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The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 6, Issue 8 (April 1, 1932.)

Popularity of the Restaurant Car

Popularity of the Restaurant Car.

A particularly pleasing feature of the winter train time-tables of the Home railways page 20 is the very large number of restaurant cars that are being retained in service during the “off” season for tourist travel. Restaurant car service has grown immensely popular in Britain, and each of the four group railways operates its own catering department.

In the infancy of railways it was the custom in Britain—as it is to-day in America and other lands—to stop longdistance
A World-Famous British Passenger Train. The “Royal Scot” Express (L.M. and S. Railway) on Beattock Summit, near Carlisle.

A World-Famous British Passenger Train.
The “Royal Scot” Express (L.M. and S. Railway) on Beattock Summit, near Carlisle.

passenger trains at selected points for an interval sufficiently long to allow travellers to secure refreshments from the station restaurants. The provision of luncheon-baskets, packed in the railway restaurants and taken on to the trains by passengers, was the next step, and even to-day luncheon and tea baskets continue in great demand on the Home railways. In the case of long-distance travel, the station restaurant and the luncheon and tea basket have been replaced by the dining-car.

The old Great Northern was the first Home railway to introduce dining-cars. This was in 1879, between London and Leeds. The first dining-car accommodated nineteen persons. The kitchen had a coke stove, and oil lamps were employed for lighting. Until 1893 dining-cars in Britain were only available for the first-class passenger. In that year, however, the North Eastern, North British, and Great Northern lines put third-class diners into service in their joint through trains between King's Cross Station, London, and Scottish points. All-electric kitchens were put into this service in 1921. To-day dining-car service on the Home railways is in constant demand, and every year eight million meals are served in the Home railway diners.