up for the TBC Brewsletter. The current is- sue is promoting Aaron Rodgers Day, featur- ing a hoppy cream ale called “12” in honor of you-know-who’s number, specially designed Green 19 IPA T-shirts and hoodies, and Beer Bowl Bread. This latter features TBC’s spe- cialty molasses and Railyard Ale-infused, made-from-scratch bread, formed into a football shape, filled with creamy artichoke dip, and is billed as the “perfect tailgate treat.” There are contests galore, and the TBC Blog fills you in on what’s brewing and what’s filtering, so you can plan future visits. Dining Car Food Collecting?: A reader, Mark Gustafson, opened his note, “Greet- ings from the Sperry Car,” mailed it from Re- gensburg, Germany, and thus shared several “rail or trackside dining” experiences he had recently in Europe. He notes, “I rode a few trains in Ireland, including Dublin-Belfast at lunchtime, but breakfast was still being served, so I had that.” He goes on: “I did not dine at Snaefell, Isle


of Man, but I did have tea.” He’s referring to the 117-year old station that is the upper terminal for the Snaefell Mountain Railway tramway (http://tinyurl.com/aws6emd). It offers the popular Summit Dining experi- ence two nights a week after the day’s regu- larly scheduled trams cease operations. More recently they’ve added Seven Kindoms Lunches, the equivalent of Sunday brunch, and Pie in the Sky, timed to coincide with ob- servable astronomical phenomenon, that of- fers refreshments prior to the return trip. And on: “I’ve finally ridden the Thalys High Speed Train. Their food selection is not so good if you want a hot meal — at least it’s a short trip” (but the menu he sent does in- clude a selection of hot dishes). Thalys Inter- national partners with Railrest (http://rail rest.be/home/) — “Your high-speed smile” — to deliver a wide range of services that enhance the passenger’s travel experi- ence.” Railrest’s menu planning theme is “SSBB” —simple, sain, bon et Beau, what is known here as FLOSS (fresh, local, organic, seasonal, sustainable). Service appears to be offered on two levels: Comfort 1, which pro- vides service at your seat, and Thalys Bar, which lets you “enjoy our quality range of ultra- fresh sandwiches, delicious snacks and hot and cold drinks throughout your journey.” The latter was the brochure Gustafson sent. And then this interesting item: “In Aus- tria I encountered a unique twist on mileage collecting — sort of ‘dining car food collecting.’ A group of Austrian railfans, many of whom work for Osterreichische Bundesbahnen (OBB, the Austrian State Railways), makes it a hobby to ride every scheduled dining car service in Austria. This includes domestic service trains and international services that enter Austria. And that’s not all. Every- thing on the menu has to be sampled. “So for example, after work in Vienna, they may take a German ICE train to Linz, with dinner on the way, and return on anoth- er ICE train for dessert. And on another day, the same trains, but with a different dish and dessert. There’s different drinks, too. “The menus change, bimonthly for the


ICE, for example. So these guys are forever eating. Of course there’s Italian, Hungarian, Swiss, Czech, etc., trains too. So they get quite a variety and never go hungry.” Last stop?


The Cafe Tramvaj


(http://tinyurl.com/aypdlqt) on Wences- laus Square, Prague, Czech Republic. It’s an- chored by a pair of vintage trams in the mid-


dle of the busy Square, and offers what we’d call “lite fare.” Perhaps better than the Way- marking website, try this YouTube video — www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nmlUokXJrg — but don’t watch if you haven’t had dessert. Gustafson recommends we “try the Czech honey cake — very good.” Fremont Dinner Train: In case you missed it, one of America’s longest-running dinner trains — the Fremont Dinner Train in Fremont, Nebraska —pulled up stakes in October and headed to Baldwin, Kan., to re- emerge as the Kansas Belle. Here, in chrono- logical order, and thanks to Mike Bartels, is a series of newspaper accounts of that event. June 12: Dinner Train Plans to Relocate to Baldwin City’s Midland Railway” — http://tinyurl.com/br58mmz October 8: A Final Ride for Fremont Din- ner Train —http://tinyurl.com/b3567dg October 18: Baldwin City Council Ap- proves Incentive Pact with Dinner Car Own- ers — http://tinyurl.com/cyjeslu October 18: Dinner Train Move to Bald- win City Planned for Next Week — http://tinyurl.com/ctfx8ch November 15: Kansas Belle on Track for Baldwin City Opening — http://tinyurl .com/bj2o2s7 Finally,


dinner train co-owner Ira


Schreiber provided a 1:20 minute video clip describing the new train — November 13: Midland Railroad Dining Car to Open in Baldwin City — http://tinyurl.com/a798hkm —and a Facebook photo album showing the equipment arriving in Baldwin City at http://tinyurl.com/arjmt5d Ira reports they plan to launch test runs in December, and begin regular operations as soon as possible. All that’s left to do now is book a trip. 2013 Dinner Train/Private Car Oper-


ator’s Conference: This revival of a popu- lar conference, first launched by a handful of dinner train operators in the late 1990s, is being organized by the Center for Railway Tourism and will be held at Davis & Elkins College in Elkins, West Virginia, April 11-14, 2013. It includes workshops for railway her- itage and tourism venues, private car opera- tors, caterers and others who already offer, or who are considering offering, a rail dining component to increase participation and revenue. Topics will include menu planning, partnership marketing,


maximizing gift


shop sales, using an effective array of web- based marketing tools, and more (including one secret ingredient). Each topic will in- clude a presentation and a panel discussion. Presenters tentatively include Amtrak Ex- ecutive Chef Christian Hannah, Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad President John Smith, author Stephen Fried, who wrote Ap- petite for America: How Visionary Business- man Fred Harvey Built a Railroad Hospital- ity Empire that Civilized the West, producer Robert Van Camp of the Emmy Award Win- ning Great Scenic Rail Journeys on public television, and noted mixologist and restau- rant menu designer (and private car owner) Patrick Henry. Other highlights include ven- dor presentations, an evening at the Ameri- can Mountain Theater, and a trip on the pop- ular and innovative dinner train of the Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad. Full Disclosure: The Director of the Center for Railway Tourism is yours truly. Jim Porter- field. You can email me at porterfieldj@ dewv.edu, or call 304/637-1307 for more in- formation.


Erie Lackawanna 2013 Calendar


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