RESTAURANT CARS

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 101, 2 May 1925, Page 9

RESTAURANT CARS

DINNERS GOOD AND BAD

MEALS AT SIXTY MILES AN HOUR,

"It- is officially announced by the National Union oE Railwaynien that the whole of the (lining oar staff employed by the. contractors on. the south-western section of the Southern Railway. Will como out on strike at midnight on 15th March, unless negotiations arc opened in the interval, on. the question of wages and conditions." Just a little paragraph in the newspapers, indicating another of those countless .labour differences that have become commoner than ever since the war, writes the London correspondent of tho Sydney "Sun." -Strikes, like dis-eaee, have come to be regarded as inevitable in national life.. .' . -

This small item stirs nobody. Tho only feature remarked by those who lead it is that the strike is threatende'd on tho Southern Railway, which is the constant target of severe criticism for its atrocious service... ,The company short-sightedly failed to replace oW track and tumbledown rolling stock until to-day hardly a train runs to time.-

_ Tom Webster, in hfs inimitable sporting cartoons, made a hit recently at. the expense of the Southern. A controversy had arisen'on Hie disclosure that boxing is illegal;' and it was pointed out that even those who" assisted to bring people to a fig.it were offenders. Webster's comment: "Of course, this does not apply to the Southern Railway, because most-box-ing matches finish the same daj\"

A strike in the railway dining cars can conceivably, be a nuisance if. trains have a habit of becoming overdue. So far, none of the Southern's expresses has been posted missing at Lloyd's. But the threatened strike leaves most people cold. They are inclined to-'the opinion that railway meals, never were -worth eating. The contractors are a very big and efficient firm,, and it cannot be said of their buffet sandwiches l that thoy are taken out and dusted every morning; but it seems to me that on the British railway systems oil the restaurant meals aro prett much in the same class—terrible A really vicious critic would 'say that they are like, that to suit the tastes of the people. Whew! The ; food is always • stodgy or eloppy. One paj'S an exorbitant price for a poor meal. This, I judge, is a definite policy, an unsound policy, no doubt, but the contractors probably find that th&y can make adequate profit on a steady flow of dissatisfied customers, and the possibility of congesting tho restaurant cars is effectively avoided. On special invitation trips, the'railway companies have proved that they can entertain their guests wonderfully.

There i« this to be said for the meals in the .English-dining cars. They are not usually rushed, and there is less dangeithan, -say, in a French wagon-restaurant, of having a couple of plates of soup volleyed into your shirt-front.

America, with its vast continental network of railways, and its keen competition,- must be given the palm'for perfection of train meals. Tho only- other train; meals to which I can. look back without a pang were those taken; on th© P.L.M., that fine service connecting Paris, Lyons, and th Tho track is nearly tho equal: of, the Great Western, which is reputed to be one of the most perfectly laid railways in the world. It may -be that one is precluded to enjoy meals x on the P.L.M., because one is either leaving the sunny Riviera, and coming, to joyous Paris, or departing from the beautiful capital for Monte Carlo and bluer..skies. Even the most ascetic will;* however, admit that the en-, joyment of a meal may bo influenced somewhat by.the/quality of the food and drink-.consumed. ;.;., ,' V;',' ;• ■ ■ ; -.--

Take. a"sample lunch-on £hei?'.L'.M.' Ifo'r' 12 francs, or with wine, coffee, -and liqueur and cigar, and tip, say, at most 2+ francs, about 3s 9d at', to-day's rate of exchange., .The menu ..would be eome-. thing- like this:—Hors''d'oeuyrei, Consomme. Pijrisienne, Merlan frit, Tournedo3 Niceoise, Haricots verts, Coupe Jacques, Fromages Desssri. It makes me hungry to write it down simple though ;the fare be. The . dishes are well cooked and the service rapid. 1 here is no stint, and second helpings are tho rule Tather than the exception. Helped down with a bottle of the good wine- of the country, whoso every' drop seems to have .caught a sun-ray—then the passenger is in a mood to watch the undulating landscape of the Midi during a long afternoon. Eating-in America, without the accompaniment of a fitting wine always seems to me- to resemble a guzzling competition. ' , - ■ 6

I doubt whether the European waiters receive anything: like the. scale of wages paid in. England, -but .tips are plentiful. Apparently the attendants on our own trains have a --ear cause of • complaint— and'tha,, meals do.,not engender satisfaction and. generosity'in their patrons The conductors get 15s a week: attendants 20s, clwfs 60s, kitchen boys 171 6d, and pan-' try boys 15s. These -seem extremolv in-' adequate, rates . for' arduous work but it is pointed out in mitigation that meals oro provided. The men say "that they are sometimes required to work fourteen hours a day.

Without doubt this would appear'to be au unattractive, occupation. Perhaps there -would not be widespread regret, if it were allowed to disappear. The men would tmcl something more remunerative, and lan r " 'feiVOr d >:sPePtics ia Eng-.