Passenger Trains > Christmas Day on #40 - Broadway Ltd.

The earlier thread about #7 on Christmas, brings to mind a memory from 1975. Before Amtrak major trains often did not operate on Christmas Day, and if they did operate the loads were very light.

Christmas Day - 1975 I am steward on #40 - The Broadway Ltd. to New York. I was young, but my waiters were old seasoned veterans. We had a full crew of at least five waiters and three cooks. The crew was expecting a lighter load, but as the train loaded (with the coaches up front) hundreds of people paraded past our twin unit diner. The waiters are moaning loudly: "What is a matter with these people. It is Christmas Day! Don't they know they should be home with their families!" Being home for Christmas was something these waiters really prized, but rarely happened.

After we departed at 4 p.m. the conductor came through the diner about 4:30 p.m. The waiters asked about the load. The conductor replied: "We are full. 470 people. There is an ass in every seat."

Five New York coaches, two Washington, DC coaches and two slumbercoaches, plus four sleepers meant a busy diner that day. Yes turkey dinner with all the fixings was $4.75.

did you run out of anything on that trip, expecting a light load?

Never heard Amtrak didn't run on Christmas. Not out west.

WAF Wrote:
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> Never heard Amtrak didn't run on Christmas. Not
> out west.


He said "before Amtrak"...

I am dumbfounded, Mr. Koch. I had dinner on your train out of Fort Wayne. Don't recall much about it, but am sure I had the Christmas turkey dinner and it was an excellent meal. Wish I could remember you, as well, but that was 37 years ago. One of my artifacts from that trip is your bright red dinner menu (without the turkey dinner listed, of course). I probably asked you for the menu, as well as for a nice yellow breakfast menu. My accomodation was in the Slumbercoach (see my moniker), so I wasn't one of "the hoard" that you speak of.

What a joy it is to find this posting.



Edited 6 time(s). Last edit at 11/18/12 17:52 by Slumbercoach.

those are the days I learned about eating apple pie with cheese...yum!