Ladies lounges had a vanity where some extra shelves were laid.

Also note the used towels were tossed into the wire basket provided below the sink...never hung up on a towel bar or hook. Paper waste was eliminated, the towels were sanitary and satisfying to use. It required the Porter to frequently check the supply and replenish as needed.

A paper bag (like we used to get at the grocery) with the top edges (3-4 inches)folded in as a stiffener was sat in the lounge floor for any paper waste. It was a proven system that worked well for many,many decades.

Well...that's how they did it on the "Cheif" anyway.