PRR Class D78F Dining Car No. 4468

PRR Class D78F Dining Car No. 4468. . , "You had to be a waiter - a good one - to work in the Dining Department. You worked 16 and 17 hours a day. Half the time we had to sleep in the dining car." , - James Corbett, Dining Car Waiter, For passengers, eating aboard a train was always an exciting part of travel. For the workers who served them, it was very demanding. In 1941 alone, the PRR served 3.9 million meals. In the World War II years, they served five times that many., This Altoona-built restaurant-on-wheels served "peach pie baked on car today." , The rolling kitchens were marvels of efficiency. Besides fixing food-to-order like any restaurant, they baked bread, rolls and pies from scratch. A typical 1930's menu offered double-rib lamb chop for 55¢, filet of lake trout for 75¢, liver and onions for 90¢, and sirloin steak for $1.75., . In 1930, most of the PRR's 176 dining cars were like No. 4468 here. Class D78 diners like this one were built between 1911 and 1929 in Altoona., . A one-day shopping list for the PRR included 847 pounds of ham, 575 dozen eggs, 750 lamb chops, and 1,695 loaves of bread., . At 81 feet long, the D78 dining car originally seated 36 passengers., . Later, this car was modernized to contain a 32-seat dining area and a 10-seat lounge., . At the height of railroad passenger travel, more than 1,700 dining cars operated in the US., . Besides meals, diners sold Coca-Cola, playing cards, tobacco, aspirin, carbonated water, and Bromo-Seltzer (for when you ate too much pie).