I did find this info on this 24 hour diner experiment. If this actually did work on the Sunset Limited, I would think it would be very successful on the Lake Shore Limited. Might be worth a try at least:
Meal times under this plan are Breakfast from 6 to 11 a.m., Daytime dining 11 to 5 p.m., Casual dining 5 to 6 p.m., Dining at “Sunset” 6 to 9:30, and Dining Before Sunrise 9:30 p.m. to 6 a.m. (The most popular item overnight in the experiment was a fresh bacon-fried egg-cheese sandwich on toast ‘with a hint of mayo’!) Sleeping car service would be 24 hours a day, with one attendant always on duty monitoring all cars. Work hours for the crew are staggered, giving employees down time at night on a staggered basis.
Already the objections can be heard, that this plan must increase costs. And it does add the requirement for two additional employees per trip to work the overnight hours, but the enhanced revenue pays for itself and more: In 1999 dollars, the projected revenue increase on the tri-weekly trains over the previous year was over $2 million, Labor expenses were nearly static, cost of food and supplies increased slightly, but the loss per meal or item was reduced from $9 to $.66. That’s 66 cents!
Meal times under this plan are Breakfast from 6 to 11 a.m., Daytime dining 11 to 5 p.m., Casual dining 5 to 6 p.m., Dining at “Sunset” 6 to 9:30, and Dining Before Sunrise 9:30 p.m. to 6 a.m. (The most popular item overnight in the experiment was a fresh bacon-fried egg-cheese sandwich on toast ‘with a hint of mayo’!) Sleeping car service would be 24 hours a day, with one attendant always on duty monitoring all cars. Work hours for the crew are staggered, giving employees down time at night on a staggered basis.
Already the objections can be heard, that this plan must increase costs. And it does add the requirement for two additional employees per trip to work the overnight hours, but the enhanced revenue pays for itself and more: In 1999 dollars, the projected revenue increase on the tri-weekly trains over the previous year was over $2 million, Labor expenses were nearly static, cost of food and supplies increased slightly, but the loss per meal or item was reduced from $9 to $.66. That’s 66 cents!
