England's last dining car.

A pleasant article on the last dining car service in England.

It made me hungry

http://www.independent.co.uk/travel...lman-offers-escapism-and-luxury-a6840901.html

On the 12.06 from London Paddington to Penzance, the Pullman dining car is quieter than usual. It is early January, low season, and as the concrete overpasses and tall brick backs of the city's Georgian houses fall away, winter sun begins to stream through the windows.

Our table for two is set with silverware of a satisfying weight. Slanted rectangles of sunlight tremble across the tablecloth, glinting on the wine glasses. A waiter puts china plates bearing the Great Western Railway emblem in front of us. "Careful," he says, handling them with a tea-towelled hand. "They're piping hot."

Britain's dining cars have died a sad death. When they were first introduced on the East Coast line in 1879, their kitchens cooked over burning coals. From hot buttered kippers for morning commuters, to roast sirloin and salmon hollandaise on Christmas Day, the food ranged from the functional to the decadent. When British Rail wound down in 1997, there were still 250 dining cars. They were quickly deemed unprofitable and the last continual service ran on the 19.33 from London Kings Cross to Leeds in May 2011.

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Nice little article, but is it true that you need a first class ticket now to sit in the restaurant? Certainly it always used to be that standard class ticket holders would be accommodated if there was space.

Max said:

Nice little article, but is it true that you need a first class ticket now to sit in the restaurant? Certainly it always used to be that standard class ticket holders would be accommodated if there was space.

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As far as I know any ticket holder can book the dining car, but priority is given to 1st class ticket holders. So if it is in demand, us standard class users will have to eat our pasty in our seats, if indeed we should be lucky enough to secure a seat.

I don't think standard class passengers can prebook but they can dine if space is available.

I think it is one of those things you should do before you die because, although it might seem expensive, it is excellent food and the scenery out the window adds to the experience.

I have had meals in dining cars on a few of the preserved railways such as the Pullman service on the Swanage Railway, but have also dined on the services on the Bluebell and Severn Railways as well. I have say that I had a wonderful meal and dining experience on all three services.

As 455driver says, whether it is dining on the Great Western service or doing it on similar services on the preserved railways, it is something that should be done before you die. What other way could you see the countryside go by with eating fine food?

Robbies said:

As 455driver says, whether it is dining on the Great Western service or doing it on similar services on the preserved railways, it is something that should be done before you die. What other way could you see the countryside go by with eating fine food?

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The charter companies run excursions including meal service from time to time on other main line routes.

Modern Railways magazine is suggesting that GWR is increasing the provision of restaurant cars, so the title of the article/thread is a little misleading.

455driver said:

I think it is one of those things you should do before you die because, although it might seem expensive, it is excellent food and the scenery out the window adds to the experience.

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I'm glad I did it before East Coast cut theirs. A nice, freshly cooked steak at 125mph just seems so civilised.

I have done the GWR Pullman Dining service over 20 times, second class passengers can use it if there is space, so far I have always managed to get a seat in dining car, the busiest ones are the evening 18.03 and 19.03 from Paddington to West country, it is a very civilised way to spend a journey, the food is excellent and often end up chatting to someone, it is quite expensive but well worth it, a really good treat, I will be trying the new 2016 menu soon.

Max said:

Nice little article, but is it true that you need a first class ticket now to sit in the restaurant? Certainly it always used to be that standard class ticket holders would be accommodated if there was space.

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Standard class ticketholders can use the Pullmans, subject to seats not all being taken by first class passengers. The rules are as follows, according to the GWR website:

Reservations

First Class ticket holders can reserve a table up to 3 hours before departure by calling 03457 000 125.

For trains leaving from London, bookings within 3 hours of departure must be made in person at the Paddington First Class Lounge on Platform 1.

Onboard bookings

Anyone can book a table on the train, although we give priority to First Class ticket holders on busy services. Ask the Pullman Service Leader to check availability for you.

https://www.gwr.com/your-journey/journey-information/on-board/pullman-dining

New menus started on the 18th January. I dined on the 20th with the compliments of GWR after pretty dispicable treatment at the hands of a TM on a previous Pullman trip:

I posted about this new menu meal on another forum. Rather than type it out again here, I've copied and pasted.


"As I said a couple of posts back bobm and I dined on the Pullman last Wednesday to sample the new menu one which began on 18th January 2016. On this first menu of the three in rotation (see attached) there were a couple of new dishes, with the ever present standards of Salmon starter and Steak main. And the fish dish and alternative meat main see changes in their preparation/sauce rather than being totally new compared to what went before.

For starter I ordered one of the completely new dishes - Broad Bean and Pea Samosa with Spiced Aubergine
http://i598.photobucket.com/albums/tt68/bnm/IMG_20160120_132729aaa_zps9px2balb.jpg

I'm not a huge fan of either broad beans or aubergine, but this was an interesting looking addition to the menu so I thought I'd give it a go. The samosas were delicately spiced and very tasty. The aubergine accompaniment was similar to a houmous. Again, very nice. I suspect the aubergine is either North African or Middle East inspired.

My main course was an evolution of a previous menu dish - Slow Braised Somerset Pork Belly with Fennel and Quince
http://i598.photobucket.com/albums/tt68/bnm/IMG_20160120_135114aaa_zpsah6czrzm.jpg

I really love the slow braised pork. The flesh is so tender and the fat just melts in the mouth. This dish was probably my favourite from the previous menus. Now prepared with a fennel and quince sauce which is, to my mind, an improvement on the cabbage and wholegrain mustard sauce it previously came with. My favourite dish is now even better!

For dessert. A simple dish - Butterscotch Pudding with Somerset Brandy Sauce
http://i598.photobucket.com/albums/tt68/bnm/IMG_20160120_143329_zpscozyuwcb.jpg

As puddings go it was okay, just nothing special. I would have liked to have had some clotted cream to go with it just to cut through the richness of both the pudding and sauce. Only minor criticisms though - I still polished it off!

There are some new additions to the wine menu but I stuck with my favourite - the Clotilde Davenne Chablis. Also on the drinks menu is a new spirit - Shipwreck Somerset Cider Brandy (BBC News item about the cider brandy and the barrels used to mature it). Both bobm and I wanted to try one of these as a postprandial snifter but unfortunately, while the bottle was aboard, it hadn't been added to the EPOS, so couldn't be sold. Another time...


Overall, a very enjoyable meal. The service remains excellent, with staff who are dedicated to the job they do. I've said it countless times, they are a credit to GWR. It's just a shame that the reason for dining last week was because of an experience at the hands of another GWR employee who was anything but a credit to the company.

My thanks to my dining companion bobm for coming along. Although, to be fair, he doesn't need much encouragement to partake of a Pullman meal! My thanks also to Jason Ness, Jo Elliot and Matthew Galton at GWR who arranged and signed off on the complimentary meal and drinks. In fact, double thanks to them - I was only expecting my meal to be covered but they added a '+1' to the booking.

Finally, another thing I always say when reviewing the Pullman services. Get out there and try it. There really is nothing that compares to fine dining at over 100mph. If you've never done it then put it on your bucket list. The nature of rail services in the UK mean nothing is ever certain forever, and we don't know what the future holds for Pullman dining on the Greater Western franchise, so better to try the experience sooner rather than later."

Just book 1st dining on your next trip with UK Railtours or the like. It's well worth it.

I'm booked on a Pullman service in March from Plymouth to Paddington so hoping to sample the menu on board - very much looking forward to it

Great post bnm, thanks.

dk1 said:

Just book 1st dining on your next trip with UK Railtours or the like. It's well worth it.

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Its not the same though, there you are booking just for the food, on a service train you are actually going somewhere and the dining is additional too the journey being made.

455driver said:

Its not the same though, there you are booking just for the food, on a service train you are actually going somewhere and the dining is additional too the journey being made.

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You've lost me. A meal on a train is a meal on a train. This way you get it breakfast, lunch & dinner. I've done that countless times along with sampling the restaurant on Intercity routes, Virgin, Anglia, GNER & Great Western. Not sure of the difference.