SP Lark Breakfast Menus

The San Francisco-Los Angeles Lark was originally an all-Pullman train providing overnight service. By 1948, when the menu below was issued, it had been completely streamlined and ran on a twelve-hour schedule — 9 pm to 9 am — between the two cities.

Click image to download a 655-KB PDF of this menu.

This menu is from the New York Public Library, which has more than 17,000 menus in its collection including more than 75 from Southern Pacific. I’m presenting here mainly to contrast it with the 1965 Lark breakfast menu below.

The 1948 menu offers nine different meals including fish, corned beef hash, griddle cakes, French toast, and a variety of egg combinations. Lamb chops are among the a la carte entrées. The most expensive meals were $2, a little less than $22 today.

Click image to download a 414-KB PDF of this menu.

In contrast, the 1965 menu has just eggs with or without bacon or ham. No fish, no lamb chops, not even hot cereal. Prices were actually a little lower after adjusting for inflation — two eggs on toast were 85¢ in 1948 (about $9 today), compared with $1.00 in 1965 (about $8 today). But the extra dollar probably paid for better China, tableware, linens, and better service in general.


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