homersimpson101
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Has there ever been a time when Amtrak would have more than one dining car in its long distance superliner trains?
More than one Dining Car in Long Distance Train?
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Before the Superliners there were trains like the Coast Starlight that had a full dining car and a cafe car that served light meals. In the later Superliner years, the Starlight had a full dining car and served light meals in the Pacific Parlour Car. In both cases it relieved the load on the dining car in that long train.
Example: on June 11, 1973, Train 14 departed SLM a bit over half an hour late at 12:23 p.m. with six leg-rest coaches (44 to 48 seats each) and three sleepers. It had a diner and a lounge between the sleepers and the coaches and had a cafe car in the middle of the coach section. The typical Heritage fleet cafe car had tables and a lunch counter.
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Not Amtrak, but when I rode the Canadian in 1984 out of Montreal they served dinner in the skyline dome car lower level, then in Toronto the full diner was added. I don't recall if they continued to serve meals out of the skyline car after Toronto as we just used the diner.
As mentioned above, the Pacific Parlour Car, used for several years on the Coast Starlight, served full meals to sleeping car passengers. The menus differed between it and the regular diner, offering more choices. The Auto Train used to have multiple diners when meals were served to coach passengers.
The only time I've experienced a second diner on any other Amtrak train was in the days of the combined California Zephyr/Pioneer/Desert Wind. Normally the train would have only one diner between Chicago and Utah, then the individual food service cars would be added when it was separated at either Salt Lake City or Ogden (depending on the era). However on at least one occasion the Desert Wind diner was active from Chicago for the entire trip - once again offering an alternate menu. Whether this was an experiment or a car being ferried after maintenance I have no idea, but the consist was enormous during peak season and one diner would have been inadequate. (For those not familiar with DW diners they were ex-Santa Fe hi-levels with a sort-of cafeteria ambiance. Food was presented in bulk steam tables behind glass, although served up by the dining car staff and brought to the table. Meals were usually different than the main diner with some sort of meat/egg scramble and warm muffins in the morning and sauced specialties like ribs and BBQ beef at other times. The quality was usually excellent.)
The only time I've experienced a second diner on any other Amtrak train was in the days of the combined California Zephyr/Pioneer/Desert Wind. Normally the train would have only one diner between Chicago and Utah, then the individual food service cars would be added when it was separated at either Salt Lake City or Ogden (depending on the era). However on at least one occasion the Desert Wind diner was active from Chicago for the entire trip - once again offering an alternate menu. Whether this was an experiment or a car being ferried after maintenance I have no idea, but the consist was enormous during peak season and one diner would have been inadequate. (For those not familiar with DW diners they were ex-Santa Fe hi-levels with a sort-of cafeteria ambiance. Food was presented in bulk steam tables behind glass, although served up by the dining car staff and brought to the table. Meals were usually different than the main diner with some sort of meat/egg scramble and warm muffins in the morning and sauced specialties like ribs and BBQ beef at other times. The quality was usually excellent.)
in it's early days Amtrak had multiple food service cars on the Super Chief. At that point (early 70's) it was still an essentially Santa Fe train with low level sleepers (from the Super Chief) and hi level coaches from the El Capitain:
Hi Level Lounge car (Kachina coffee shop)
Dining Car
Hi-Level dining car (Penthouse)
And the Florida trains that split in Jacksonville (Silver Star and Floridian) for the east and west coast each had a diner-lounge for each section. The Silver Star often had as many as 18 cars when I saw it
Hi Level Lounge car (Kachina coffee shop)
Dining Car
Hi-Level dining car (Penthouse)
And the Florida trains that split in Jacksonville (Silver Star and Floridian) for the east and west coast each had a diner-lounge for each section. The Silver Star often had as many as 18 cars when I saw it
jis
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Back in the days when the California Zephyr, Pioneer and Desert Wind ran as a combined train between Chicago and Salt Lake City, especially during summer, when it was an enormous train, it sometimes ran with two Diners IIRC.
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Technically the Auto Train still does as far as the physical cars. It has a regular diner for sleeper passengers, and a diner lounge Cross country cafe car with the full kitchen for coach passengers. However the latter now only functions essentially as a cafe and serves a continental breakfast in the morning. However when they got rid of the coach dinner in the diner they reduced coach fares quite a bit and they've since improved things in the sleeper diner. The train also has lounge car unique to the Auto train for sleeper passengers. It's staffed by an attendant that sells alcoholic beverages and a reduced cafe car menu. The side facing the diner also serves as overflow seating for the diner seatings.
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More common than not to have 2 diners on the CZ especially in high season during the mid to late 80s. That train was huge from Chi to SLC. Both diners kept busy.
Maglev
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For a while (mid 2000's ?), Amtrak had two dining cars on the Empire Builder.
TC_NYC
Service Attendant
That really would be nice to have a Diner on the SPK-PDX segment through the Columbia Gorge, but I think they'll always keep it running only to Seattle since they don't have any other dining cars to service in PDX (wheras SEA also services the Coast Starlight).
I don’t recall this being a thing.
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I do remember the chicken boxes they picked up mid trip, wine tasting and staffed upper level of the Sightseer lounge on the EB over the years, not necessarily the diner but it may have. Back to the CZ in addition to the 2 diners they had the Superliner lounge and another coach snack bar toward the back of the train in what would now be lower level seating area or baggage area of a coach/baggage car. The train was huge.
In the peak periods of the mid ‘80’s, the combined Chicago to Salt Lake City CZ, Pioneer, Desert Wind did have two full diners, as well as two LSA’s in the Sightseer Lounge, one in the upper level bar.
The Chicago to Oakland diner, and the lounge was Chicago crewed, and the Chicago to Los Angeles diner was Los Angeles crewed. PA announcements referred to them as “the Chicago diner”, or “the L A diner”.
IIRC, they used either regular Superliner diners, or heritage Hi-Level diners, with their distinctive 6 wheeled trucks for the L A section.
In the early years of Amtrak, the seasonal Florida Special, carried two diners all the way from New York to Miami. One served coach passengers, the other sleeper passengers.
The Chicago to Oakland diner, and the lounge was Chicago crewed, and the Chicago to Los Angeles diner was Los Angeles crewed. PA announcements referred to them as “the Chicago diner”, or “the L A diner”.
IIRC, they used either regular Superliner diners, or heritage Hi-Level diners, with their distinctive 6 wheeled trucks for the L A section.
In the early years of Amtrak, the seasonal Florida Special, carried two diners all the way from New York to Miami. One served coach passengers, the other sleeper passengers.
jis
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Yes. I remember that. Interesting aside .... that was used as a model by Indian Railways to create twin AC Restaurant Kitchen Car sets for use on pre-Rajdhani Air Conditioned Expresses. They were really nice. I had the pleasure of using both the PRR version under Amtrak and the IR version on Eastern Railway's 81 Up/82 Dn Howrah AC Express in India.
jis
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Yep. Same on the IR units, and the two cars were semi-permanently coupled together with wider than normal gangway.
The first time we rode the Coast Starlight from LA to Seattle in 1997, there were two SIGHTSEER LOUNGE Cars, with one LOUNGE car reserved exclusively for sleeping car passengers. When we rode it again in 2000, there was only one SSL car.
Was the Sleeper Lounge a Pacific Parlor Car or was a SSL substituted for it?
Still one of Amtraks Best ideas ( where have you gone Brian Rosenwald?)and really missed by those that got to experience it!
I remember this in the late 90's. One diner served lighter fare (salads, etc.)
I was headed east, and the Portland train didn't have a diner at the start, so the boxed dinner coming out of Portland has always been a thing.
After all these years, I don't remember. It was the first time we'd ridden on the Coast Starlight. I do remember that there was a wine tasting event that was offered to sleeping car passengers. I also remember that, as a sleeping car passenger, I received a Coast Starlight money clip. It was one of those little extra touches that harkened back to the days when rail travel was still conducted with something approximating style.
