I am slowly recovering from surgery. I am able to do things this week I could not do last week, such as take a shower without help. I am trying to ween myself off of my walker and revert to using a cane full time. If my stamina improves sufficiently, I may be able to spend at least some time railroading on the A&S.
This somewhat late edition of the Saturday Report is provided to complete my little essay on railroad diners. Please remember, the monetary amounts stated are in 1941 dollars.
Meals in Route - ACL - Part II
The menu on the typical ACL diner includes both table d’hote or ala carte. On the typical $1.25 dinner there is a fresh shrimp cocktail as a starter, followed by a choice of two kinds of soup and South Florida mangos. The entre provides for the choice of panned fresh fish in parsley butter, imperial crab with cole slaw, half a fried chicken prepared Southern style or roast leg of lamb with mint jelly. A broiled sirloin steak would require an upcharge to $1.75.
The diner’s steward is trained carefully in acquiring and storing a variety of meats and vegetables in a limited space. For example, the salad for the day may be composed of hearts of lettuce with thousand island dressing followed by a choice of Georgia peach pie and ice cream. Potato rolls, baked by the chef are served with the salad. In addition, there are a variety of cold cuts and sandwiches. The salad for the day is, of course, only one of the choices on the menu and the menu changes from day-to day. The logistics of planning and acquiring the food and related items for each trip can be daunting.
Unlike the normal restaurant owner, the dining car steward cannot place an emergency order with a local grocery store when he finds that his customers are making a run on some particular dish on the menu. Only experience teaches him just how much of a thing he must order in advance so he will not have to tell a person he cannot have something on the menu.
The steward places his orders through the dining car commissary. Every morning at 5:00 a.m. the storekeeper takes all of the requisitions received during the night and assembles the orders for transfer to the trains.
The amount of perishables consumed each month is staggering. In one month, the ACL purchased 3700 lbs. of bacon, 22,000 lbs of beef, 11,200 lbs of poultry, 5400 dozen eggs, 15,000 lbs. of fish, 1300 lbs. of lamb legs, and 1000 lbs. of shrimp. The total cost of foodstuffs for that month came to about $50,000. Ice and fuel each month costs about $3,000. Beer, wine, and liquors cost $3,000.
Customers expect to have clean tablecloths, napkins, and to see clean waiter’s coats and aprons. The bill amounts to between $5,000 and $6,000 per month. Replacement items such as silverware ($600), kitchen utensils ($2200), crockery and glassware ($$1600), and silverware ($650) only begin the replacement cost list. The bill for linen repairs comes to about $3,000 per month even though much of the repair work is done by ACL employees at the commissary.
Service of alcoholic beverages to customers requires the railroad to pay the license fees in each state in which the railroad operates. These fees amount to thousands of dollars.
The job of the dining car steward is no bed of roses. Stewards have special situations brought to their attention, such as the woman with three children who spent her last dollar on rail fare. Sometimes the steward reaches into his own pocket and buys lunch in such situations.
The steward must be a walking storehouse of information. Passengers expect him to know the arrival times for every stop on the map, the names of good hotels and restaurants, and even how to prepare baby formula and deliver the bottles to the mother on schedule. Sometimes passengers bring items onto the train that need to be stored during the trip. A passenger from Miami once brought several large grouper (fish) with him that had been caught offshore from Miami Beach. The steward made room for the fish in the refrigerated locker and returned it to the passenger once the train reached New York.
The dining car crew works well into the night after the last passenger has been served, making up requisitions for the next day and cleaning up the kitchen and dining area in anticipation of breakfast in the morning. Each member of the crew has duties. The cooks in the kitchen polishing the pots and getting everything in order; the assistant pantryman will be organizing his area and noting items that need to be restocked; and the waiters will be polishing silver, making up the laundry bag, and thoroughly cleaning the car. The crew finally rolls into their bunks in the dormitory car around 10:00 p.m., knowing they will be up ag 5:00 a.m. and ready for duty.
It is no wonder that the Atlantic and Southern owns no passenger equipment except for the single heavyweight solarium car used to transport officials and dignitaries to University of Florida football games each fall. The cost of dining service would be prohibitive for a local railroad like the A&S, which is located mostly in a Florida swamp and operates on a shoestring budget.
For those who are interested in this subject, here are two links to videos you may want to watch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2c83p0I_eohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMi7z4hJxGE
