Pennsy Dining Cars

Have you tried the PRR Technical & Historical Society?

This page will provide the PRR Dining Car diagrams

http://prr.railfan.net/diagram...din&sz=sm&fr=

Thanks CTA for the link.  Very interesting how to cram "lots of stuff" efficiently into an 80' car and make it look efficient, spacious and comfortable!

The dormitory car looks very utilitarian with 18 bunks plus listening to all the pots and pans rattling around the locker(s).  Don't suppose the workers had a Pullman porter to turn down their sheets and fluff the pillows, do you?

Well, the "D" was very very likely for Diner.   

The 70, 78 etc would be the length between vestibules.   For example, a P70 coach was 70 feet long BETWEEN the vestibules.   They did not count the length of the vestibule in the design/specified length of the car.  I think this was pretty much industry wide, not a specific pennsy practice.

The a, r, dr, etc would be some sort of modification to the original design which would not have a suffix.    Your book might give you clues to that.

I am going to guess that the D70 classes were heavy weights, and the D78 classes were more modern streamlined cars.

Hopefully this gives you a start, and it depletes my knowledge of the diners.

The PRR D70 class was an older, small class. The majority of heavyweight diners were D78. A D78r diner had air conditioning. Some D78 were modernized with streamlining, but most streamlined diners were D85.

The latest issue of PRRT&HS's publication "The Keystone" Vol.48, No.1 has devoted 26 pages to pictures of the PRR Dining Car Menus of Mr. Bob Stewart and Mr. Karl Spence.

Have  the Pennsylvania Railroad dining car recipe book that was reprinted a number of years back. Don't know if it is still in print.