Dining Car

I have a distinct memory of taking the train from Philadelphia to Florida for a visit to my grandparents, probably at Christmas.  This was in the 1950s, about the time that passenger rail service began to fall apart under the relentless competition of air travel.  No doubt I and my family ate our meals in the dining car.  That part of the trip is a bit hazy.  But I do recall how often people of my parents' generation remarked about the quality of food and service on America's railroads "back then."

When I visited the Virginia Transportation Museum a couple weeks ago, I picked up a copy of James D. Porterfield's Dining by Rail: The History and Recipes of America's Golden Age of Railroad Cuisine (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1993).  For those who remember passenger rail service in the "golden age," this will be a fun read.  And for the rest of us, it will introduce a remarkable piece of American history.

Dining by Rail is still in print.

Passenger rail made its appearance in the 1830s.  Almost immediately people realized that those in transit had to eat.  "Demon butcher boys" were the first solution; they would rush onto the steam-powered train when it stopped for water and, for a few frenzied minutes, hawk bad food to intimidated but hungry passengers.  

The boys were supplanted by a system of eating rooms in train stations.  During a 15-20 minute layover, passengers would rush to the tables, bolt a meal of rancid meat and old coffee, and then hustle back to the train before it left the station.  Conductors would announce the train's impending arrival at one of these eating room stations.  That announcement came to be known as "a half-hour to indigestion."

As trains pushed into the West, a system of dining rooms developed on the Santa Fe Railroad.  These Harvey House lunch counters became famous for excellent food served with efficiency and courtesy by Harvey Girls. 

Finally, in the 1880s, the dining car made its appearance.  Staffed by highly trained chefs and servers, these cars offered food equal to excellent brick-and-mortar restaurants, at moderate prices, served in dining rooms where guests were entertained by the passing landscape.  The first part of Porterfield's book concerns the development of the dining car from the mid-19th century forward.  He gets down into the fascinating weeds of his subject, as when he discusses railroad china. 

The galley on Santa Fe Dining Car #1474 (Cochiti).
(Photo by Robert A. Estremo, 2004, Wikimedia image)

Porterfield is not the best English stylist.  But then, few great writers do cookbooks.  The value of his work is not a graceful text, but the author's love of railroads and food.  He claims to have researched nearly 7,500 recipes from many railroads in order to put together the 325 included in his book.  These institutional recipes have been adapted to feed 6-8 persons, and certain concessions have been made to the "lighter" style of cooking now favored.  I look forward to making a few of them. 

Not sure what to serve your family or friends?  Consider this menu from the Great Northern Railway: 

Cream of Cauliflower Soup

Great Northern English Beefsteak Pie

Salad with Great Northern Special Dressing

Gingerbread Crumb Pudding with Butterscotch Sauce

Yum! •••