It appears there were several companies that used the name “Palace Stock Car”. The word Palace coming from Pullman’s use of the word to indicate nice accommodations for train travel.
The JW Street Palace Stock Car, created circa 1869 to implement two patents owned by John Street. The patents were for devices to feed & water livestock while enroute. It appears this company sold their assets to Edwin O Fowler in 1872. The Mongomery Palace Stock Car Co. was formed in 1874., acquiring from Fowler rights to the Street patents.
And the Palace Stock Car Company was organized in 1878, with the intentions to provide stock cars with built-in feeding and watering devices for “humane” handling of livestock. (can only assume they made use of the Street patents, which expired circa 1886) This company was even instrumental in getting Congress to propose a bill requiring unloading and feeding of livestock ever 24 hrs, unless shipped in a Palace Stockcar. The bill never passed, but we do know an enforceable 28 hr law was passed in 1906, which caused major changes in railroad handling of livestock.
I suspect the 28 hr law was instrumental in the demise of the Palace Stock Car Co. and probably lead to the dissolvent of the company and/or discontinued use of the “Palace” name. Or it possible Pullman filed some sort of cease and desist order to prevent use of the “Palace” name.
And for even more arcane info, here is a report from 1884, which compared British & American railways. (spelling is as printed)
AMERICAN RAILWAYS.
On the principal lines in America the ordinary cattle and sheep cars arc fitted with bogie trucks; but there are several stock car companies, among others, the Burton Stock Car Company, the Montgomery Palace Stock Car Company, and the Oehrl Improved Stock Car Company. I had an excellent opportunity of inspecting these cars during the week which I spent in Chicago at the exhibition of railway appliances.
The Burton stock car is fully illustrated in the appendix to this report, and was designed to abolish the ordinary system, under which the animals suffered from close confinement, prolonged abstinence from food and water, and the great cruelty practised in transportation, resulting in bruises and sores, and in many cases death from trampling by their fellow beasts.
It is claimed by the designers :—
1st.—That the cattle are fed and watered in the cars.
2nd.—That the cars and cattle can be readily kept clean.
3rd.—That the cost of construction does not exceed £50 more than an ordinary stock car of the same size.
4th.—That there is 36ft. of space without any obstruction, and that merchandise can be carried in the cars when they are not required for cattle.
5th.—That each animal can lie down and rise when it pleases, the cattle being secured independently of each other, and having for the purpose a space of 2ft. 10in. wide by 8ft. 7in. in length.
6th.—That as each car is mounted on suspension car trucks or bogies, with double elliptic springs and an airbrake, it can be run at passenger speed, and time in transit be thereby reduced.
7th.—That the cattle stand the lengthwise of the car, and are carried with greater comfort to themselves; and are afforded better protection to brace themselves against sudden motion and jerks of the train.
8th.—That it is unnecessary to enter the car to unload or feed the cattle, as this is all done from the top of the car, and one man can easily give proper attention to a train of twenty cars.
It has been proved over and over again that the loss by "shrinkage" has been reduced to 1-3 per cent, by this system of trucking cattle; whereas it not unfrequently happened that cattle sent from Chicago to New York in the ordinary cars lost as much as 60lbs. per head in shrinkage.
To such an extent was the system of cruelty and overcrowding practised in carrying cattle from the Far West to the eastern markets, that in 1878 Congress enacted a law prohibiting railway companies from overcrowding their cattle cars, or from confining the cattle, sheep, swine, or other animals, for a longer period than twenty-eight consecutive hours in the cars without unloading them for rest, water, and feed for a period of five consecutive hours; but an exception is made when animals are carried in cars in which they can and do have proper food, water, space, and opportunity to rest.
To give some idea of the'traffic carried on in cattle alone in America, it may be mentioned that there are at the present time 35,000 cattle cars in use.
The cost of "Burton" cars complete, but knocked down for shipment f.o.b. Boston is, for cattle £220, and for horses £230 each, to carry eighteen head of large cattle. The price of sheep or pig cars, doubledecked, is £150 each. These prices are based on an order of not less than ten cars; and the expenses of freight, erection, and painting must be added.
The Montgomery cattle palace car is on a similar principle to that of the Burton stock car, and was
designed to effect the same objects.
Each car is 38ft. 7in. long by 9ft. wide and 7ft. 6in. high. The four walls are made of slats, with two doors on diagonally opposite corners; the interior is divided into compartments by means of swinging gates made of slats and steel bands, with a rubber band running across the bottom near the floor, making it possible for the cattle to lie down and put their legs under the doors. Four head of cattle, and sometimes five, occupy one compartment, and full provision is made for watering and feeding as follows:—On the roof of each car are two oblong boxes in diagonally opposite corners, running parallel with the length of the car as far as the centre. These boxes contain the food for the cattle, and underneath are arranged revolving troughs of metal, placed at a convenient spot, which when not in use are secured so as to prevent dirt from entering. In the bottom of each box is a large iron valve operated by means of a lever fixed at the end of the car; a sufficient quantity of food having been placed in the boxes, the valves are opened by the levers and the food drops into the metal troughs.
Along the top of the interior of each car runs a 3in. waterpipe connected to the next cars by rubber hose, and from this main pipe smaller pipes run down the sides and connect with a perforated horizontal pipe running over the top of the troughs. To water the cattle the troughs are filled from the station water supply in a few seconds.
These cars are also hung as suspension trucks with elliptic springs, and fitted with airbrakes, giving an easy motion and enabling the cars to be run at passenger speed. Sand is sometimes used for the cattle to lie down upon.
On the 26th May one trip was run from Chicago to Baltimore with sixteen loaded cars containing 288 head of cattle—the loading commenced at 2'30 p.m. and was finished at 3-17 p.m., occupying forty-seven minutes for the entire train.
The train left Chicago at 6-25 p.m., Columbus time, and ran—
[table]
or 856 miles in 43hrs. 50m., allowing for difference in time, from which must be deducted loss of time in watering engines, changing them, &c, equal to 6hrs. 24m., making the actual running time about 37hrs. 26m., or an average of 22-4 miles per hour.
The cattle carried were Texans, Colorados, Nebraskas, and Illinois, varying in weight from l,790lbs. to 900lbs. each. It was found that four and five animals in a stall could lie down and rest at the same time, each having ample room; and for all the cattle bought and weighed on the day of shipment, numbering forty-four head, there was an average gain of 10lbs. per head; while those bought and weighed some days before shipment lost on an average 27 1/4 lbs. per head.
These cars are owned and worked by the Montgomery Palace Stock Car Company in a manner similar to the Pullman Car Company's passenger cars, the conductors of the company being in charge of the cars, and the shippers paying a royalty for their use.
The Oehrl improved stock car is fitted with a deck, which is raised and lowered at pleasure, and is so arranged, that one man can in an instant change it from single to double-deck, or vice versa, this change made in either end of the car, thus making it possible to carry three kinds of stock. By this contrivance cattle are prevented from rearing and injuring themselves. Arrangements are also fitted for feeding and watering, which, when not required, can be readily removed.
Doug Harding
www.iowacentralrr.org