 | The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the United States and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject.(May 2014) |
A bar car is a train car that has as its primary purpose the provision and consumption of alcoholic and other beverages.
Bar cars were common during the heyday of U.S. rail travel prior to World War II. However, since May 2014 there are no bar cars left (not including Amtrak's full-service dining cars, lounges and café cars).
The Long Island Rail Road operated bar cars from 1960 until 1999, when the rolling stock on the railroad's non-electrified branches was replaced with double-decker C3 coaches. [1] [2] [3]
Metro-North Railroad has replaced the 1970s-era cars now used by commuters from Manhattan to Connecticut, with the new M-8 cars rolled out between 2010 and 2015. The M-8 was designed by Cesar Vergara, a train designer from Ridgefield, Connecticut, who also provided a design for a modern bar car. [4] The last bar cars were retired in May 2014. [5]
Formerly, a bar car service (officially, "refreshment car") ran on 3 of Chicago's Metra lines: the Milwaukee District/North Line, the Milwaukee District/West Line, and the Rock Island District line. [6] The last service was on August 29, 2008, when the last contracts expired. [7]
10 Comet I bar cars were built in 1970 for the Erie Lackawanna and were used for AM coffee service and PM bar service on diesel trains based from Hoboken Terminal into the 1980s. The bar cars were converted to standard coaches when rebuilt in 1987.
Canadian National Railways's Rapido service from Toronto to Montreal, for a brief time during the late 1960s and 1970s, had what was known as a "Bistro" car. In the "Bistro" car, piano entertainment accompanied the service of alcohol beverage in special coaches configured for the purpose with their windows obscured to prevent platform patrons from observing the festivities and to create a low light environment. [8]
Contemporary services on Via Rail include complimentary unlimited alcoholic beverages served at your seat in Business Class on Corridor trains. Alcoholic beverages are available for at-seat purchase/service in Economy Class on all remote services trains. On long-distance trains such as The Canadian and The Ocean, alcoholic beverages are available for purchase in the Skyline, Park, and Dining Cars. Service to Prestige Class passengers is complimentary.
First class is the most luxurious and most expensive travel class of seats and service on a train, passenger ship, airplane, bus, or other system of transport. Compared to business class and economy class, it offers the best service and most comfortable accommodation.
A bilevel car or double-decker coach is a type of rail car that has two levels of passenger accommodation as opposed to one, increasing passenger capacity.
Metra is the primary commuter rail system in the Chicago metropolitan area serving the city of Chicago and its surrounding suburbs via the Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railway, and other railroads. The system operates 243 stations on 11 rail lines. It is the fourth busiest commuter rail system in the United States by ridership and the largest and busiest commuter rail system outside the New York City metropolitan area. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 31,894,900, or about 152,400 per weekday as of the fourth quarter of 2023. The estimated busiest day for Metra ridership occurred on November 4, 2016—the day of the Chicago Cubs 2016 World Series victory rally.
The Budd Company was a 20th-century metal fabricator, a major supplier of body components to the automobile industry, and a manufacturer of stainless steel passenger rail cars, airframes, missile and space vehicles, and various defense products.
The Union Pacific North Line (UP-N) is a Metra line in the Chicago metropolitan area. It runs between Ogilvie Transportation Center and Kenosha, Wisconsin; however, most trains terminate in Waukegan, Illinois. Although Metra owns the rolling stock, the trains are operated and dispatched by the Union Pacific Railroad. This line was previously operated by the Chicago & North Western Railway before its merger with the Union Pacific Railroad, and was called the Chicago and North Western Milwaukee Division and then the Chicago & North Western/North Line before the C&NW was absorbed by Union Pacific in April 1995. It is the only Metra line that travels outside Illinois.
The BNSF Line is a Metra commuter rail line operated by the BNSF Railway in Chicago and its western suburbs, running from Chicago Union Station to Aurora, Illinois. In 2010, the BNSF Line continued to have the highest weekday ridership of the 11 Metra lines. While Metra does not refer to its lines by particular colors, the BNSF line's color on Metra timetables is "Cascade Green," in honor of the Burlington Northern Railroad.
The Milwaukee District North Line (MD-N) is a Metra commuter rail line in Chicago, Illinois and its northern suburbs, running from Union Station to Fox Lake. Although Metra does not refer to any of its lines by color, the timetable accents for the Milwaukee District North line are pale "Hiawatha Orange" in honor of the Milwaukee Road's Hiawatha passenger trains.
The Milwaukee District West Line (MD-W) is a Metra commuter rail line in Chicago, Illinois, and its western suburbs. Metra does not refer to any of its lines by a particular color, but the timetable accents for the Milwaukee District West line are dark "Arrow Yellow," honoring the Milwaukee Road's Arrow passenger train. Trains are dispatched from the Canadian Pacific Kansas City Railway's American headquarters in Minneapolis.
The Metra Electric District is an electrified commuter rail line owned and operated by Metra which connects Millennium Station, in downtown Chicago, with the city's southern suburbs. As of 2018, it is the fifth busiest of Metra's 11 lines, after the BNSF, UP-NW, UP-N, and UP-W Lines with nearly 7.7 million annual riders. While Metra does not explicitly refer to any of its lines by color, the timetable accents for the Metra Electric District are printed in bright "Panama orange" to reflect the line's origins with the Illinois Central Railroad (IC) and its Panama Limited passenger train. Apart from the spots where its tracks run parallel to other main lines, it is the only Metra line running entirely on dedicated passenger tracks, with no freight trains operating anywhere on the actual route itself. The line is the only one in the Metra system with more than one station in Downtown Chicago, the only line with no stations in fare zone 4, and also has the highest number of stations (49) of any Metra line.
LaSalle Street Station is a commuter rail terminal at 414 South LaSalle Street in downtown Chicago. First used as a rail terminal in 1852, it was a major intercity rail terminal for the New York Central Railroad until 1968, and for the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad until 1978, but now serves only Metra's Rock Island District. The present structure became the fifth station on the site when its predecessor was demolished in 1981 and replaced by the new station and the One Financial Place tower for the Chicago Stock Exchange. The Chicago Board of Trade Building, Willis Tower, and Harold Washington Library are nearby.
The EMD F40C is a 6-axle 3,200 horsepower (2.4 MW) diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division in 1974 for commuter service in Chicago. EMD only built 15 locomotives; the decline of the 6-axle design for passenger service led to the adoption of the 4-axle EMD F40PH as the standard passenger locomotive in the United States. Along with a small fleet of HEP-equipped EMD SD70MAC locomotives operating on the Alaska Railroad, the F40Cs were the last six-axle passenger locomotives in daily service in North America until the delivery of Metra's first SD70MACH in 2022.
Rapido was the brand name for the Canadian National's express passenger train service in the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. Rapido service was introduced on October 31, 1965, and lasted until the end of Canadian National passenger train service with its transfer to Via Rail on October 29, 1978.
The Comet railcar is a class of locomotive-hauled railcars that was first designed in the late 1960s by Pullman-Standard as a modern commuter car for North American rail lines. Later, the Comet moniker was adopted by NJ Transit for all of its non-powered single level commuter coaches. Additional series of cars bearing the Comet name, based on the original design, have since been built by Bombardier Transportation and Alstom. The successful design was adopted by numerous commuter agencies.
Glenview station is a Metra commuter rail and Amtrak intercity rail station in Glenview, Illinois, United States, north of Chicago. The station is located at 1116 Depot Street, 17.5 miles (28.2 km) from Chicago Union Station, the southern terminus of the lines. The facility opened in March 1995 as a replacement for a since-demolished 1950s era station. The new station, designed by Legat Architects of Waukegan, cost approximately $3 million and was funded from a number of sources, including Metra, the Illinois Department of Transportation, Amtrak and the village of Glenview.
Western Avenue is the name of a railroad station owned by Metra, located in the West Town community area of Chicago, Illinois near Western Avenue. The station is 2.9 miles (4.7 km) away from Union Station, the inbound terminus of the line. Western Avenue station serves the Milwaukee District West Line, North Central Service, and Milwaukee District North Line, and is the last inbound stop for these three lines before the terminus at Union Station. Although it is not a station stop, Amtrak Hiawatha Service trains and the Empire Builder also pass through here. The station was previously used by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad. Located near the station are the California Coach Yard, and the Western Avenue Rail Yard, the latter of which host to Metra's final EMD F40Cs. Just southeast of the station platforms is a diamond where the Milwaukee Road Metra routes cross the tracks of the Union Pacific West Line to Ogilvie Transportation Center, then turn to run parallel to them. This goes on for about a mile before they split, as the West Line tracks continue to Ogilvie. The junction is controlled by the nearby A-2 tower.
Kenosha is a railroad station in Kenosha, Wisconsin, served by Metra's Union Pacific North Line. It is the northern terminus of the line, which runs south to the Ogilvie Transportation Center in Chicago. Kenosha is the only Metra station outside of Illinois, and is 51.6 miles (83.0 km) from Ogilvie Transportation Center. Because it is located outside the RTA's jurisdiction, the service to the station is partially subsidized by the city of Kenosha. It is the northernmost station of the entire Metra system, making it the most northern station in the entire RTA network. As of 2018, Kenosha is the 135th busiest of Metra's 236 non-downtown stations, with an average of 345 weekday boardings.
Fox Lake is a station on Metra's Milwaukee District North Line in Fox Lake, Illinois. The station is located on Nippersink Boulevard at Grand Avenue, is 49.4 miles (79.5 km) away from Chicago Union Station, the southern terminus of the line, and serves commuters from Fox Lake to Downtown Chicago. The station is the northern terminus of the Milwaukee District North Line. As of 2018, Fox Lake is the 141st busiest of Metra's 236 non-downtown stations, with an average of 322 weekday boardings.
The Metro-North Railroad is a commuter railroad serving northern suburbs of New York City. It principally uses a fleet of electric railcars for its services; diesel locomotives and push-pull coaches are in use as well for non-electrified portions of the system.
CT Rail, stylized as CTrail, is the brand for commuter rail services overseen by the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT), in the U.S. state of Connecticut, with some service extending into Massachusetts. CTDOT oversees two lines: Shore Line East, between New Haven and New London, Connecticut, and the Hartford Line, from New Haven, through Hartford, to Springfield, Massachusetts.
 | This rail-transport related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |