It’s official, Amtrak is discontinuing
dining service. They are easing into the change, but cooked-to-order food
will be replaced by pre-packaged food. The articles I’ve read have been short
on logistics. Will patrons order when they ticket? Will a car or two be devoted
to something that looks like the old Horn & Hardart?
Dining cars will be “modernized.” No more tables. The
roomette and sleeping car patrons may have booths, at least for a while, but
the concept is to move to a café setting. Amtrak says the changes are being
made to appeal to the millennials who desire privacy over companionship.
Really? Then why are GenZ and Millennials self-ranked
as the loneliest generation? Half the fun of a dining car is sitting with
strangers who, by the end of the trip, have become high-level acquaintances. One
of the joys of eating on a train, even in this connected age, is speaking with other
humans, and if you are a writer, listening in on multiple conversations
swirling around.
Amtrak, what are you thinking? Can you imagine Rachett
confiding in Poirot over a microwaved bit of cod and potatoes? Each party
seated in his own club chair more engrossed in Alto’s Adventure than conversation.
Closed room mysteries require interaction. Where better to interact than over
dinner? With strangers. Christie enjoyed train travel. She frequently drew her
inspiration from true-to-life events. Murder
on the Orient Express was a mash-up of the Lindberg kidnapping and actual
events that stopped and stranded the Orient Express. For the story to work in a
modern day Amtrak train, Wi-Fi would need to fail.
Ah, there’s an inspiration – a long journey over the rails
without e-mail or electronic distraction. Yes, murder would be afoot!
Has train travel been a part of your life? Will you miss the
dining car?
I've traveled up and down the East Coast by train, but not recently. And I brought my own food.
ReplyDeleteI've wondered about being locked in a train with a pack of strangers for days at a time. But then it occurred to me that we're traveling with the same pack when we take a group trip and meal times are a pleasant interlude.
Seems like bringing your own food is a good option!
ReplyDeleteSo true about group trips, and eating with strangers in a group setting can give the relationships a more intense character. Strangers sometimes share things that would never be said if they thought they would meet each other in daily life.
I want to do a train trip! But it's less romantic now without the dining cars. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to have happy memories from eating in a dining car. I remember sitting across from a lady who wore white gloves, in the 1980s! It was an experience!
ReplyDelete@Carla, some of the routes still have them. They are being fazed out gradually. Quick, book that trip! Ride through an historic area - most engineers double as tour guides. Way more interesting than, "we have reached or cruising altitude."
ReplyDeleteOh, Paula, yes! I can recall seeing that too, and somehow, in the setting, it was appropriate.
ReplyDeleteDid you speak with her? What was her story?
My experience with AMTRAK has not been good. Things like being stuck in a stalled train (Chicago-New York) in a snowstorm while the food runs out. Meanwhile, the crew's shift is up, and they manage to leave the train, but a new crew can't be found, so the train sits. I always bring a big bag of trail mix.
ReplyDeleteLast experience was supposed to be a DC-Atlantic City trip, with a change in Philadelphia. The train from DC pulled into Philadelphia late, and the train to Atlantic City was just pulling out. The schedules were already messed up. They couldn't have held the Atlantic City train for ten minutes to allow for the transfer? A number of people were caught up in the problem.
Since we live on the east coast, where car travel can be difficult and parking ridiculous, we do use trains a fair amount, but it's a nerve-racking experience.
Wow, that's awful, Kathleen! I would think twice about another trip after all of that. The crew left? I hope they didn't have jobs to come back to.
ReplyDeleteMy wife and I took a trans-Canadian train trip that was great. I highly recommend it.
ReplyDeleteKait, the crew is required to stop work after a specific amount of time. It's similar to when a plane is delayed because the crew is not permitted to work long enough to reach the next destination. One can't really blame the crew--it's following the regulations.
ReplyDelete@Warren - that sounds wonderful!
ReplyDelete@KM - I thought they stayed on the train, much like boat crew. I have no problem with them working their shift and quitting for the day - but I had no idea that they actually got off the train!
ReplyDelete