The Time When Bar Cars Were on Commuter Trains

Railroads in the early 1900s were the most glamorous way to travel. But in the 1950s railroads started to loose market share and they fell into a state of disrepair. When local governments took over the services and were able to invest capital into new equipment some railroads tried a unique approach to get people back on the rails. They put bars on the trains to entice people back and it worked but today no commuter railroads operate them anymore.
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[@lotharhamburg5343]

Awesome memories LIRR rockin & rollin to the garden for a show

[@TomHoffman-uw7pf]

Another issue was that most commuters had to drive home from the station. The railroads didn't want to be partially liable for a DUI-caused accident.
Plenty of drinking went on with commuters who BYOB'd their alcohol. Around 5pm, the liquor store at Washington Union Station had a line out the door.

[@Pensyfan19]

Great video. I didn't know that the Rock Island and EL of all railroads also had bar cars.

[@JonBrooks105]

Long Island Parlor Cars ran until the double decker era.

[@kevinwong6588]

Some of the C3 bilevels had bar service, such as Hamptons Reserve.

[@nah_144]

They should bring bar cars back. Mainly for the New Haven Line EXP's.

[@dmrr7739]

“The bar cars are too crowded because they’re so popular. Let’s turn them back into regular coaches.”
No! Add more bar cars!

[@nyrailfan202]

Yes the logic was somewhat flawed

[@misterbalsa9676]

We in CT had high hopes for new Metro North bar cars, but they were cancelled. There's always the platform vendors at GCT for some libations to go...

[@nyrailfan202]

For sure

[@MalenkyGoblin]

The Metro North New Haven Line bar car still has a cult following and people still petition the Connecticut state government to bring it back.

[@FireStickzz]

Yes

[@trainluvr]

Public transit is no longer an appropriate place for smoking and drinking. Yet more people than ever are running around blazed on weed and edible THC on top of a variety of pharmaceutical drugs.

[@drguppy7861]

Wowee Kazowee these trains sure can get pretty Krazy amiright cause I mean they were having bar cars which is crazy because cars starts with a c not a b