U.S., History: Once Upon a Brief Time, Amtrak had a 24-Hour Dining Car

By J. Bruce Richardson, Corridor Rail Development Corporation; December 11, 2020

Long ago but not far away, just before the turn of the century, enlightened managers of Amtrak’s Sunset Limited made arrangements to conduct a series of tests on the coast to coast runs of the only truly transcontinental passenger train. Originating in Los Angeles, the Sunset traveled to Orlando. Trains departing Los Angeles at 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday arrived in San Antonio, Texas at 5:30 a.m. on Thursday and 7:35 p.m. that same day in New Orleans. The trip would be completed at about 5 p.m. on Friday in Orlando. Instead of the dining car only open certain hours of the day, they had a revolutionary idea.

The test was how well a 24-hour dining car operation would fare. And, it fared well, both from the passenger standpoint and the crew, too over several round-trip tests. The tests were part of what at that time was called the Sunset Limited Coast to Coast Adventure.

Two Sunset managers and two outside contractors put together and managed the tests. One of the managers was a highly-gifted, highly professional and imaginative former Amtrak chef and later onboard services chief who completely understood his audience and the onboard storage and working conditions. The other manager was a well-organized, highly respected and talented service manager who knew how to bridge the gap between management and unions and onboard services crews to achieve the best results.

The menus were extensive; the fun part of crafting the menus was taking a limited number of ingredients – there is only so much storage room in a Superliner kitchen and pantry – and seeing how many different and appealing dishes could be created.

The breakfast menu, Sunrise Dining, had the usual offerings, such as French Toast, pancakes, fruit, cereals, and one extra item, dubbed the Railroad President breakfast, consisting of steak and eggs with a side of hash brown potatoes and hot biscuits for $13.00.

After the traditional breakfast hours, the menu morphed into a brunch menu, named Daytime Dining, with a combination of breakfast and luncheon items. More about that menu after the luncheon menu, below.

At the traditional midday hour, a formal menu called Luncheon Fare was available which included the Great American Rails Cheeseburger Platter for $6.00, a grilled quarter pound of beef with cheese and all of the trimmings. Two variations were also available, the El Paso Cheeseburger Platter for $6.75, flavored with Ortega Chili, and the Tallahassee Cheeseburger Platter for $7.25 which included grilled onions and bacon.

For lighter fare, a New Orleans Fresh Salad was available for $6.00. The Mobile Vegetarian Pasta for $6.00 was a cheese tortellini served with vegetables and warm garlic bread. Next was the Lite Soup & Sandwich for $5.50; a grilled cheese sandwich with the daily soup selection.

The Chef’s Special Sandwich was $6.00, subject to the morning’s imagination of the chef. Other sandwiches for the same price included the Gulfport Sandwich Plate for the same price, which was Black Forest Ham, jack cheese and mayonnaise on Squaw bread. The San Antonio Reuben Plate rounded out the sandwich selections, consisting of corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut and Thousand Island dressing on rye bread.

Luncheon sides for $2.00 each included a bowl of the daily soup choice with dinner rolls or crackers, the Houston Chili Bowl with grated cheddar cheese, onions and crackers and the Palm Springs Side Garden Salad, also with dinner rolls and crackers.

A Child’s Complete Lunch for $4.00 was a choice of a peanut butter and jelly or grilled cheese sandwich with chips and fruit juice or milk.

Called Just Desserts, the end of meal offerings were a fruit and cheese plate for $2.75, Chef’s Specialty Dessert for $3.25, Slice of Layer Cake for $3.00, Pie of the Day for $2.75, Pie a la Mode for $4.75, and the simple pleasure of Vanilla Ice Cream for $2.00 served with the obligatory chocolate sauce or fruit compote.

Beverage offerings included soft drinks, teas and coffee, bottled spring water, 2% low fat milk, and juices. Notably on the menu was premium bottled beer, domestic beer, a split of champagne, and mixed drinks. A note urged patrons to inquire about wine selections to enjoy with the luncheon.

At every meal, beginning with breakfast, servers offered passengers an alcohol choice, including Mimosas and Bloody Marys. Highly profitable alcohol sales skyrocketed.

Because the diner was open 24 hours a day, it never “topped out” with every table taken and passengers waiting to eat while others rushed through their meal to make room for the next set of passengers. Passengers regulated themselves by eating when it was convenient for them to eat or simply when they were hungry, instead of being forced into set times which may not have met the needs of passengers.

Every coach seat and every sleeping car accommodation received a printed advertisement with the 24 hour dining car theme of “When you’re hungry, you’re hungry” inviting passengers to come and enjoy the dining car. Upon the late evening departure from Los Angeles, it wasn’t unusual for passengers to nearly fill the diner, enjoying good food and drink to begin their journeys.

The brunch menu, Daytime Dining, included most of the Luncheon Fare menu, but also included The Transcontinental for $6.00, which was a three-egg omelette with mushrooms, onions, bell peppers, cheddar and jack cheese, served with hash browns and hot biscuits.

The Crossover for $4.50 was French Toast served with butter and syrup or fruit compote on the side.

Also added were sides of smoked bacon, ham, and sausage patties for $2.00 each.

The Luncheon Fare menu was served throughout the afternoon and at 5 p.m. the Casual Dining at Sunset menu was introduced. Amongst the Sunset management there had been a discussion of introducing an “early bird specials” menu which would be appealing to coach passengers instead of the more expensive dinner menu. Casual Dining at Sunset was designed to test this concept during the 24-hour dining car test runs.

Five entrees were offered, all but one from menus earlier in the day. Each entree was served with a fresh garden salad and dinner rolls. The entrees were Cheeseburger & Chili for $8.50 which was a cheeseburger along with the Houston Chili Bowl, the Transcontinental Omelette for $9.00, a Sandwich & Salad Plate for $8.50, Vegetarian Lasagna for $9.00, and a Children’s Evening Meal which changed daily. The new entree was Barbecued Spare Ribs for $13.50, served with the daily vegetable and rice or baked potato.

The Final Selections was the same dessert list and the beverages the same offerings as earlier in the day. A wine list was included, with four offerings including Champagne, and beer and mixed drinks rounded out the offerings.

Dining at Sunset was the main evening menu. Five entrees and a children’s evening meal; each entree was served with a garden salad, the daily vegetable, and a choice of rice, mashed or baked potatoes and dinner rolls.

The Beef entree was $14.00; Eastbound it was a New York Sirloin, Westbound was Prime Rib. The menu offered a wine selection of Columbia Crest Merlot.

The Pork entree was the Texas-style Barbecued Spare Ribs for $13.50, with a beverage suggestion of Premium bottled beer.

The Fish entree for $12.00 was varied each day with either Farm Raised Catfish or Mountain Trout. The wine suggestion was Beringer White Zinfandel.

The Fowl entree for $9.00 was a daily chef’s selection of chicken preparation with a wine suggestion of Geyser Peak Chardonnay.

The Vegetarian entree for $9.00 was Lasagna, served with warm garlic bread. The wine suggestion was Rodney Strong Cabernet Sauvignon.

The Children’s Evening Meal was a different daily selection.

Desserts, beverages, wines and beer and mixed drinks were the same as the Casual Dining at Sunset menu.

At the bottom of each menu was a note, “Gratuities – Tipping is not required on any Amtrak train. However, if you wish to reward good service, tipping guidelines in the dining and lounge cars follow those of a full-service restaurant.” Amtrak had taken a previous attitude for dining car employees that encouraging tipping would bring a whole new level of accounting to the dining car to keeping track of tips for proper wage reporting. Actually putting a notice in writing at the time was considered a new approach.

The final menu of the day was the overnight menu, Dining Before Sunrise, which featured entrees from the Sunrise Dining and Daytime Dining menus, plus some specific items catering to night owls. The overnight menu kicked in after 9 p.m. and was used until 6 a.m. the next morning when the Sunrise Dining menu was offered. The food offerings were designed to be light and easy to prepare. There was a single overnight chef in the kitchen handling everything, and a single Lead Service Attendant taking care of ordering, serving, and money. The dining car costs were included in sleeping car fares while coach passengers paid per meal.

All passengers were encouraged to revisit the dining car late evenings (the lounge car maintained its same hours of 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.) for a bedtime snack, be it a piece of pie or a bowl of ice cream.

The most popular item on the overnight menu was the classic Bacon, Fried Egg and Cheese Sandwich on toast. Pancakes and French Toast were also popular along with cheeseburgers and dessert items. Simple, single items could be ordered, as well, such as a bowl of grits, toast, hot biscuits, a garden salad, or hash brown potatoes. Alcohol was served all night; of the several test runs, problems did not arise of passengers spending the night in the diner solely drinking.

The Dining Before Sunrise service was very popular with passengers detraining or entraining at major overnight stations such as San Antonio or Houston. Passengers had the option of eating a meal prior to detraining in the early morning hours, or, after boarding and before settling in for the night, having a meal to end the day.

One extension of the dining car service to the sleeping cars was the creation of room service menus, with service available from 6:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. provided by sleeping car attendants. On the front of the menu were Anytime Desires of fruit and cheese plates, a chef’s specialty dessert, slice of layer cake, pie of the day, pie a la mode or vanilla ice cream. The full line of beverages was also available. Room service food and soft beverages were served at no cost to the passengers as part of their sleeping car fares.

On the reverse side of the Anytime Desires menu was the high-revenue In-Room Spirits menu, available during the same hours. This included wines, beers, and mixed drinks, all at the same prices as sold in the dining car, and not included in the sleeping car fare. Wines were available by the glass or bottle.

For a more indepth look at the Sunset Limited’s 24-hour dining car tests, see the June 2018 Railway Age article Getting There is Half the Fun, available at https://www.railwayage.com/passenger/intercity/getting-there-is-half-the-fun/

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