FIRST RAILWAY DINING-CAR

Dominion, Volume 23, Issue 81, 30 December 1929, Page 8

FIRST RAILWAY DINING-CAR

FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY Dominion Special Service. London, November 7. Fifty years ago this week the first restaurant car appeared on a British railway. It was assembled in this country by the Pullman Company, of Chicago, and given the name of “Prince of Wales.” In conjunction with the then Great Northern Railway the restaurant car .was attached to the 10 o’clock morning train from King’s Cross to Leeds, and returned on the five-thirty in the evening from Leeds. First-class passengers only were allowed to have meals in the car, on payment of a supplement of half-a-crown. There were, seats for nineteen persons, and midday dinners and suppers were cooked on a coke fire. The evening meals were served in the light of oil lamps. This novel addition to the amenities of Victorian travel was so popular that presently alcoholic drinks were available. The Great Northern was chosen for the experiment because this company had no arrangements with restaurant proprietors for the stopping of trains to allow passengers to refresh themselves. Before the dining car was made available to the public, there was a trial run between London and Peterborough, which aroused much interest and speculation; the guests were thrilled as they ate luncheon when the train was speeding along at 60 miles an hour. Originally the catering was given to a contractor, and this arrangement lasted for some time, but when the contractor died and the companies found out the amount of his fortune, they took over the business themselves. There have been great developments since that time. Dining cars became general on British railways in 1883, and third-class passengers were admitted to their comforts ten years later. Nowadays, even a long distance excursion train is incomplete without its restaurant cars.