Evening journal., 1907-03-20
DINING ROOMS
ON THE RAIL
Remarkable Development in
Is Years Of the Dining
Car Service

TITS like running a hotel with fifty
dining rooms, flying all over the coun-
try
This Is the way veteran in the din
ing car service Of big railroad sought
to describe his occupation. Even then
he failed to give an adequate idea OF
the intricacies involved In keeping a
collection Of rolling restaurants up TO
the top notch OF efficiency. Seventy
thousand passengers are fed every
month on the dining cars OF the Penn
sylvania Railroad alone. The monthly
receipts amount 10 $4,000. and the
amount OF money spent on supplies to
about $4,000. In the dining car crews
there are 4so men.
About the management Of a dining
car there are complexities never
dreamed Of by the man whose tables
stand over the same real estate all the
time. Everything Is under ones thumb
In one case-in the other everything
is either leaving or coming toward
one at forty, fifty or sixty miles an
hour. Property worth thousands OF
dollars has to be trusted TO dozens Of
conductors and hundreds Of walters.
The habit OF eating en- route is grow
I ing every month. Twenty-Five years
ago the Pennsylvania Railroad did not
7 have even a single dining car service
Of its own. In 1882 four dining cars
were put on the New York and Chicago
Limited. To-day the company is oper-
ating forty-three dining cars on sixty
three separate trains
The crew OF a dining car comprises
a conductor four cooks and FIVE walt
ers. The conductor is the commander
in-chief whenever the car Is on the
road. For all the supplies, both Of
food and drink, he is held TO strict ac-
countability. II he loses track Of so
much as a bunch Of celery or half a
pound Of cheese Il is known twenty
minutes after his car returns TO the
/ Waldo avenue yard In Jersey City.
/ A list OF supplies issued one day re-
Gently by the storekeeper OF one sys-
tenn 10 conductors included 200 varie-
ties OF foods, drinks, cigars and cigar
cites and miscellaneous supplies. Here
are a few OF the Items on the list:
420 pounds Of chicken: 400 ribs OF
beef; $50 lemons; 90 plum puddlngs;
472 loaves Of bread; S92 pounds OF blue
fish; 90 pounds OF tenderloin steak;
234 pounds OF butter; 300 pounds Of
sugar; $50 pounds Of rock salt: 15 bot
ties OF tobasco sauce. 16S cakes OF
soap; "a boxes Of matches: so quarts
OF wines and whiskles; IS pints OF ale:
"a packages Of cigarettes; 150 cigars:
~ quarts or cranberries: 1900 eggs.
60 pounds OF founders: $50 rolls: so
bottles OF cooking brandy; 15O quarts
OF cream; 96 pounds Of coffee: 30 bot
ties OF cooking sherry; 2Ss English.
mullins; 22i pints Of beeri 27O quarts
OF milk 3 packs Of cards.
The success of the service depends
upon a thorough system. II there is a
I flaw In the arrangements It will make
trouble. The Dining Car Superntend-
ent has a corps OF accountants who
keep minute records. Vouchers for
every cent that is spent are turned IN
to the superintendent onice. In a
card index are kept the names OF all
employees past and present. and by re-
ferring 10 a book the seeker for infor-
nation can learn whether an applicant
for a Job has ever been IN the Penn
sylvania dining car service before. and.
II so, how he behaved himself and why
he left The list Of supplies issued on
any day OF tho year. their cost. and 10
whom they were issued-all Of this
and more. can be found in ten minutes