Railroad-related restaurants in New England

[sullboat]

Berlin, NH B&M station used to be an ice cream joint...not sure if it still is.

Searsport, ME - BAR station is now an ice cream parlor; moved up the road a bit.

Mechanic Falls, ME - there was a restaurant called the Rail Station, on the grounds of the old Rumford Falls/MEC station...don't know if this is actually the old station.

Stratford, NH - GT station is reportedly being renovated to become a restaurant.

Bryant Pond, ME - GT freight shed is a convenience store.

Rockland, ME - MEC station is now Union Station Grille - and not that bad.

[CN9634]

Of course Norway Ice Cream is in the old S.Paris station! And theres a Caboose in Woodstock, an old GT wooden one! Also theres a NE-6 Caboose in Locke Mills by some camp sites!

[Jo Jo Kracko]

Windsor Station, Windsor VT - great eats, atmosphere, and popovers !
Casey's Caboose, Killington - 2 Cabooses, great food, family friendly, and a train that circles above the bar area, awsome happy hours too !
Back behind Saloon in Killington - Same idea, more of a steakhouse..
Bennington Station - Bennington, vermont
Poultney VT has a restaurant in it's former D & H train station..

[Jo Jo Kracko]

There's also a 'stray' old B & M Caboose off of Route 7 north of Pittsford VT, Looks like that may have been a snack bar at one time..

[ceo]

There used to be a restaurant called Victoria Station across from the Burlington (MA) Mall, that had several old boxcars as seating areas. They went under sometime in the early 1990s.

[scottychaos]

AH-HA!! I have solved the mystery of the famous Chuck Wagons of Lewiston, Maine. A fellow railfan from Maine knew of that old restaurant and told me that the coaches are ex-Norfolk Western. He is aware that one of the coaches was moved to the Damariscotta area and is currently in the hands of a rail group called Downeast Rail Group? They are trying to restore it. He didn't know what happened to the other one.

Does anyone out there remember these or know of the Downeast Rail Group?

I have just been doing some research on these cars!

There were three cars at the Chuck Wagon Restaurant in Lewiston, Maine.
(in the 1970's and 1980's) (anyone know the dates for when they arrived and left the Restaurant?)
N&W coaches 1642, 1643 and N&W Diner 492.

Diner 492 was a 36-seat streamlined diner, built by Pullman in 1949 for the Powhatan Arrow,
and is currently (in 2009) at the Conway Scenic Railroad in North Conway, NH.
(arrived there in 2008)

Coaches 1642 and 1643 are currently (in 2009) with the Finger Lakes Railway in Geneva, NY,
and are used in excursion service..

Here is a history I have put together for coaches 1642 and 1643:

1916 - Cars built by Harlan and Hollingsworth company for Norfolk & Western.
1970's and 1980's - Used as part of the "Chuck Wagon" Restaurant in Lewiston, Maine.
1989 - October, Purchased and moved by "MRG, Inc./Downeast Rail"
1990 - 2002 - Gradually restored, by MRG/Downeast Rail, at Maine Coast RR, but rarely used.
2002 - Used for the one-season operation of the Niagara & Western New York Railroad, Lockport, NY
2004 - October - brought to Geneva, NY, initally stored for a private owner.
200? - Purchased by Finger Lakes Railway, repainted, and placed in service.
2009 - In service with FGLK..crews call 1642 and 1643 "The Reds"

(edit, 11/18, data above corrected)

http://gold.mylargescale.com/scottychaos/FGLK/

thanks,
Scot

[Cadet57]

Bernie's Dining Depot, in Chicopee, MA. Family run, has AMAZING prime rib. Has a full size dining car. Very good prices too.

[H.F.Malone]

Scot, that's "Harlan and Hollingsworth", a noted rail car builder in Wilmington, Del. Later became the "Harlan Plant" of Bethlehem Steel, and closed after WW2. H&H also built ships, mostly coastal freight and passenger ships.

Many of the CNJ and RDG steel commuter cars of the 1920-era (and lots are now on tourist roads) were H&H products.

[scottychaos]

Scot, that's "Harlan and Hollingsworth", a noted rail car builder in Wilmington, Del. Later became the "Harlan Plant" of Bethlehem Steel, and closed after WW2. H&H also built ships, mostly coastal freight and passenger ships.

Many of the CNJ and RDG steel commuter cars of the 1920-era (and lots are now on tourist roads) were H&H products.

thanks!
I will make that correction..

Scot

[gokeefe]

Some time ago when I was doing some relatively intensive searching for surviving Maine Central Railroad passenger rolling stock I found this. But I couldn't seem to figure out what it was or where it came from.

Until today.

I went out to lunch for a meeting today and my contact had arranged for a quiet space at "Nick's" after I had let him know that we would need to be somewhere that we could do some business and not have to worry about a loud crowd or anything like that, Nicky's Cruisin' Diner (which I happen to like), being a good example of where not to eat, in this particular situation.

So I set the VZ Navigator to Captain Nick's, 1165 Union Street and upon pulling in to the restaurant I suddenly realized I was about to have lunch at the restaurant which was home to the "mystery diner". We came in and our hostess figured out who we were and said the magic words, "oh come right this way...you'll be eating on the train."

Things were moving right along, and business was getting done and in a fleeting moment as I was taking in the cars decor I looked over my left shoulder and low and behold here was a glass case with an axe marked "CPR". There was even a little type written card of some kind saying "Canadian Pacific Railway". It was emergency use only equipment, perfectly preserved in its case (or so I thought).

The car appears to be of the "heavyweight" variety. From what little I know about passenger rolling stock I am certain it is of pre-WWII vintage and likely from the interwar period (post 1918-pre-1939). The car had steel sides but also appeared to have a substantial amount of interior woodwork that had been painted over. Something that looked like either telephone booth (without windows) or a china cabinet and built into the car was caddy cornered near where I was sitting.

Some of you ought to be able to see a fair enough amount of detail from the outside in Google Streetview to at least make a partial identification. I would be fascinated to know the history of the car if anyone knows it. I was struck by what appeared to be the relatively good condition of most of the original interior of the car (albeit painted over instead of natural stain woodwork). As far as the restaurant goes this place was a total hole in the wall. It's the kind of place that wasn't inspired by Cheers. It inspired Cheers. Everything about it was absolutely antithetical to a modern chain restaurant and pretty much hadn't been touched since about 1981. I was fascinated as one would think these kinds of places simply don't exist anymore. Apparently they do. If you're ever in Bangor and you're looking for a real throw back of a restaurant (with a very well patronized bar in the back) try Captain NIck's. The food was good and the service very attentive. Decor is retro 80's maritime kitsch with the attached non-theme but really cool railroad car. Think Fisherman's Friend meets Maine Coast R.R. (old ratty cars).

[Cosmo]

So it IS still there! That's good to know!
I used to pass b there on a semi-regular basis in m pre-Navy days. I've often wondered if the restaurant and/or the car were still there.
My guess is that it's actually just a coach, probably "fixed up" inside shortly after it was brought in there. (This being from speculation made on-site about 20 yrs ago.)
I only got inside once or twice, but I remember my buddy and I stopping there shortly before they closed and getting to look inside the car. The staff were perfectly nice about it, bit I gathered they didn't know much about it's history.

[markhb]

Gorham, ME: Former Portland-Rochester branch station, at one time housed Gorham Station restaurant, now a branch of Sebago Brewing Company. (Incidentally, Sebago's main production facility is also in Gorham, and accessed via Hutcherson Drive which runs on the old P&R right-of-way).

Portland, ME: Margarita's on St. John Street, in the basement of the former Maine Central Railroad headquarters building.

[gokeefe]

My guess is that it's actually just a coach, probably "fixed up" inside shortly after it was brought in there. (This being from speculation made on-site about 20 yrs ago.)

Cosmo,

From what little I know about clerestory roofed train cars etc., I have to say that the woodwork (even when painted over) reminded me of the clerestory structure seen in B&M 1094 (without the light fixtures), a wood sided 1906 Cafe Diner-Coach that is currently in restoration at the Illinois Railway Museum. This car was clearly a full generation newer than that (or so it seemed) but there was no doubt in my mind that there were some very similar design elements present.

The staff were perfectly nice about it, bit I gathered they didn't know much about it's history.

I guessed that would be the case and didn't bring it up or ask. Situation being what it was I had work to focus on. I'm still very curious if there are historical reasons related to the International Railway of Maine that would explain how this apparent ex-CPR car ended up in Bangor. Short of a third party purchase out of state that would seem to be the most obvious reason related to railroad history in Maine that would explain its presence there.

[JBConn]

The Silver Lounge in North Falmouth MA on Route 28A south of route 151 has an old caboose that you can eat in. They have two small tables up in the cupola, too.

[markhb]

Apparently, a new pub is opening in Portland called the "Portland & Rochester Public House". It's going to be in the former CR Dimillo's location at 120 Preble St., in the wedge of land between Preble and Alder Sts. and in the same area as the P&R's one-time Preble St. Station. Although it's right across Kennebec St. from some segments of the Union Branch, it's highly doubtful that any railroad activity will be observed at the location. Still, it's cool that they thought of the old RR when they named it.