The Milwaukee Road "Tip Top Tap Lounge" Bar Cars

[gokeefe]

At least to me this is a fun topic that I have usually only seen referenced indirectly in other threads. The wiki for the Twin Cities Hiawatha seems to indicate that these cars were first ordered for that service as part of equipment added in 1941. I was also wondering if these cars actually served draft beer. So far the only definitive photos I could find showed beer served in bottles with small drink glasses.

[CarterB]

From photo of the bar, don't see any "taps" but otherwise "tip top" for the time...May 29, 1935 ... until retired in 1952

https://content.lib.washington.edu/cdm4 ... OX=1&REC=8" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[gokeefe]

They were retired in 1952?

The other surprising aspect of these cars was the use of a bar car on intercity service. I thought these were typically associated with commuter service only.

[ExCon90]

In that era, bar cars were common and expected on intercity trains. According to Arthur D. Dubin's Some Classic Trains, the first Tip Top Tap cars appeared in the Hiawatha, when it was placed in service on May 29, 1935 (the author states that the Tip Top Inn was a famed Chicago restaurant atop the Pullman office building in Chicago); the cars were a combined restaurant and bar. The entire train was re-equipped in October 1936, September 1938, and in 1948, and I believe all of them featured a bar car called the Tip Top Tap. A good source would probably be Jim Scribbins's book The Hiawatha Story, but I don't have it. I know I've seen photos of Tip Top Tap cars, and that may be where. By 1940 the Official Guide was showing Tip Top Tap cars (beverages and light meals), in addition to a full diner, on both the Morning and Afternoon Hiawathas, so there apparently was a number of such cars in circulation. No mention of draft beer, however, and surely there would be a reference to that if it had been a feature of the cars.