SP 1940 Lunch Menu

Here’s a menu that was probably used on a Southern Pacific heavyweight train in December, 1940. The menu’s small size (5-1/2″x8-1/2″) was typical of SP’s menus other than those used on the City of San Francisco, which were sized the same as UP City train menus (typically about 6-3/4″x9-1/2″).


Click image to download a 0.9-MB PDF of this menu.

The lunch menu offers five table d’hôte entrées: fresh fish du jour, fried oysters, veal cutlet, lamb chops, and half a sautéd chicken, ranging in price from 90 cents to $1.35 ($15 to $22 today). The a la carte side also includes club steak, tenderloin steak, and sirloin steak, various cold meats, salads, and three or four sandwiches: chicken, club, and “ham, cheese or tongue” which makes me wonder if it was ham & cheese or tongue; ham & cheese or ham & tongue; or ham & cheese or tongue & cheese. The sirloin steak was the most expensive item at $1.50 ($25 today).


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