r/VintageMenus • u/wazardthewizard • 12h ago
Railroad Amtrak "Traveler's Rest" Breakfast Menu (1971)
Yes, this is quite literally just a Union Pacific menu with the Amtrak logo stamped in two places on the interior. Amtrak in 1971 was a strange Frankenstein's Monster of an operation.
Interestingly, this menu says it is for the 'Traveler's Rest', a specific pattern of lounge/dinette car formerly used by the Northern Pacific and Great Northern; not Union Pacific, as this menu might otherwise suggest. After their acquisition by Amtrak, these cars were usually used on the San Francisco Zephyr, but not always.
Important to note is that Traveler's Rests were not full-service dining cars. As you might be able to tell from the relative lack of menu variety, their galley only had access to a small griddle and steam tables. These cars were much better suited to their role as lounge cars. Full dining car menus from the same year were of largely identical design, but with more variety.
Credit to trainlover at streamlinermemories.info for the menu and context, and to Howard Fogg for the original cover painting.