All Aboard Amtrak!

In an era where there was great competition among the railroads for riders, the dining experience served as a way of attracting passengers. At the height of onboard dining, passengers could expect to have the option of a five-course meal cooked to order by trained chefs in kitchen cars, served on white linen tablecloths with china branded with railroads’ logos. The railroad dining experience was, for many, among the most memorable parts of train travel. It was also a way for railroads to set themselves apart.

The Denver Rio Grande & Western included local items like Mountain Trout Saute on the 1962 menu shown below, along with a note that flowers found on tables in the dining room were Colorado carnations.

Ira Silverman Railroad Menu Collection

The Empire Builder’s coach-class dining car, The Ranch, featured a Western theme. Chairs were covered in white & tan fabric, which the railroad carried over to the cover of the 1962 menu shown below, mimicking a cowhide. Even the car’s name appeared in a typeface that recalls livestock branding marks.         

Ira Silverman Railroad Menu Collection

  The Illinois Central encouraged riders to “Make This Meal an Adventure!” in the 1963 menu shown here. This included cocktails, a five-course meal option that featured entrees such as Grilled Double Rib Lamb Chops, Spiced Crab Apple; and Fillet of Wall Eyed Pike, Saute Meuniere. The back cover of the menu includes the announcement “The Illinois Central is the only Chicago-based railroad to receive five Special Citations for Excellence for its dining cars … proof of our constant effort to provide the ‘best table set on wheels.’”          

Ira Silverman Railroad Menu Collection

 By the time Amtrak assumed operations, the height of the dining car era had, in many cases, passed. The Southern Pacific featured automat cars and microwaves on its flagship Sunset Limited trains.

William R. Hough Collection

Less than a year after it assumed operations, Amtrak acknowledged the challenges of the dining experience in its January 16, 1972 timetable: “How’s the food these days? Right now, to be honest, we’re concerned with making sure that you get a real good meal every time you step into our dining cars. And that even a snack in an Amtrak coach is fresh and tasty. But there’s a gourmet steak the deep inside us that’s going to come out in the future and surprise you” A 1972 menu shows that Amtrak offered a selection of sandwiches, six options in the “Daily  Parade of Entrees,” and “Beef at its Best” with a rib-eye steak, baked or whipped potatoes, Amtrak salad, bread & butter, with a choice of beverage, for $3.50.                

Ira Silverman Railroad Menu Collection

 Amtrak’s history includes a range of dining service offerings, from the multi-course meals seen in 1972 to cafeteria-style cars, pre-packaged and frozen foods that were introduced in 1977, and custom-made food prepared by Amtrak chefs trained at Culinary Institute of America beginning in 1989.

William R. Hough Collection

In 2019, Amtrak announced that it would no longer have dining cars on its routes east of Chicago and New Orleans, although dining service continues on long-distance trains. A typical long-distance menu might include made-to order omelets for breakfast, salads and sandwiches for lunch, and dinner options including Surf & Turf, BBQ Pork Wings, and Thyme Roasted Chicken Breast.