by SouthernRailway
In the Parade of Trains this weekend, I walked through a few observation cars, such as for the Boston-Chicago "New England States", and s Southern Pacific "Overland" car that had a barbershop. The sleeping cars that I walked through also had boxes in the walls of the roomettes and the like where a passenger would leave shoes to be shined.
Question: How in the world did pre-Amtrak railroads make any money on these services?
* Observation cars: they have plenty of non-revenue space in them, with just a few seats in the lounge area.
* Barbershop: There is no way that this could have been profitable.
* Shoe shines: I would expect that the passenger would have had to pay for this service (correct?), but I can't see unionized railroad employees jumping to do it.
Were sleeping car fares after WWII just so high that sleeping cars were so profitable that these services were considered a necessary cost of business? Or did railroads realize that these services were a financial black hole right from the start?
Question: How in the world did pre-Amtrak railroads make any money on these services?
* Observation cars: they have plenty of non-revenue space in them, with just a few seats in the lounge area.
* Barbershop: There is no way that this could have been profitable.
* Shoe shines: I would expect that the passenger would have had to pay for this service (correct?), but I can't see unionized railroad employees jumping to do it.
Were sleeping car fares after WWII just so high that sleeping cars were so profitable that these services were considered a necessary cost of business? Or did railroads realize that these services were a financial black hole right from the start?