Thanksgiving and Nothing Could be Finer...


In the years of railroading's past, holidays and holiday meals were something of an event.  Those were curious days by today's standards:  dining cars employed chefs who cooked on stoves and ovens using fresh ingredients from along the way.  The Northern Pacific, for example, restocked dining cars with fresh fruit from Central Washington as trains made their way through.  Railroads had their own recipes that made their dining cars famous and specialties that set them apart from competitors.  Moving people was important, and the business of railroading reflected that.

The holidays had their own menus in many dining cars, reflecting the best meals for travelers who found themselves out on the rails.  For many years, even Amtrak changed its regular meal plan to offer special holiday turkey for Thanksgiving.  The picture above reflects one such holiday specialty: Alaskan Railroad Cranberry Pie.  It is a thing of beauty, and has become a tradition for our friends and family many years after it first pampered travelers in dining cars long forgotten.  To compliment this rare cranberry delicacy, a Fred Harvey apple pie is sure to round out a Thanksgiving meal.

I hope you find reason for Thanks this holiday season - and try some of your own railroad recipes if you feel so inclined.  They are a unique way to look back to times when things were just a bit different, and truly, nothing is finer than some old forgotten recipe from a diner.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Yum.
And I was reminded of this book

http://www.amazon.com/Dinner-Diner-Great-Railroad-Recipes/dp/0870460110/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1322416660&sr=1-1

on the shelf at our house.
11/27/2011 10:01:00 AM
oamundsen said…
As a collage student in Boston in the early 60's, I worked on weekends at my family's business in southern Connecticut, "commuting" on the NHRR. Especially around holiday season it was such a pleasure to go to the dining car and have a great meal. I even had a NH charge card, which predated credit cards! The NH knew how to run a diner, even though they were not a real long distance railroad. Very thankful for having experienced that level of service. Thanks Leland for the reminder.
11/29/2011 01:27:00 PM
LinesWest said…
Thanks for the comments and memories, always so nice to read them. Best,-Leland
12/03/2011 05:16:00 AM
SDP45 said…
I've tried to muster the nerve to make one of the Northern Pacific fruitcakes. I usually wait until the feeling goes away, thinking I'll do it next year. Fifteen years now and no fruitcake.

Dan
12/06/2011 06:32:00 PM
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