Metra had food service cars where the vestibule was where the counter was. You could get simple snacks like a bag of chips, and candy. the CNW went as far as o have tables instaled into these cars. Today, though, Metra has No Such thing. If we can put a man on the moon, why can't Metra put a Dunkin Donuts in a passenger car, like the movie Source Code portrays?
This is an often discussed topic when it comes to today's commuter services. Basic answer is that when railroads had dining car departments it was easy as there was man power and the dining car stores department. Nowadays, it would be very costly...insurance alone would be out of sight (hot coffee spills, over indulgiing in alcochol, etc.)...sales tax determinations and distribution...storage facility...equipping a car or portion of a car (today's cars are cycled and rotated and may not be on the same train(s) everyday)....onemore headache for the operating department....so buy on the platform or across the street and bring it with you is the way it is done today.
But, one thing I would suggest to operators is that since most all except MU trains have to have a cab car, why not put space in a cab car for such use. One double seat at end of car should not upset passenger accommodations that much.
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NJDOT included galleys in some of its coaches when it re-equipped EL's suburban service in the early 1970's. By the time I rode the trains in 1982, the galleys were no longer in service. Coffee and rolls on inbound runs in morning rush and hard stuff and snacks on outbound runs in evening rush sounded like a good idea but it probably never covered costs.
Control cabs occupy only the upper level on gallery bi-level coaches, so other uses are impractical.
There was still a commisary and a few guys on the roster for car stewards/waiters/bartenders at the time, too. I think they had to pay them whether they worked or not. MNRR still has bar car service on the New Haven lines paid for by CONNDOT, don't think there's any on the old NYC lines any more; none on NJT anywhere nor LIRR.
Back in the dark days when the Long Island was owned by the Pennsylvania, saw men with Pennsylvania Railroad white uniforms walking some trains selling ice cream, coffee, etc.
Other factors that work against food service on suburban trains are the size of the passenger load and short ride. Rush-hour loadings are often 500+ passengers per train and many runs are less than 40 miles. Unless a commuter sits in or within one car of the food service car, it's unlikely that he can realistically buy something, return to his seat, and enjoy it before he reaches his station stop.
One thing which no one has mentioned (except in a passing reference to coffee spills) is the MESS generated by any kind of snack service. Empty wrappers, half-eaten food ditched under seats, those little plastic squeezies full of mustard, ketchup...
Most transit runs are usually turned by the engineer walking from the old control cab to the one at the opposite end of the train. There's no army of car cleaners to sweep up and scoop out the debris.
Rapid transit is seldom a pleasant ride. Having to contend with other peoples snack leftovers could be an excuse for the fastidious to abandon the rails.
Chuck
I would imagine that the trains carrying food cars would be in the yard during the day being cleaned out. They wouldn't offer food service during the day.
Mr. Railman I would imagine that the trains carrying food cars would be in the yard during the day being cleaned out. They wouldn't offer food service during the day.
Yeah, some things have changed...car cleaning is not what it used to be, you take out what you bring in is what is suggested. As for cars standing around all day, sometimes, sometimes not. Some equipmjent is always in motion, cycling through daily, every two days, every three days....every week, every weekend services, sometimes sitting for up to 24 hours, sometimes turning back or over to another assignment in less than an hour of arrival So, sometimes there is time to clean, too often not. Food cars, or more to the point, trains with bar car or food services in commuter service, see passengers carry their drinks and possibly snacks, to their seats and leave the mess. I don't even see train crews plowing through equipment at the end of runs picking up all the newspapers like they used to, keeping them for the next rider/readers or collecting them for recycling (used to be there was a paper drive by some group in every town every weekend to earn $$$.).
In London, there are car cleaners at the end of every run. All they pick up are newspapers as the British do not eat on the tube trains. When I board at Morden, the south end of the Northern tube line, the train lays over, even during rush hour until the cleaners have been through, then the train is boarded. I once brought on board a cup of take-out coffee and got the hairy eyeball from a few riders. It's just not done over there.
A bar / snack car that would only make 1 roound trip is a waste of scarce car space. When equipment was surplus they were a potential draw for more patrons and a small revenue source. Now would be tetter for news butchers and trolly refreshment ??? wouldn't work on oveercrowded trqins.
There is no space built into the current commuter fleet cars for a staging area for such service. But the real negative news for this type of service is found off premise. Fast food drive thru's, street side kiosks, station platform vendors, and the like, allows the commuter to grab what he wants or needs on the way to the train in the morning....terminal stations are full of all needed services for the home trek. So, the need for the service is not as great and the cost is avoided.
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