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Is there a schedule for meal times? I would like them for the California Zephr and the City of New Orleans. At the least I would like to know if meals are served departing Chicago on the City of New Orleans at 8pm and departing Sacramento on the California Zephr at 11:35 am.
Geoff Mayo Member # 153
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Dinner is indeed served on the City of NO from Chicago, but it can be late (9:30pm last time I ate).
You'll have no trouble getting lunch on the CZ from Sacramento as the crew will have been preparing lunch since Emeryville (the train's origin).
Approximate meal times, vary by train and location: 6-8.30am Breakfast 12.30-2pm Lunch 5.30-8.30pm Dinner
Early morning arrivals at the train's destination (pre-10am) tend to mean earlier and shorter breakfasts. Service stops can interrupt food service too.
Geoff M.
RRRICH Member # 1418
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On most trains which have full diners, your dinner meal is by "reservation." For dinner, the dining car steward will often make an announcment during midafternoon sometime and offer passengers a choice of meal times -- there could 3 to 5 different "seatings" for dinner, depending on how full the train is. The steward will then walk through the train, sleepers first, and will ask everyone what time they want to eat, then give you a card with your reservation time on it. As the evening progresses, announcements are made for each seating, although, if the diner gets backed up, your "6:30" meal reservation may actually be closer to quarter of 7, or even 7 in some cases. But generally, dinner is served between 5:30 and 8:30 or so.
Breakfast and lunch do not require reservations. The diner usually opens at 6 or 6:30 AM for breakfast, but no announcements are made before about 7 AM, so as not to disturb passengers who may still be sleeping. For lunch, it usually begins with a "first call" at noon, and will be served until everybody who wants lunch is taken care of. There will usually be a "first call" and a "last call" for lunch, and if you get there and the diner is full, they will put you on a wait list and call your name when a seat is available. The bottom line is -- for lunch, get to the diner at 12 noon!
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