Restaurant Car Cooking Fuel

I know that in MK1 catering vehicles cooking was by propane gas.

What about earlier vehicles though? I assume that at some stage cooking was on coal fired ranges but - Southern Electric stock excluded was electricity ever used - if so how was it provided and when was gas brought in?

 

The LNER at one time was mostly electricity with up to 7 battery boxes, and 2 dynamos to keep them charged. GWR and LMS were mainly gas.

 

Some BR kitchen cars had anthracite stoves. Even the batch of full kitchen cars in the 80010-21 series built as late as 1962 had them. They were of course less than popular with the staff who had to tend them and had a fairly short working life.

 

The LNER pioneered anthracite stove as well as electric cooking. The Brighton Belle stock had electric cooking powered from the third rail with an electricity meter on board so that the Pullman Car company could be charged for the electricity used for cooking, lighting and heating by the Southern Railway!

 

Thank you, that's interesting - especially that BR was fitting coal fired ranges as late as they did.

What gas did the GWR & LMS use?

 

IIRC it was "oil gas" which was stored, under pressure in special tank wagons at the termini. The GW ones used the code name Cordon.
Ray.

 

I seem to remember pictures of Bath Green Park included a gas tanker at the buffer stops. Might have discouraged over fast arrivals...........

 

Our Gresley BCK, that until about 1990, served as a PW Mess Coach had a Rayburn stove for dinner cooking.

Not an original fitting though.