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IMPORTANT!
For safety considerations,
there is no access for ELDCPS members, or the general public,
to our cars at this time. As the cars are located in a working
railroad yard and shop facility, where railroad equipment
and locomotives are subject to unannounced movement at any
time, it is not safe for our members, or the general public
to have access to the cars at this time. This to ensure everyone's
safety. Any accident or personal injury in trying to access
our cars on railroad property would have severe repercussions
for ELDCPS, and could effect our ability to store, or continue
the restoration on railroad property.
It is our intention
to make the cars available first to our members and
then the general public at scheduled intervals, during
and after the restoration.
Please respect our
request, and be governed accordingly. |
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Want to see photos of Diner 741 in full Erie Lackawanna paint?
Visit our Diner 741 Restoration Album for the exclusive photos!
 Before railroads had dining cars, long-distance passengers either brought along their own food or dined at restaurants near station stops. The food at these stops was rarely of good quality or much variety, and passengers had only minutes in which to eat. In the 1870s, dining cars were developed, primarily for the use of wealthy passengers. Eventually, dining cars became a competitive necessity on all railroads, no matter how high an expense was incurred through their manufacture and operation.
A dining car required a staff of at least seven, and sometimes as many as 16 cooks, busboys, and waiters. Tables were set with fine linens, silver, and china; all made especially for the railroad and emblazoned with its logo. Menus might offer as many as 80 different dishes, featuring fresh meats, fish, poultry, baked goods, fruits, and vegetables.
The Erie Lackawanna Dining Car Preservation Society was formed to restore and recreate an original Erie Lackawanna passenger train, with a fully operational dining car as the centerpiece. Not only will our train look authentic on the outside, but the experience of riding inside our train will also be authentic to the late 1950s, early 1960s.
ELDCPS owns three passenger cars; Diner 741 was built in 1925 by the Pullman Company, and was sold to the Erie Railroad in 1929. Diner 470 was built in 1949 by Budd for the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western. Both cars continued to operate on the Erie Lackawanna following the 1960 merger of the Erie and the DL&W. Our third car, sleeper City of Lima, was built by Pullman in 1950 for the Nickel Plate Road, and operated on DL&W and later Erie Lackawanna passenger trains between 1950 and 1963.
To find our more about the history of railroad dining car operations, and the history of the Erie Lackawanna Railroad, please visit the Historical Information page.
To read more about our cars, including updated photos on their restoration, please visit the Equipment page.
To read more about our project, including our mission statement and our Board of Directors, please visit the About Us page.
ELDCPS is a membership driven society, with dues starting at $20. For more information on our annual and lifetime memberships,
as well as special donations such as naming programs and our NKP
211 Club,
please visit the Membership & Donations page.
Our Online
Store features some great Erie Lackawanna reproductions and
other items, with proceeds going towards our cars.
Thank you for visiting and supporting our project.
Latest News
City of Lima outside the Steamtown backshop in Scranton, PA on 10-21-2007. For more photos of the car in transit from Illinois Transit Assembly, please visit our City of Lima page.
More News
11/30/07 - Diner 741 Painting Complete!
Midwest Locomotive has completed painting Diner 741. After over 35 years, Diner 741 wears the grey, maroon, and yellow of the Erie Lackawanna. For exclusive photos, please visit our Members-Only Area.
11/29/07 - ELDCPS Launches Diner 741 Adopt-A-Window Campaign
To raise the funds necessary to replace all of the windows on Diner 741, we have initiated an Adopt-A-Window program.
11/12/07 - City of Lima Makes Scranton Debut with Excursions & Open HouseNickel Plate Road Pullman City of Lima and Erie E8 833 made their public excursion debuts on Nov. 10-11, 2007. We will post a recap of the events shortly on our Events and Excursions page.
10/21/07 - City of Lima Moved to Scranton
Our NKP Sleeper City of Lima has arrived in Scranton, Penn. For photos of the car in transit from Illinois Transit Assembly Corp., please visit our City of Lima page.
Last Updated
05/05/2008
- Site Updates
E8 Photo used with permission, from the collection
of Jay Held
Diner 741 photo by Karl Zimmerman |
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