Dining car memorabilia

That falls under the category of railroadiana, and people collect that with a vengeance....there is a railroadiana show at least once a year at the state fairgrounds

in Columbus, Ohio, and another one in the Chicago area...maybe Kane County?  I have

seen china and silverware walking through those...at the Columbus show they show up

with everything including track speeders for sale....

Ah now track speeders! There's a hobby to dream about! If only I were a bit stronger and a motor head, I'd love to have one of those! I'll probably settle for a model speeder someday. 

You are right, I should have searched for railroadiania.  I just ordered two books on RR china to educate myself. I found two that weren't that expensive (compared to some!) and kept trying to tell myself that the books and new purchases took up less room than if I spent the same money on yet another rolling stock model for the carpet layout. :-)

I'm a big foodie so I've also been downloading PDFs of dining car menus ranging from Pullman and UP to Amtrak. It's really interesting to see what could be cooked and served from a dining car kitchen.  A huge scanned PRR book I found was entirely on how to present the incredible variety of meals and what plates and sub plates to put them on.  Made my head spin.

Tomlinson Run Railroad

I picked up PRR tip tray last week at a local antique shop for five dollars.It is PRR tuscan with PRR in gold in the center. The owner of the shop did not know what is was.I also have about five railroad spoons including a D & H which is my favote RR.

Nice find, railroad man!  And local, too. So what "tipped" you off that it was a tip tray and that the shop owner didn't recognize? Does it actually have "tips" printed on it somewhere?  I haven't seen any described in the online sources I've checked so far.  Is the gold "PRR" in a keystone?

The D&H logo is a really handsome one, at least as it appears on the china that I've seen photos of. Spoons, forks, and etc. are another interesting and fun collecting area. They don't take up much space and the prices seem reasonable for a piece of RR/culinary history.

Of course, the dining railroadiania subfield always begs the question of how did these pieces leave the dining car/kitchen premises. Especially those big water pitchers and teapots in mint condition :-).

Tomlinson Run Railroad

How about the Dining Car Story.

     I use this book about two times a month to prepare authentic railroad meals, like roast duck, from the Northern Pacific Railroad. The Northern Pacific Railroad had hunters and fisherman on their mainline that would bring them fresh fish and game.

Gary - Cheers from The Detroit and Mackinac Railway

  Click on photo to enlarge.

Trainroomgary,

This is mighty fine.  How do I get an invitation to your house for some of that duck?  Looking at your book reminds me of a scan available on the web of a 1938 PRR promo piece on PRR dining cars.  The floor plan is amazing in how small the space is for the staff to work in. (And as a two-time college-era short order cook, I've seen some dinky spaces.)  

Who would know it to look at a lovely MTH or Lionel dining car model that a large section of the kitchen is taken up by a passageway that has nothing to do with cooking!  This thread is starting to remind me of another eatery whose kitchen has limited space for walking and also collectible china -- the real American diner (manufactured by specific companies NOT made out of old RR or trolley cars). According to diner lore, a diner chef can spot another one by the way they walk, the result of moving sideways in the cramped space next to the counter.  Seeing the floor plan in the booklet in the links below made me wonder if the same was true of a RR chef's walk.

http://www.multimodalways.org/...20Talks%201-1938.pdf

Or the original source and other info:

http://prr.railfan.net/passenger/

Thanks for sharing!

Tomlinson Run Railroad

Trainroomgary,

I also have that book (and use it) along with one called "From the Dining Car" by James D. Porterfield. He also had a book called "Dining by Rail" which I think I loaned out and never got back. Those things happen, I guess.

Ahhh, railroadiana...there was once a great railroadiana shop in Dobbs Ferry, NY, run by a great guy, Fred Arone. If you are not familiar with the area, it is in Westchester County, just north of the Bronx. The store was called the Depot Attic and it was run out of a basement (I believe it was the house Fred grew up in). Fred's dad was the former station agent of the New York Central's Putnam Division station at nearby Ardsley, NY. Fred was a former New York Central Police Investigator.

Fred's shop was a catch-all for anything railroad-related. Yes, there was the ocassional piece of china, also, everything from timetables to railroad signals (bought a nice dwarf signal there), pot-bellied stoves and lanterns. Oh the lanterns! A typical Saturday (I spent many a Saturday there in the 1990's) would have Fred slumped over a sink, scrubbing a lantern while a cigarette dangled from his mouth. Needed a timetable from the New York Ontario & Western from 1952? Fred would have it. I once bought a complete set of New York Central Electric Zone track diagrams from Fred and then passed on track diagrams for the West Shore...I regret it to this day!  Fred was quite a nice man who cared about the hobby continuing and always mentioned I was one of his younger customers (then, I was in my 30's). If anyone ever got him started on gun rights he could go on easily for an hour (like my father)! He passed away several years ago and the store closed down at that point or soon after. It was a great place to visit and I was glad to have known Fred.

Tom

This was the first china that Amtrak used after their start in 1971. Dad brought these pieces home when he worked for Amtrak and did an audit of their dining car supplies. They're really not that collectible and I use 'em daily. The flower vase holds a homemade flower by my daughter and I use the sugar pack holder as a napkin holder.

If you ever go to Union,Il.The train museum has a whole car  full on china from different railroads on display.They just opened this exhibit this summer. Next time I go will shoot some pics.

Tom,

I'm sure thatbmany of us are envious of those times you spent in Fred's railroadiania shop. It sounds incredible.  Are the track diagrams in the book that you bought schematIcs?  I'd been inspired reading about them in a book on model railroad operations and recently sketched out a diagram of the tracks and sidings in my town as a exercise. Old geologic maps helped. That must be an amazing book to have for layout ideas.  Thanks for sharing the wonderful memories with us. It's a nice tribute.

Tomlinson Run Railroad

Hey Jeff,

Thanks for posting the pix of your Amtrak china.  I like it. The "flower" immediately caught me eye. :-). I've seen a few odd pieces on the web but not all together like this.  Your set reminds me of an angular version of vintage Fiesta ware -- minus the lead glaze that is.  It's great that you have a family story to go with it thanks to your dad and can enjoy using them. Much nicer than just buying from a dealer or the bay.

Tomlinson Run Railroad

Hi CG train,

Thanks for the offer. I won't be doing much traveling for a while but I checked out the museum's web site. Wow. What breadth in their collection.  It looks amazing. And it said they have lots of Pullman papers as well as the former Pullman building.  That would explain a car filled with RR china. It would fit right in with their broader collection. Hopefully my two books on collecting RR china will arrive soon to tide me over. 

TRRR