Pullmans.

Can a Pullman fine dining train be just that if you.

Don't offer silver service.
Don't wear traditional Pullman uniforms.
Leave silver platters of veg on the tables so the customers can help themselves?

 

no, thats not i would expect , if i went on a train that offered pullman dining, i would expect silver service and water service , i dont see how someone can call what sounds like a carvery type service Pullman i cant accept side dishes being left on the table , its just tacky sorry , i have worked on a dining train as 1st chef and to be honest who ever did offer the service you describe was in my view not giving the customers what they should expect from anything that says Pulman

 

Certainly not. Moreover, Pullmans are Pullmans and bog standard Mark 1s painted umber and cream and given names aren't. The interior ambience of the coach (moquette, marquetry etc) is all part of the experience.

Tom

 

Which is what I said about the GCR's planned "Pullman Style" dining train - I'm glad someone agrees! I'm sure it will be first class - but it is unlikely to be Pullman!

 

I don't think our customers would be best impressed if we did that...

 

Must admit I'm a little surprised you've even asked the question, as the huge and obvious clue is in your question.

'FINE dining' by its very definition means uniformed staff serving people individually using the very best utensils and containers. It's certainly not about dumping a pot of veg on the table and letting the proles help themselves. I wouldn't call the latter 'fine', I'd call it bog standard.

Pullman is all about quality and using the very best. It's about going the extra few miles and people saying 'sod the expense'.

Personally, if I'd paid good money for 'Pullman' service I would have the real expectation of treating myself and spending a couple of hours in luxurious self-indulgence. If I had been left to grab food for myself and the staff weren't wearing Pullam uniforms, I'd be both disappointed and after some sort of refund.

 

I believe if you want to call your train a Pullman Dining Train or Pullman Fine Dining train, you should recreate the full Pullman Experience.
For example.
http://www.kesr.org.uk/images/morfeoshow/meet_the_sta-4892/big/Pullman_Staff.jpg
That is what I would expect every railway how state that they run a Pullman to be like.

 

I agree, so I'm curious as to why you asked the question - you evidently already know the answer!

Brings back a few memories of working on the dear old Wealden Pullman many, many moons ago...

 

(Thats me second one in)
No the reason why I ask the question is, There are other heritage railways offering a Pullman dining train. And not offering that should be a Pullman experience.

 

I agree - however, each railway will have it's own way of doing things. But leaving a tray of Veg on a table isn't exactly nice...

 

Agreed each railway will have their own way. But then there is the Pullman way.

 

talking about MK1 s being used , we used MK1 FOs on the Watercress Belle , but these had been overhauled to a high spec for the Popes visit and as such were as close to being pulman as you could, not every railway then had pulman coaches, but it was the service we offered rather than the rolling stock the issue here is that the end product was to a very high standard , no frozen food , only fresh, and every course was made fresh that same day, so it was high cuisine in a pulman type enviroment , anyone who has worked in a 1950's kitchen car , without having any help from the buffet kitchen knows how difficault it is to cater for 100 covers from the one kitchen car when you are doing 5 courses

 

Which railways might these be?

 

The K&ESR has two pullman coaches. But as you say. It's not the coaches that are the full story, it's the service you offer your customers.
What do your staff wear on the Watercress Belle. I would assume waistcoats and bow ties? Being as your marketing your train as a Luxury Dining Train and not a Pullman Dining train.

 

the waiting staff do wear black trousers, wastecoat and bow tye, or shirt and bow tie, i dont know if you on your train do this ,but when i used to chef , afterwards myself and my asistant would go through the train asking how they enjoyed their meal etc, getting feedback ideas etc, i did have one funny occation where on the previous week end i had a gentlemen on the footplate as a guest and he and his wife were on the belle, they were a bit a taken back as i used to be a fireman at the same time ,all i could think of was to say, its ok i did wash my hands before i cooked your food , anyone else have a simular experience, oh and the loco crew always cheared when i was on the belle, they knew they would get fed , very very well

 

This is what we wear.

 

Ah, I see. I'm with you now... As I everyone has basically said on this thread, Pullman means the highest standards and anything less than that just ain't cricket. Or indeed Pullman! ;-)

I haven't been involved with the Wealden Pullman for 25 years (ye gods, where does the time go?) but I see that standards must be slipping if they're letting the likes of you loose on it, heheheheh ;-)

 

admin: "thats me second one in" But from which end ? im looking for donkey but cant see him,

 

I know one pullman that served up a coke... in a can unopened just put on the table next to the glass...
not being a snob, but even in a lower end restaurant if they chose to serve up a can of coke i'd expect them to open and pour it.. even some truck stops do that !

Now this friday i'm off to Brussels for the day on a business trip, I certainly dont expect I would get that treatment when they serve Breakfast in the morning or with my Dinner in the in afternoon.. Eurostar isnt Pullman, but probably closer to the best the national network has currently (though I have had a few good meals on the Norwich-Liverpool St service.. whilst it lasted).

Fyi.. one nice touch of Eurostar's brand of Champagne.. it's called Pannier... I wonder if the name had a bearing on it's selection.