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Re: (erielack) Dining Cars



Wax beans in general are Bland and boring Veggies.....So Id not expect 
much of them, Even in an EL Dining Car...LOL

Njricky2_@_aol.com wrote:

>In the mid-60s, when Motown was overwhelming the British music invasion, I 
>took a trip via EL from Scranton to my final destination, Boston, to meet my 
>dad's brother who was with the military at that time and lived in a Boston surbub 
>with my aunt and my cousins on an army base.
>
>Erie Lackawanna from Scranton to Hoboken was "comfortable", in effect, a 
>class act even though the employees knew that EL's days were numbered. The 
>breakfast was fine, white table cloths, and believe it or not, a glass of water as we 
>all expect some 40-odd years later. And yes the basics, bacon and eggs with 
>toast.
>
>Going from Hoboken to Grand Central via commuter bus was OK. From Grand 
>Central I then left for Boston via the New Haven. What a difference.
>
>There was no food or drink service whatsoever as NH was on the skids. Many on 
>the train were CT commuters who didn't give a damn and were angry because 
>things were running slow. 
>
>As a teenager, I had no clue, other than that EL seemed to be fine. I had my 
>Motown (Martha & The Vandellas, The Supremes, Marvin Gaye) on WABC and to me, 
>that was all that mattered. Most of all, I was riding the rails.
>
>Long story short, after spending a week with my family in MA, it was time to 
>return to Scranton via NH and EL.
>
>When I finally got to Hoboken and got back on Erie Lackawanna, it was a 
>breath of fresh air. Regardless of my young age back then, I was treated as a 
>paying passenger and had the white table cloth (no booze as I was underage) but I 
>had anything on the menu that I desired and was treated equally as older people 
>were. I was hungry and the food was just fine, even the lousy wax beans. 
>After nothing on NH, wax beans tasted just fine.
>
>All I can say is that my experience was that Erie Lackawanna did their best 
>against the odds. You had the Erie power with the Lackawanna touch of care. 
>Those who worked on EL were indeed "a class act". 
>
>In my mind, they did their damned best to make their passengers comfortable. 
>Now that I'm a New Yorker, living in Manhattan for more than half my life and 
>having used our three commuter railways and Amtrak, no apologies here. As good 
>as they are, they don't come up to Erie Lackawanna standards. It's a 
>different time I guess.
>
>I respect them but the problem is that they don't have the resources to offer 
>the "care" that those who were Erie Lackawanna considered to be the "norm".
>
>For anyone on the list who worked passenger service on EL, your caring is 
>still greatly appreciated. You did one hell of a damn good job and I thank you 
>for that. I don't know how you kept it up, knowing that the end would come but 
>you sure did. Talk about going the extra mile. You EL men and women sure did. 
>
>Rick
>
>
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>
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