Texas Zephyr Lunch Menu

Here’s a Texas Zephyr lunch menu from 1966, the last year the train was in operation. The menu is only a card instead of a folder, reflecting declining patronage, and it is made of glossy paper, which sounds fancy but also makes it easier to re-use, thus saving printing costs.

Click image to download a PDF of the front of this lunch menu. (The back is blank.)

The bottom of the menu shows E-5 locomotives pulling an all-streamlined train, which is accurate for the train at the time. However, by this date the train attracted so few passengers that it operated with as few as five cars instead of the ten shown in the picture.

The menu has complete luncheons for $2.25 to $2.75 (about $16 to $20 in today’s dollars) and a la carte sandwiches for $1.10 to $1.65 (about $8 to $12 today). A soft drink is 25 cents (just under $2 today) and a pot of coffee, tea, or hot chocolate is 35 cents (about $2.50 today).

Compare this menu with the 1945 Texas Zephyr lunch menu that was previously presented here. To convert 1945 prices to 1966 dollars, multiply by 1.8.


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