Dinner in the Diner

[boomertom]

Yampa Bob's St. Patricks Day Cornbeef and cabbage got me thinking about food ( it doesn't take much to make my mind drift in that direction).

As this is a railroad discussion board, naturally my thoughts drifted to dining cars.

When I was growing up, I would often travel from Covington, VA to Washington, DC to visit my Grandmother usually on the C&O Sportsman or George Washington. This always involved a meal in the dining car.

Crisp white linen, dinner wear with the C&O kitten and food fit for a king.
I was particularly fornd of hot roast beef sandwhich with mashed potatoes and gravy and iced tea. Half a century later I still wonder how the plates stayed in place as the train went around curves.

What memories do others have of dining car experiences ?

Tom

[Dr EMD]

Great view of the countryside as you eat.

Smell of charcoal from the kitchen.

Writing your own order.

Heavy silverwear.

[OkieRick]

I never had a ride let alone a meal on a train.  But we've uncovered traces of Harvey Girls while digging, plowing, cleaning up areas and metal detecting here on our land that the A.T.S.F. cut in half with it's right of way.

We originally had 90 acres given to my mothers grand mother as a Cherokee Land Grant.  It's stayed in the family since late 1800 - early 1900. there were several dwelling houses built along the tracks that have been lost to time, fire and storms.  A butcher's workplace was once located here also.

No trains ever stopped here except for the ones that hit cows or horses on the tracks or the people killed at each mile road.

However we have unearthed Harvey silverware - very heavy knives, forks and spoons while turning over the ground by the right of way.  We're not for sure if this area north of Tulsa (just 11 miles south of Kansas) was ever serviced by Harvey Girls or the people living in the pump houses, rent houses, etc. that were once here purchased this and lost it or had it given to them.  There is a movie about the Harvey Girls and they are a staple in Westward Expansion History.  A short history can be found here.

http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/womens_history/98683

The eating utinsels have a large H engraved into each piece.  Occasionally a piece or two will find it's way to ebay.


Rick

[Yampa Bob]

My only experience was riding a troop train on the way to Fort Chaffee, Arkansas for induction.  I don't remember what we had for lunch, but it was not caviar and  champagne. It might have been my first acquaintance with K-rations. 

[SteamGene]

Bob,
I don't think you are old enough for K-Rations! 
Gene

[Yampa Bob]

Well, that's what my Dad called them. Now that you mention it, I think it was "C" rations. We had other names for them, but can't repeat it here. 

However I always went back for seconds of "SOS".

[JerryB]

K rations were issued during WW-II. They contained a complete day's food of breakfast. lunch & dinner. Something like 3000 calories that one had to be quite hungry to eat, but really kept our troops going.

C rations, from the same era, were individual cans of meat, meat & potatoes, meat & beans, etc. Being canned, they were heavy to carry, had little variety and weren't at all appealing to appetites. I don't remember what the caloric content was, but I do remember that they came with the recommendation that the user needed to eat some 'real food' every few days in order to remain healthy. Their use lasted until the very late 1950s. As an ROTC cadet at that time, we got to use up some of the Army's last available stock!

None of the above stuff was what would be considered a healthy diet today, especially for combat troops on the move. The current MREs are much more palatable, nourishing and healthful.

Happy RRing,

Jerry

[RAM]

Rick, the Oil Flyer had a diner.  a cafe-observation car.

[SteamGene]

Jerry,
The last time I ate issued C rations was in the late 1980s as MREs came into use.  I believe there was some improvement in variety in the late 1950s, but the cans were the same, and many of the meals were the same.  C rats, when heated were mostly okay. 
Gene

[Loco Bill Canelos]

Hi Guy's
Best dining car experience for me was on the Rio Grande Zephyr!!   The food was outstanding!   I will never forget the breakfast, huge slabs of French toasat.  Three kinds of meat, made to order omlettes., fruit, home made cinnamon rolls, and great coffee too!!  I hated to give up my dome car seat to go eat, but the view of the mountains from the diner was also very impressive.  I took my son on the ride and it was one of the best father and son things we ever did.  I'd go again in a minute if it were only possible.  My wife and I used to get on the train in Denver and go to Glennwood Springs for the hot baths.   We stayed at the hotel near the station,  after a day or two we would reluctantly catch the train back to Denver.  The lights of Denver were like a carpet as we watched from the dome car while the light faded away to darkness and the train decended from the mountains.  Best scenery I have ever experienced from a train, and the best food an service in the world!!!!  Wow this has brought back some of the happiest memories I have experienced in my 69 years on the planet!

[JerryB]

Jerry,
The last time I ate issued C rations was in the late 1980s as MREs came into use.  I believe there was some improvement in variety in the late 1950s, but the cans were the same, and many of the meals were the same.  C rats, when heated were mostly okay. 
Gene

Interesting. We were told they weren't manufactured after 1958 or so. I assume they were of an improved variety rather than left over from the late '50s. I guess as you report, there was more production, perhaps with better taste and texture.

As far as being ". . . mostly okay," I agree. They were better after being chased up and down hills carrying a BAR by a couple of really tough M-SGTs for the whole day! Makes a person hungry for anything except more running.

Happy RRing,

Jerry

[bachwolf]

Best food and service: Venice Simplon-Orient-Express. Worth every penny.
Worst food: British Rail cheese sandwiches. Now I know what concrete sleepers are really made of!
Worst service: Moscow - St. Petersburg. The waitstaff pilfered our luggage.

[SteamGene]

Jerry - an entire generation is wrong, me included.  The official name was "Meal, Combat" and we called them C Rations.  But as several sites point out, the biggest change was the name.  I did have experience with C Rations as a dependent in Japan in the early/mid 50s.

I found the dinner on the Amtrack car train to be quite good. 
Gene

[glennk28]

I had some good dining car meals on the Coast Starlight.  Looking back on career moves--I passed up a chance to be a traveling inspector  for Amtrak's dining car services--I think I decided I had too much into the CalPERS system to make the change. 

As to "C Rations"--I had them during Basic Training (Army) at Fort Polk, LA, in 1965.
gj

[thirdrail]

The best diners in the pre-Amtrak era were on the Illinois Central's Panama Limited with it's "King's Dinner" and Southern Railway's "Southerner". Southern had a plantation retreat in South Carolina where it raised its own game, so pheasant, partridge, and grouse were served with wild rice. Santa Fe's breakfasts were scrumptious, especially the scrambled eggs with chives. The prime rib on the PRR's "Broadway Limited" was plain but excellent. The Union News ham sandwiches sold by a news butchers walking though the cars of the PRR's "Clockers" were not fit to eat. You could read though the one slice of ham.