The origin of booths in dining cars

There has been some talk on other sites about dining cars and booths - the general consensus is that booths are bad, and table and chair seating is preferable.

Why is it that modern trains have booth seating instead of tables and chairs? Was there an accident where people in a diner were injured by flying tables and chairs? I used to have a pair of old UP dining car chairs, and I admit that I wouldn't want to have been anywhere around them in an accident. They were HEAVY!

A solution would be to have tables bolted to the floor and swivel chairs that are also bolted, but that would take away from seating capacity - and as was pointed out, would end the practice of families with small children squeezing in a few extra in a booth - thus "speading the love" over a few more tables

So was it capacity, safety, or just the whim of a designer?

They have booths to try to pack in as many people at every table as they can. It is also cheaper since they don't have to purchase individual seats for every passenger that is dining. It would be nice if they had tables and chairs, but economically impossible at this time.

As noted, a family can "squeeze" a small child between them if necessary with a booth.

Fine by me, just so long as it is at another table.

But then, I'm biased, booths are my preferred restaurant seating.

I believe there is also a safety element as well. You'll note that no modern passenger-carrying equipment (except private cars) has loose furniture in it. Everything is afixed to the floor to minimize injury during an accident.

cbaker wrote:I believe there is also a safety element as well. You'll note that no modern passenger-carrying equipment (except private cars) has loose furniture in it. Everything is afixed to the floor to minimize injury during an accident.

I had noticed that as well - even the chairs are gone from the deluxe bedrooms I believe (but I don't know that for sure) so I assumed there was a story behind it.

Actually, I forgot about those monstrosities! GAD! They're uncomfortable for any length of time....

Also, in the diner, a number of people could actually get hurt by the table ledge in a derailment (abdominal trauma, you know)!

But I believe the story I heard from the REAL old-timers was that the old-fashioned tables and chairs in the diners and lounges were replaced with the fixed-place seating for safety's sake.

Of the many things I enjoyed on my travels in Canadian trains, the Canadian and Ocean in particuarly, the dining atmosphere was far supreme than the Amtrak dining experience. Part of it, in my opinion, can be attributed to the table and chair seating in the dining car, versus the booth seating. I honestly did not notice a big difference in terms of seating capacity - between table and chair seating on Canadian trains and the extra seating as reported with the booth seating on Amtrak. There's probably a difference, but would love to have exact comparison. I would take Via's Canadian onboard service and train consist (amenities) any day over an Amtrak train consist. I suppose I am biased toward Via's refurbished Heritage equipment, particuarly the domes.

From a service standpoint, booths are a pain: They are hard to clean under, and if you are a klutz (like me) even harder to serve - particularly coffee and wine (water at least doesn't leave a stain when you spill it on people

I do think that loose furniture - especially loose furniture that is designed to be heavy to minimize vibration - is an unacceptable safety hazard. It would be bad enough to deal with the service items, hot liquids, and fellow passengers and crew flying at you in an accident without adding loose chairs and tables to the mix.

The tables are fixed to the floor and wall on Via's Canadian trains. Chairs, though, are not. Have always found the safety/environmental differences between Canadian trains and US trains interesing at best.

For those who include "being seen" as part of the restaurant experience, I guess chairs and a conspicuously located table is the way they like it.

For those who use the restaurant as a setting for private, often confidential, discussions, booths, especially those with high seatbacks is "the way to go".

My favorite local restaurant for business discussions was one with just such an arrangement.

But from a server's perspective, and obviously Mr. Drumcorps has "been there" whereas I have not. "Clear from the right' would be difficult when four persons are in a booth.

Booths also prevent patrons from sliding back chairs and disturbing their neigbors, as well as provide handholds for patrons naviagating to their assigned table/booth when the train is rocking.

VIAs Budd Diners also have booth seating at 2 tables at each end of the room behind etched glass partitions. The new Renaissance Diners on the Ocean are all booth seating: 2/table on one side of the aisle & 4/table on the other.

Looking at some plans of historic diners...

Some of the heavyweight buffet/lounge cars had 1 to 4 booths for food service.

Booth or banquettes seem to have come to diners with the streamline trains. In most cases, we are not talking a straight 4 man booth; instead we are talking about a corner seating situation, thusly...
X X X
- - - - - |
table- - | X
- - - - - |

where the Xs represent the seats.

It'd be interesting to look into the design discussions between Amtrak and Pullman-STandard for the Superliners, and see why they went with booths vice tables.

John

John_Perkowski wrote:
It'd be interesting to look into the design discussions between Amtrak and Pullman-STandard for the Superliners, and see why they went with booths vice tables.

John

Failing some horrendous accident involving loose furniture, I'd guess the decision was based on the style of dining popular at the time the Superliners were designed. The 70's was very much the first wave of "casual dining" in a "nice" environment, and booths tend to be more casual than tables.

The booths on the Cascades (and I think on the Lake Shore Limted as well, but I'm hazy on that) have seats that fold up to make it easier for people to get in and out, but pretty much preclude seating any more than two to a side.

Service concerns aside, I'd wager that booth seating is probably the best way to go, considering the condition of some of the track out there. You can get thrown around pretty good on the Southwest Chief, for instance, and at least in a booth you are in a firmly bolted bench with fellow passengers to keep you from falling out of your seat.