Cab Dining in the old days

[SactoGuy188]

After reading in the current issue of TRAINS about how people would cook their meals on a clean shovel put inside the firebox of a coal-fired steam locomotive, I really have to ask this questions: how did engineers and other people in the locomotive cab cook their meals while on assignment in the old days?

I remember reading in a recent TRAINS issue about someone at Canadian National jury-rigging a baby-bottle warmer to boil water (though a bit slowly) using the 78-volt electrical outlet on a locomotive; I wonder what other jury-rigged contraptions were used to cook food on the locomotive cab.

After all, many of today's locomotives have such niceties as hotplates, refrigerators and microwave ovens, or the train crew can call someone to order food from a local fast-food outlet. [:)]

[Mookie]

Some of them had the good fortune to have a conductor in the caboose that was a decent cook.

But there were also many times of just cold sandwiches until you got to the other end of the line. Then the beaneries were open or would open 24/7 since the railroad paid them to be open for the crews.

Mook

[Hugh Jampton]

As a kid I had a very lucrative buisness runnin to the KFC for the crews.

[edbenton]

for me it was running to mcdonalds for the crews I got paid a buck for each crew member that used me as a runner.

[dwil89]

I read that article too...The bacon and eggs sure made me hungry...What surprised me was the practice of using the same shovel that was used to shovel coal with as the item to place the food on, after simply wiping it with cotton waste....

[SactoGuy188]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Mookie

But there were also many times of just cold sandwiches until you got to the other end of the line. Then the beaneries were open or would open 24/7 since the railroad paid them to be open for the crews.

If I remember correctly, there's a restaurant in Portola, CA very close to the UP railroad yard there that is open 24 hours--it's the only 24-hour restaurant in that little mountain town! I believe that UP pays the restaurant to stay open 24 hours a day because Portola is a crew change point for train crews coming up from Oakland, CA.

[Anonymous]

One of the guys I have talked with tells me he used to cook steak and baked potatoes in the engine compartment of the diesels he rode. [:p]

[csxengineer98]

well... this isnt so much the the old days...but haveing had some persoanl experince fireing a steam locomotive on the weekends for a tourest railroad about 8 years ago...i use to reheat food that i wanted to eat warm by putting in foil and letting it sit on the firebox itself...in no time it was warm and ready to eat...
and also..give you some insight into what we crews do today.... on almost all locomotives (execpt the new 70-80 and im guessing 90macs)... have electric restistance sidewall heaters that are GREAT for cooking as well as reheating (as long as its cold outside)..i would make myself hot fre***ea and aothers would make hot water for coffee by just setting a water bottel on the sidewall heater to heat it up... as far as food...i would bring a can of spegettie Os or raveolies or soup and heat it up on the side wall heater...i carred a spoon..fork and can opener in my grip to use for just such things.... and in the summer months when its to warm outside to turn on the sidewalls in the cab... a great place to warm things up..is on the water expantion tank or the exhost manifold in the engin room..... also... all locomotives have a 74 volt DC outlet someplace on them... i work with a guy that use to carry a cheep knock off of a george forman grill in his grip..and a cooler with some steaks and what not in it... he would cook steak dinners while we where working in the cab by useing the grill....
csx engineer

[Modelcar]

...Now, I hesitate to mention it but....Cooking on the shovel.....reminds me of reading about the crew using the coal pile in the tender to relieve themselves...{at times}, so I hope some method of using a different shovel or some other thought occurred when doing their cooking in above mentioned manner...Wow...!

[Anonymous]

I read a magazine today that detailed how some troops who were operating wartime steam train in Europe would use a few moments of shovel time while loading troops at depots so they can have a hot meal of meat and taters etc. If I recall the article the shovel was Qoute "18 Inches Square" End Qoute..
perhaps the engine crew traded the cooking for something else useful like smokes etc.

Modelcar, I dont think the tender was a problem.. they had to go and cannot stop. Im sure after a time the deposits got burned in the firebox.

[Modelcar]

Safety Valve....Yea, I hear you but still.....

[BaltACD]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Modelcar

Safety Valve....Yea, I hear you but still.....

It is the thought more than the reality, don't forget the shovel would get heated above 'sterlizing termperarure' after a very short time in the fire box.

[Anonymous]

Sorry if I put anyone off thier meal.

Maybe they had TWO shovels. One for meals and another for coal.

[csxengineer98]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Safety Valve

Sorry if I put anyone off thier meal.

Maybe they had TWO shovels. One for meals and another for coal.

i dought that... railroads are infamously CHEEP... they wouldnt buy 2 shovels just so the crews would have a "clean" one to cook on...lol
csx engineer

[Anonymous]

puts a different twist to the 'ol flaming bag of dog doo on the neighbor's doorstep.

[Anonymous]

In the '82 TRAINS issue dealing with the demise of the Rock Island, there was a story about the Peoria/Quad Cites "Rocket" in the final years. The regular engineer of the Peoria "Rocket" used to send out cards at X-Mas signed the "Manifold Chef", as he had perfected the art of cooking full meals on the E-unit's exhaust manifold.[8D]

[Modelcar]

....More than once I put c-rations of beans, etc...on the manifold /engine of a half-track {they had a White flat head engine}, while in Korea to get some hot food......I wouldn't consider myself any kind of cook but that did get some heat in the food.....

[Anonymous]

We still cook on the side walls.  Tin foil, bread pans and mess kits.  My favorite is shrimp scampi, takes just a few minutes.  I've tried some pretty tasty meals off of those heaters.  I'm thinking about publishing a cook book. 

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Mookie

But there were also many times of just cold sandwiches until you got to the other end of the line. Then the beaneries were open or would open 24/7 since the railroad paid them to be open for the crews.

If I remember correctly, there's a restaurant in Portola, CA very close to the UP railroad yard there that is open 24 hours--it's the only 24-hour restaurant in that little mountain town! I believe that UP pays the restaurant to stay open 24 hours a day because Portola is a crew change point for train crews coming up from Oakland, CA.

i think i ate there once, i cant remember the name though. what was it again

[dmcclendon]

I smell a show on the Food Network BAM.   Until a few years there was beanery in Scott City Mo. that MoPac/UP crews used to catch food on the fly.   The beanery would place each crews dinner in a basket and place it on a stand.  The Crews would slow down to grab the basket and retrieve dinner.  This used to be fun to watch especially when they had cabooses.  But all is gone now.....

[samfp1943]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Mookie

But there were also many times of just cold sandwiches until you got to the other end of the line. Then the beaneries were open or would open 24/7 since the railroad paid them to be open for the crews.

If I remember correctly, there's a restaurant in Portola, CA very close to the UP railroad yard there that is open 24 hours--it's the only 24-hour restaurant in that little mountain town! I believe that UP pays the restaurant to stay open 24 hours a day because Portola is a crew change point for train crews coming up from Oakland, CA.

At one time, in Scott City, Mo. there was a small platform with a ladder up to it, there was a local restaurant that would deliver meals called in in advance by MoPac train crews. Delivery was on the move to the engine, and caboose,( was used at that time). Seemed that they caught the head and tail end crews with a brown bag passed to the crew. Aparently prders were called in in advance and then delivered on the roll.  This site was adjacent to the NB I-55 exit for Scott City and was a pretty regular event. 

I think the MoP paid for the meals, but not sure about that.

[dmcclendon]

Where they would pick up their meals is where the Cotton Belt Caboose sits now.  Railfans would sit in the public parking lot and watch this activity.  How it was explained to me was that the MoPac crews (train #, time of departure) would place their order   The train crews would then as they approached Scott City call out the their train # on the scanner and the beanery staff would then place their order on the stand.  MoPac paid for this service (union agreement).  The beanery has been feature in several articles and videos. One video  that I have is called River Wars and it interviews the beanery staff.

[rrboomer]

The E-8's had two large upright oil filter cylinders with hand hold railings on top in the middle of the engine room. We would bring large glass containers of soup, chile, etc and use rags and/or train order string tied to the railings so they would not vibrate off the top of the filters. The glass containers seemed to heat more evenly than tin cans and would  usually not blow up.

CP has hot plates in all their units (except for most of the remaining ex SOO and MILW GP's) and they are used to cook many things.  And of course with the tea pot you can make soup, oatmeal, etc.

[ericsp]

A few years ago, an ATSF conductor, or engineer, wrote a piece in the Railroad Reading section of Trains about this subject. If I remember correctly, here is how it went. He would regularly heat a can of something in the engine compartment, on the exhaust manifold if I remember correctly. One day he was heating Spaghetti-Os and forgot about them. He was reminded when the other guy in the cab asked why it smelled like Spaghetti-Os. So he went back and found his dinner all over the engine compartment.