Evening star., 1894-01-27
BY cbas.S Hathaway. - So.


and $40 month, respectively, and four
walters, at $50 per month each. In addition
to the wages those persons employed on
diner get their board while making
run. The cost of raw material USED on the
five-day run between Louisville and New
York and return aggregates $500, to which
must be added s125 for the wages and
boarding of employees, so that approx
mately. an average of over loo meals mus.
be served each day on every dining car IN
order to make the venture prohtaoie al
fair.
There is no absolutely exact method of es-
timating as to the number OF meals thaI
will be served during run or, say, eisny
hours. because of the uncertainty OF the
habits and dispositions of travellers The
sleeper may be crowded every berth occu-
pied and yet when the steward passes
through his train with his last call for
breakfast"it may. and frequently does
happen, that no more than ten or twelve
breakfasts will be ordered. On the other
hand, the sleepers may be, practically,
vacant, and yet when dinner is called,
twenty-five or thirty ladies and gentlemen
from the day coaches may hurry in to the
dining car as hungry as bears. Thus 1t Is:
that the only safe way is for the steward
to be absolutely certain that he has
enough of everything when he starts out
on run.
A Man of Parts.
The conductor or steward of a dining
car is the man who bears all the responsi-
bility of his car. He makes out all of his
bills of fare. which he submits to the
chief of the commissary department for
approval. Receiving this sanction, the
bills are then turned over to the chief cook,
who superintends the taking on of supplies
in accordance Herewith. After this has
been done the steward takes a COM
plete inventory of all supplies-not only of
provisions, meats fruits. wines. &c, but of
oil hot inv
goes to the chief Of the department. At
the end of the run the conductor makes
report of supplies used and his inventory
and report must agree. To aid in assur-
ing harmony between receipts and dis
bursements, checking systems between
walters, cooks and conductors are used.
To be a successful conductor of a dining
car a man must be exceptionally skillful
as judge of people. He must be able to
pass rapidly through a train and by not
ing faces and the attire of passengers and
by recording the number of lunch boxes
and baskets visible, form approximate
ly close estimate to the number of meals
likely to be called for. Ali circumstances
must be taken into considera ton. For in
stance, 1t is safe to assume when a train
starts at Z in the evening that major
ity of the passengers have had their din
rer before boarding the train 1t Is also
safe to assume that a majority of those
passengers ticlleted for a distant city will
want three meals the next day This is
but small part of the conductors duty.
He is expected to seat his guests and use
exceptionally wise judgment in the per-
formance Of that duty. He must pick out
the luxurious wine-loving epicure and sep
arate him from the one who Is a total alb
stainer; he must keep the voracious ten
minute eater away from the slow and de-
liberate feeder and he must so dispose Of
the chap who eats with knife and fingers
that he will be apart from the dainty and
elegant manipulation Of forks. food, knives
and spoons. In brief the high-class dining
car conductor must be judge. diplomat and
appearance must be invariably agreeable
Valuable Inches.
For years the fanciful precincts of the
ships galley have served as the type. par
excellence, of all that is compact and han
dy; but with the coming of the new con-
Venence whatever of credit attaches to
such qualifica tions must be divided with
the kitchen of the dining-car. Anything
more concise and at the same time more
complete in its utility cannot well be de-
sired. The range. ample in it's oven and
top surface for the boiling, broiling, bak-
Ing. stewing and frying Of food for hun
dreds of people, seems to shrink itself mod
estly up against the wall. The carving board,
the bakers bin and table and the SOUL
lions tank are ell on hand when needed
and out of sight when not wanted There
are shelves and hooks. cupboards. great
and small; bins for -four, fruits and gro-
ceries. refrigerators for meats and milk
and, In fact, there are ample accommoda-
tons for all things needed. Everything
seems to he right in front Of you at the
right time, and, with the three cooks who
preside, the area Of space occupied Is about
five feet wide by twelve feet in length In
thinking over the dimensions. bear in mind
that the car is about nine feet high and
al lie tbo
ceiling, is utilized for the purposes of the
place; that from the floor up the china
closet is all shelves and drawers, and that
/, each shelf and drawer is designed especial-
~ for the reception of a certain lot of ar
ticles. which. in order to be received, must
be placed In position in just such a certain
way. In brief. 1t is throughout, the Latin
"Multum in parvo" exemplified by the use
or the rule, the saw and the hammer. Then
there is the buffet equally condensed and
convenient, where are kept the supplies of
mineral waters and other LIQUID luxuries
while all through this store-house end of
the car are most remarkable utilizations of
space for the reception of water, ice and
fuel. 1t is here that the chief cook and his
assistants may prepare a dinner so elabo-
rate and attractive that 1t seems a matter
of magic; and as the walters, dignified and
wholesome in their snow-white jackets and
aprons, serve the guests so skilfuly and
satisfactorily, one wonders If, after ALL It
Is really worth while to try to live else
where than on a train which is scheduled
TO DO certain number Of miles an hour
continuously.
Loading for a Run.
Lets go out and see the boys preparing
for the run to New York." said r. H.
Myrick, superintendent of the dining car
service Of the Chesapeake and Ohio road
with headquarters at Covington, Ky. And
as followed him into the trainyard 1 could
not help wondering as to what I was to gee
Entering the car 1 found the interior a
bewitching picture of cleanliness and ele-
gance. Every table was tastefully laid for
the dinner, which would be served as soon
as leaving Cincinnati, the spotless linen
the shining silver and the hanging baskets
Of foliage plants combining to outrival
the elegance of the richly finished car
And as 1 feasted my eyes there came from
the kitchen a wealth Of savory odors suffi-
cient to whet the appetite of any well-fed
person. Where do you carry your extra
supplies?" 1 asked, and Mr.. Myrick an
swered, I'm the cellar. Come on and I'll show
YOU" Following him to the outside of the
car I saw two men at work loading the
cellar" This compartment consists Of
large box, which is long enough to reach
the entire width of the car, and 1t is secure
ly built under the floor of the vehicle form
ing a sort of second or false bottom there
to. Into this box the men had pack ed sew
eral pieces Of ice and were just then stor-
lamb. dressed poultry, chops, steaks, cans
n in of huf Tc ir