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Caption: A recent photo I posted of the dining area in a VIA Skyline car on my journey from Winnipeg to Churchill solicited some comments about the amenities and level of service offered http://www.railpictures.ca/?attachment_id=49772
Here we see a dining car interior experienced on VIA #1 The Canadian back in December of 2021. Quite a different level of 'comfort and service' from the Churchill run. Leather covered dining chairs, linen table cloths & napkins, china coffee cups, heavy silverware, and a team of 3-4 attendants.
While the full kitchen/dining car experience offers a much superior level of food, service, and ambiance, the Skyline car environment on the Churchill trip was equally as enjoyable in its own right. I'm looking forward to experiencing them both again. :-)
(map location approximate. We had not yet arrived in Washago from Toronto when I snapped this photo)
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A very nice shot, Paul. I was on this train from Toronto to Winnipeg, and I’m quite certain we ate meals at the same table a few times!
Did they have toast for breaky??
Thanks Paul. This is the way I remember dining cars. I wish I had taken interior shots when I had the opportunity. Don
Hi Jacob. Thanks. I recall enjoying a few meals with you on that trip. If I remember correctly, we met at lunch on day one of the journey, sitting at the first table past the glass partition on the left, you are involved in museum curation & were travelling to Winnipeg to tour some facilities, and did you not get a complimentary upgrade in sleeping car accommodation as well? That was a great trip. Hope your time in Winnipeg was enjoyable.
Good morning Bruce. There was no shortage of toast, rolls, muffins, bagels, cookies, and other baked goods on #1 during that trip. And I have the 4 extra lbs. to prove it!
Hi Don. Like you, I wish I had taken more photos back in the day when working at CN and riding the Super Continental across northern Ontario countless times. I have to say that VIA has managed to retain a lot of the dining car ambiance from the 60′s & 70′s in their current operations.
Your on track dining venues have come along way from our early days on the Extra Gangs when the dining car was a boxcar red coach with a wooden table and benches the length of the car. The RF Welch cooks sure did a good job feeding the 100 or so men on the gang.
Thanks for that reminder Terry. I have a great photo of dining in an old heavyweight coach converted to an extra gang dining car. I’ll see if I can make it presentable and post it later today.
If approaching Washago Paul, then this attractive setting is for lunch, with some of the staff sitting at the very end of the car waiting for the response to “first call for lunch. Very nice picture Did you record the name of the dining car ? John
Hi John. Yes, this was the lunch setting and the photo was taken at 11:58 so I was the first in line.
The kitchen/diner on the December 12, 2021 VIA #1 The Canadian was VIA 8401 Acadian.