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New Zealand Railways 1878-1950
The refreshment branch of New Zealand Railways was a significant undertaking. Over many years the department made available refreshment room leases throughout the railway system, some being replaced when NZR commenced dining car operation on key services. Dining cars were eventually superseded as a war time economy measure, with those lines reverting back to refreshment room operations. These consisted of either counter refreshment rooms or sit-down dining rooms, providing travellers nourishment at all hours of the day and night. Eventually running all rooms themselves, the food sometimes came under vicious attack by the patrons, with head office sometimes the recipients of terse letters or returned food! Author Alison McKee also covers various individual refreshment rooms, railway bookstall operations, foods favoured and shunned by patrons, railway picnics, special occasions, railway crockery, hostess service, sale of liquor, royal tour dining, rationing, footplate food, and numerous recipes of the era.
253×203 mm portrait format, 66 black and white photographs, 19 black and white and 15 colour documents, 102 pages, soft bound.
Members Price: NZ $47.00 AU $61.00 RoW $77.00
Non Members Price: NZ $55.00 AU$69.00 RoW $85.00
This week there are three articles all relating to ‘The Southerner’ and they are from the New Zealand Railway Observer Volume 27, No 4 – Summer 1970-71. These articles are a good follow on from Step Back in Time -Article 14.
The first article is:
Locomotives and Their performance Number 5 – The ‘Southerner’ in Service by T A McGavin
The second article is:
Buffet Meals on the ‘Southerner’
The third article is:
Passenger Cars for the ‘Southerner’
Each week a new Article from early issues of the New Zealand Railway Observers will be featured. Previous articles can still be viewed via the Publications Tab and then Historical NZRO Articles (the bottom option under the Publications Tab).
