Trains Coast to Coast!
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An empty bar car is usually a sad bar car, but this was the only way we could show our readers what the actual bar itself looks like. Metro-North’s New Haven Line was home to the last purpose-built bar cars in daily commuter commuter service not only in the New York area, but in the entire country. These Budd electric multiple-unit cars were first placed in service in 1973, and are slated to be retired by the end of May 2014.
and budget for brand new equipment. For Katonah, not only were we getting new trains, but also an extension of the electric zone! Either way, it spelled the end of bar car service, at least in actual bar cars. For some years after, certain Hudson and Harlem Line trains had refreshment service where a bartender would close off a vestibule and provide beverages and snack from a trolley (jokingly referred to as “bar cart” service). Yet this service disappeared by the end of the 1990s, leaving the New Haven Line with the only regularly scheduled bar car service on Metro-North. Some years later I had relocated to Harri-
son, N.Y., along that portion of the New Haven Line that clips the southern portion of Westchester County. For three years I commuted to a job in South Norwalk, Conn., which meant I became a regular rider of the New Haven Line. By this time only four bar- cars remained in service, and there was al- ready talk of new cars to replace the now 40- year-old M-2’s. This meant the bar cars were now in jeopardy (successive orders of M-4 and M-6 series railcars did not include bar cars). But for the moment, I was fascinated by the opportunity to ride what were now the last true bar cars in America. Oh sure, there was still a subscription car
running on NJ Transit’s North Jersey Coast Line (the former New York & Long Branch), and even Chicago’s Metra had a subscrip- tion car running on the Kenosha Line (a for- mer Chicago & North Western lounge car, to boot), but neither were open to the general public. Even the Long Island Rail Road’s leg- endary seasonal parlor car service was di- minished to a simple beverage cart service with the arrival of new bi-level coaches. Yes, true bar car service was quickly becoming a thing of the past, and Metro-North’s four-car fleet was all that remained. The M-2 bar cars were of unique design,
as they also had to function in everyday commuter service. The vestibules are not lo- cated at the ends of the car, instead they are located “quarter point” to allow for quicker
loading (in theory, you’re always closer to a door from anywhere in the car). The bar and galley area is located against one wall, be- tween the two vestibules. Opposite the bar is a narrow, low shelf where patrons can rest their bags and drinks. Seating at the ends of the car “wrap around” the walls, with the standee poles containing cupholder fixtures. The only way you can tell a bar car from the outside is if you see all of the blanked out windows along the bar/galley side. The other side of the car has the normal window arrangement. In the New Haven Line timetables, only outbound bar cars were shown in the sched- ule (with a little martini glass glyph next to departure time from Grand Central). How- ever, the bartender would board at New Haven with fresh stock and ride the inbound bar car. Once inventory was complete, he was free to open for business (usually by South Norwalk or so). It was great fun to dis- cover that my train ride home had a bar car in the consists and the bartender was on du- ty and ready to serve! While a fair number boarded at South Norwalk, the bar car was a relatively quiet affair, like walking into your neighborhood watering hole on a Wednesday afternoon. However, as soon as we reached Stamford, the car would quickly fill up with young banking professionals heading home to New York (many corporate headquarters have relocated to the suburbs in the last 30 years, leading to the phenomenon of the “re- verse commute”). It was fun to watch this transformation, even if the car would be- come a little packed. The vibe was social, like going to a party. There were regulars, and it seemed like the bar car was where “everyone knew your name.” Incidents were rare, as the regulars were pretty good at “self-polic- ing.” No one wanted to ruin a good thing. The prices were reasonable too, far less than the going rate at any bar in New York City. It was worth adding the extra time to my commute to ride to the next stop at Rye (“This is the express! Next stop 125th and Grand Central only!!”) to make my one-stop
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