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mtuandrew wrote:Post-WWII we had snack bars and/or grill cars as well as diners on the famous overnight streamliners, but prewar during the Pullman Co era were there multiple food options as well?
mtuandrew wrote:Also - these premade meals Amtrak now serves in some overnight trains. Remind me again why they aren’t available for sale to coach passengers too? That’s the airline model (free for first, charge for coach) and it works well.
mtuandrew wrote:As for MSP Midway Station, you’re mostly right about that Mr. O’Keefe - save for The Dubliner Pub three or four blocks away. Perfect place to have a meal and a few before that 11pm westward departure. (For breakfast you would have needed a short cab or bus ride west to either Keys Restaurant or The Egg And I.)
Greg Moore wrote:ryanov wrote:It's really something how many people are available at any given moment to cheer on the loss of good jobs, union or otherwise. Don't spend that $1.50 in tax savings (that none of us will ever actually see) in one place.
Oh trust me, I'd gladly pay that $1.50 in taxes if it meant I got cafe car service back on Empire Service trains that start/end in Albany...
mtuandrew wrote:Post-WWII we had snack bars and/or grill cars as well as diners on the famous overnight streamliners, but prewar during the Pullman Co era were there multiple food options as well?
ExCon90 wrote:As late as 1961 I would often take the day train from North Philadelphia to Buffalo--I would have a bacon-and-egg breakfast in the station restaurant (North Philadelphia!), which would pack a few sandwiches to take out, since #571 had lost its parlor-buffet-coach by that time. I assume that any station restaurant at the time would do that, but I don't think there were many takeout facilities not run by Union News or Fred Harvey (and what was the one in New England?), or whoever had the food concession at that station.
Parlor cars are the day trip version of the Pullman, being an extra-fare service for the well-to-do. As with the 12-1, this car has a drawingroom, which is actually more of a dayroom (there is no fold down berth). These drawingrooms are frequently used by groups of businessmen to hold meetings while en-route.
The main area of the car has plush reclining seats (the Varnish cars often had ottomans as well) and the traditional green fern pattern carpeting used on so many steel era Pullmans. Restroom facilities reflect the clientele: the men's being far larger than the ladies. There is no beverage or snack service on the 2416s, but similar parlor-buffet, parlor-cafe and parlor-lounge-obs types are fairly common and the Porter will bring a drink to your seat.
Parlor trains are limited to areas where there is enough demand for fast, frequent short haul day service that the railroad can segregate coach and parlor passengers into different trains. This pretty much limits their use to the East Coast, to the Chicago area and to a few isolated runs around Atlanta and in Florida. The trips these trains make are relatively short, so food service is usually limited to buffet or cafe cars, and it is rare to see any head end equipment.
A buffet car is a passenger car of a train, where food and beverages can be bought at a counter and consumed.
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