When I was a young lad I remember travelling from Leeds to Newcastle on a Pullman train and having a meal. Luxury indeed..
The Dining Car - Glorious Past, and Promising Future? [S3: E10]
My Grandfather was Superintendent of the B&O Dining Car Department from 1937 until his retirement in 1957. Not only did he lead the Dining Car Department, he did the cooking in his own home and it was every bit as âprofessionalâ as anything in the best restaurants.
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My dad said that when he traveled east in the 30s and 40s, he thought the B&O dining cars were better than those on PRR or NYC. Your grandfather must have known his stuff!!
A proud heritage. The B&O had some fine folks in their passenger department!
B&O 4-24-66 At Your Service by Edmund, on Flickr
Cheers, Ed
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Balt, Iâve enjoyed your postings about your grandfather and the B&O, but especially the 1948 letter which gives a real âtasteâ of what a dining car meal was like. Great details.
NorthBrit: I had a 1st class pass on BritRail for a month in 1973 and saw a good bit of England & Scotland that way. My chief memory is the dining car experienceâwonderful in every respect. EPNS flatware, starched table cloth, and waiters serving each dish from a platter as they walked down the aisle. Delicious food; I especially enjoyed Plaice, which is rarely if ever found on US menus. Humorous memory: Going to a cafe car, ordering a Coke and being handed a warm can of the same. When I asked for âsome ice,â for my glass, the obviously annoyed attendant turned around and then handed me one cube!
Lord! How I miss a good dining car!
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One of my favorite things to do when going from New York to Philadelphia in the early Seventies was to get one of their âAm and Cheeseâ sandwiches (surprisingly overstuffed, always on fresh bread, with plenty of mustard) and a can of Coke which came with a cup full of pebbled ice. In those days you could still find cars with a âparlorâ section (it had a number of upholstered chairs parked in an open space) â pull the chair up to a window and enjoy!
Sometimes âsimple and goodâ counts as much as fine-dining experience.
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It is only recently that cans have been placed in the fridge. I still prefer a warm can.
Woke: Youâll get no argument from me regarding parlor carsâI loved 'em! Between 1971-1973 I often rode in Amtrak parlor cars on the East Coast. The swivel-reclining chairs were luxuriousâand then the attendant would bring great, if simple, food right to the seat.
NorthBrit: Warm coke? (shudders)
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I was lucky to ride a parlor car on the ICâs Panama Limited one early morning in the 60s from Champaign to Chicago. Very nice. And speeding at times over 90mph.
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When I first went to Tortola I was apprised of the British predilection for âwarm beerâ. Now in the British Isles this meant âcellar temperatureâ, which is reasonable for bringing out some of the taste of a good ale or stout⌠but in Tortola that indeed meant âwarmâ, and it meant Courage (which I think was named because you needed it to get that stuff down). It took a little of my fatherâs being the ugly American to arrange for a few lagers on ice during the time we were there each yearâŚ
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