The back of this menu describes New Brunswick and mentions that “its streams — like the famous Restigouche, Miramachi and Matapedia — bring sportsmen from far away to fish for salmon.” Based on photos I’ve found on line, I suspect the cover photo shows the Restigouche River.

Click image to download an 1.3-MB PDF of this menu.

This is a typical CN menu with a la carte on one side and beverages on the other. Normally, a table d’hôte menu of the day would be inserted, and indeed in this case a menu is stapled inside. I didn’t want to harm the menu by removing the staple so I left the insert covering the beverage menu. The menu doesn’t say, but the items — things like beef stew, chicken pie, corned beef hash — look more like lunch than dinner. Continue reading →

This menu cover is a lot more interesting than the ones shown here a couple of days ago. This menu specifically says it was for a cafe car, not a full diner, but like the dining car menus it consists of an a la carte menu with a table d’hôte insert. CN still used the “meals on wheels” slogan on the insert but not the menu itself.

Click image to download a 1.6-MB PDF of this menu.

The entrées for the table d’hôte meals include halibut, omelet, chicken pot pie, prime rib, and cold meats. Price range from $2.60 for the halibut and omelet to $3 for the prime rib. A second insert offers a sirloin steak dinner for $4.25; multiply prices by 8 to get today’s U.S. dollars. Except the omelet, none of these entrées were on the a la carte menu, so people wanting to order something less than a full meal would have to be content with various egg dishes, fish, or a salad. Continue reading →

Here is Canadian National’s entry into the competition for the most-boring dining car menu cover of the post-war era. The menu is a la carte with an insert for “club breakfasts,” meaning table d’hôte breakfasts for 75¢, $1.25, or $1.50. The 75¢ breakfast is what would later be called a continental breakfast: juice or cereal, bread or muffins, and coffee, tea, cocoa, or milk. The more expensive ones have fish or the usual egg dishes.

Click image to download a 1.0-MB PDF of this menu.

The inside pages, including the insert, all use the phrase “Meals on Wheels” at the top. Today, meals on wheels is a program that aims to help feed seniors who want to live at home but can no longer cook their own meals. When this menu was printed Canadian National was referring to dining car meals, as if everyone didn’t know that dining cars were on wheels. Continue reading →