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Reply to "Trains, Trolleys, and Diners: The real story"

While I was pondering  the differences and similarities between diner architecture and railroad design, it occurred to me that one area of difference is found in the locations of the kitchens. 

First the similarities: In both diner buildings and kitchen rail cars, the kitchen equipment was in a tightly enclosed space that was designed for economy.   Both dealt with early and evolving forms of heating the cooking surface (trains: wood, coal; diners: coal? gas), and both kitchens used ice-filled refrigerators to keep the provisions cold.  It was obviously important to separate the hot from the cold sections in such small kitchens; you can see how this was attempted via floor plans.  The resulting space was so tight that both diner cooks and dining car chefs and their waitstaff developed a special type of shuffle for getting around the tight spaces.  Popular legend says that fellow works can identify one another on the street by their distinctive walk.

That said, one big difference was that the train kitchen was a separate car, or it was built at one end of the car, separated from the dining section.  Railroads were trying to create the experience of a hotel on wheels for their patrons.  When you read ad copy for modern dinner trains, they continue to stress the importance of enjoying the ever-changing view while you dine on fine food.

In diner buildings, the kitchen was traditionally located along a back bar, parallel to the counter and booths (although many later added a real kitchen at the rear or in a basement to provide greater working space).  Part of the fun of eating in a diner is watching the cook prepare the food.

And in both settings it can be a treat sitting with people who you don't know and making them your new best friends for a few moments over food.  Both dining cars and diners have similar, large windows -- something that the contemporary diner buildings have held on to while they've moved further away from the railcar/moderne engine look.

Summation: On a rail car, patrons were entertained as they watched the changing scenery out the window while eating world class food.  In a diner, patrons ate comfort food and were entertained as they watched the chef and waitstaff work, or the foot traffic outside the window.  Both models work for me!  Here is a cartoon (also posted elsewhere today) that makes it clear how important a window with a rolling view was. So much better than those ubiquitous individual drop-down movie screens on buses and airplanes now-a-days:

And now for some actual photos ... Speaking of comfort food, I don't have any converted rail or trolley car photos to share as I am back to school and so no road trips, but I do have these two.  I've written about how the recent surge in food trucks put more converted "bus trolley" restaurants on the road.  These two are smaller stationary versions that are towed behind a vehicle and then left on site --  just like the original diners.  The first photo was taken in New Hampshire for me by a friend many years ago. This "trolley" sold Italian comfort food:

This next "trolley" is Ed's Weenies located at a farm stand in "metro-west" Massachusetts.  Ed's recently won the number three slot in the Boston Globe's Cheap Eats contest.  The proud kitchen helper noted that it was great but odd because the hot dog vendor is no where near Boston.  The owner's a stellar neighbor who always gives back to the town, so I'm not surprised. 

Apparently, when Ed had his kitchen custom built he specifically had it designed to look like a trolley.  He's not been around to ask why he wanted this look, but his helper pointed out the popular red and yellow colors -- or, as she said: "Catsup and mustard! " Doh!  It never occurred to me. Check out the earlier photos/links I posted on the many McD's conversions and my photos of the latest incarnation of the Trolley Stop in Lowell, MA ... Yup, you guessed it, they're catsup and mustard:

Tomlinson Run Railroad

 

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