Friends, Families & Forays: Scenes from the Life and Times of Henry Ford

49. The Railway Car Fair Lane

49 The Railway Car Fair Lane Following the institution of the five-dollar day in 1914, Henry Ford found it increasingly difficult to travel without immediate recognition by the public and constant annoyance by reporters. Traveling locally by automobile, he could maintain a modicum of privacy, but for long trips he needed some other form of private conveyance. For travel on water, he purchased the steam yacht Sialia in 1917. For land travel privacy, he arranged on February 18, 1920, with the Pullman Company for the purchase of a private railroad car to be named Fair Lane. By then, Ford also had decided to purchase his own railroad — the Detroit, Toledo & Ironton — in which he obtained controlling interest on July 9, 1920. Ford was anxious to have the Fair Lane private car by September 1920 in order to travel by rail to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and examine his recently purchased Michigan Iron, Land & Lumber Company holdings. Response from the Pullman manufacturing department was: “we will use our endeavor to do this, but we cannot guarantee to do so under the present labor and materials.” Arrangements were that Pullman would prepare general specifications and drawings and deliver at the earliest practicable date on the basis of cost of labor and materials , including 150 percent on direct labor for overhead or shop expense, plus 20 percent for profit. Payment was to be 25 percent paid when the car was “laid down,” 25 percent when the car was “in paint,” and the balance of the calculated price when the car was completed. The Fair Lane was delivered to Dearborn from Pullman’s Kensington, Illinois, shops on June 23, 1921, at a cost of $159,000. This price was higher than Ford had anticipated. Pullman justified the high price in a letter to Ford: When considering the cost of this car you must take into consideration the quality of material, designs of interior finish, and class of workmanship, demanded by your designer, Mr. Houghton. In this respect, this is without doubt, one of the most elegant and expensive design of car we have ever built, as are also some of the materials, such as Monel roofing, walnut interior finish with specially matched veneering, made to order. Window curtain material with back to match draperies, etc. 370 Much of the delay in delivery was caused by the interior furnishings being designed by Sidney Houghton, who was traveling between his New York and London offices seeking exotic materials for Clara Ford to approve before installation by the Pullman Company. At times, Houghton’s whereabouts were not known, and Clara was slow in making her decisions. Houghton and Clara had worked together before when the Sialia was being furnished. The Fair Lane was 82 feet long, 10 feet wide, and 14 feet high, and it weighed 100 tons. Construction was of steel with an attractive rear observation platform. It was equipped to accommodate eight passengers together with attending cook and porter. In addition to relatively 371 Henry and Clara Ford’s private railroad car, the Fair Lane. The 82-foot-long all-steel car weighing 100 tons was built by the Pullman Company in 1920-21 at a cost of $159,000. The interior was designed by Sidney Houghton of London, who also designed the interior of the yacht Sialia. The Fair Lane was used by the Fords from 1921 to 1942, when it was given up because of limitations on the use of private railroad cars during World War II. Although sold in 1942, it has found its way back to Dearborn and the Henry Ford Museum. (U.78777) spacious sleeping quarters, there was a kitchen, a dining room seating eight, and, toward the end of the car, a comfortable observation lounge. To stock the Fair Lane for passenger travel, Clara compiled a list of 230 items of crockery, 144 items of glassware, 169 pieces of silverware, 38 pantry items, and 79 types of kitchen utensils including 28 pans.The list would service a hotel of modest size. Table linens numbered 189, with 10 caps and jackets for cooks and 15 jackets for waiters. Sleeping linens numbered 266, including 80 each of sheets and pillow slips. The linens were intentionally labeled Fairlane rather than Fair Lane, perhaps to discourage theft. Between trips, the Fair Lane was housed in a train shed on a Michigan Central siding next to Ford’s flour mill on...