The last question about the CZ parlor buffet cars piqued my curiosity. I've ridden many times in sleepers and relatively few times in a parlor car but I never rode in either one that had a buffet. What was the seating arrangement in a typical buffet section? What kind of meals were served and did these cars have a chef and a galley where the meals were prepared? I imagine the menu was limited. Why was there even a buffet on trains that also had dining cars?
Mark
KCSfan The last question about the CZ parlor buffet cars piqued my curiosity. I've ridden many times in sleepers and relatively few times in a parlor car but I never rode in either one that had a buffet. What was the seating arrangement in a typical buffet section? What kind of meals were served and did these cars have a chef and a galley where the meals were prepared? I imagine the menu was limited. Why was there even a buffet on trains that also had dining cars? Mark
A Broiler-Buffet car certainly had a chef, who was able to prepare a great variety of foods, including sandwiches, breakfasts, lunches, and dinners (directions are given for cooking steaks and other meats), salads, combination plates, etc.
Some trains that carried such cars did not have diners (when I rode the Federal from Baltimore to Washington, I ate breakfast in the buffet car, sitting at a table, since there was no diner).
Why a Pullman passenger would prefer eating in such a car when there was also a diner available, I do not know; perhaps such passengers preferred the Pullman meal to a railroad meal.
Johnny
In 1931-1932, Pullman rebuilt 22 16-section cars into 14-section cars. 4 of the sections in each car were lettered instead of numbered; what was different about these that they were lettered?
Whoops! this belongs in
A lot of buffet cars had a pair of 4-seat tables, but many just used clip-on tables near what were otherwise ordinary lounge seats. On trains like the Montrealer/Washingtonian, the late departure and morning arrival meant that the buffet was used mainly as a bar in the evening, with light breakfast served in the morning. Some carriers like the Chicago Great Western found it must less expensive to contract for buffet sleepers on their overnight runs that were supplied by Pullman than to maintain their own commisaries.
On some trains, such as the Piedmont Limited on the Southern, the buffet sleeper served as the lounge car for the sleeping car passengers, and there was a railroad diner. In that case the buffet sleeper just served drinks and snacks, but was probably equipped to provide meal service if required. There was only one additional sleeper, and so a full 1st-class lounge was not considered necessary and there was no obs. I am not sure of the exact time of this consist, which varied considerably over the years.
Deggesty Why a Pullman passenger would prefer eating in such a car when there was also a diner available, I do not know; perhaps such passengers preferred the Pullman meal to a railroad meal.
For most the same reasons that non-railroad patrons would choose a local 'coffee shop' rather than a 'full service' restaurant. In the day, the Diner was percieved to be a 'formal' eating place and the buffet was more informal; prices in the Diner would probably be higher than in the buffet.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
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