Ira Silverman is a railfan who actually rode the trains whose menus he collected. He later donated 238 of those menus to the Northwestern University library. I’m posting a few here to fill out the Atlantic Coast Line series of … Continue reading
While the Florida Special, whose menus were presented here yesterday and the day before, was a winter-only train, by 1966 Atlantic Coast Line’s premiere year-found train was the Champion. Initially a coach-only streamliner, by 1941 ACL added heavyweight Pullmans. Click … Continue reading
Like yesterday’s breakfast menu, this lunch menu was also used in 1966 on the Florida Special. This was a winter-only train and, although fully streamlined in 1949, depended on cars from other railroads whose patronage declined in the winter to … Continue reading
This menu was used on the Florida Special, a winter-only, all-Pullman train that connected New York City with Miami. With a name dating back to the nineteenth century, the train was Dieselized in 1940, streamlined in 1949, and remained popular … Continue reading
As indicated on the letterhead, the Havana Special was a joint Pennsylvania/RF&P/Atlantic Coast Line/Florida East Coast train that went from New York to Key West, where it met a steamship that took a six-hour journey to Havana. The Labor Day … Continue reading
In lieu of canceling train service (which generally required either federal or state approval), various ways that railroads attempted to save money in the face of declining ridership included: 1. Simplifying exterior paint schemes; 2. Simplifying dining car menus; 3. … Continue reading
Although Seaboard Airline was the first to offer a New York-Florida streamliner, Atlantic Coast Line (ACL) was the larger and healthier of the two competitors–Seaboard had gone bankrupt in 1907 and again in 1930. ACL was initially skeptical about streamliners, … Continue reading
