"Victoria Station" restaurant, Toronto
Nigel Allen
I had dinner last night at a Toronto restaurant with a railway
theme. The "Victoria Station" restaurant is built around a
number of old boxcars and is decorated with British railway memorabilia.
The food itself was fine but not exciting.
It's at 190 Queen's Quay East. about twenty minutes walk from
Union Station. The phone number for reservations
(not always necessary) is (416) 366-4985.
On my way to the restaurant, I walked past a private railway car,
"Northern Lights" apparently belonging to a company called Private Rail.
Reporting marks were PRLX 1915. It was on a track leading to a
warehouse of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (the provincial
government agency that runs Ontario's liquor stores), so
presumably the LCBO doesn't get many shipments by rail these days.
--
Nigel Allen - via FidoNet node 1:250/98
INTERNET: Nigel...@f438.n250.z1.FIDONET.ORG
Ed Suranyi
>I had dinner last night at a Toronto restaurant with a railway
>theme. The "Victoria Station" restaurant is built around a
>number of old boxcars and is decorated with British railway memorabilia.
Believe it or not, this is a restaurant chain! There's another
one in Universal City, California. No real railroad line, let alone
a station, has ever existed there; it's at the top of a steep hill
overlooking the San Fernando Valley.
It would be interesting to compare the cars used at the different
Victoria Station restaurants.
One of the most interesting thing done with old railroad cars is
the Indianapolis Holiday Inn. The hotel uses a large part of the
old railroad station (the other part is now a shopping center),
and some of the rooms are actually converted railroad cars!
ter...@amazon.llnl.gov
> In article <691.2A...@egsgate.FIDONET.ORG> Nigel...@f438.n250.z1.fidonet.org (Nigel Allen) writes:
>>I had dinner last night at a Toronto restaurant with a railway
>>theme. The "Victoria Station" restaurant is built around a
>>number of old boxcars and is decorated with British railway memorabilia.
> Believe it or not, this is a restaurant chain! There's another
> one in Universal City, California. No real railroad line, let alone
> a station, has ever existed there; it's at the top of a steep hill
> overlooking the San Fernando Valley.
> It would be interesting to compare the cars used at the different
> Victoria Station restaurants.
These used to be fairly common in Southern California when I was
growing up. They mainly served steak and prime rib. The chain seemed
to hit its peak in the early to mid 70's, then ran into problems in the
late 70's (bankruptcy?). Many of the restaurants closed although it is
still rather easy to spot the old buildings. The building in Torrance, CA
(Hawthorne Blvd. near Torrance Airport) was made of a caboose and four
or five boxcars, and has had several restaurants located in it since
Victoria Station closed. There was a building in Claremont, CA that I
assume was also a Victoria Station although it had some other restaurant in it
when I started at Harvey Mudd College in 1979. I didn't even know the
chain still existed until I saw the one at Universal Studios in the mid 80's.
While we're on the subject of restaurants, is the Fred Harvey chain
still around? I remember my family stopped at a Fred Harvey restaurant
on the way from L.A. to the Grand Canyon about 20 years ago and that they
also ran some of the concessions at the South Rim. At the time I didn't
know much about railroad history so I hadn't heard about the Santa Fe and
the Harvey Girls.
_____ Alan Teruya ter...@llnl.gov
___ |[]|_n__n_I_c Conductor & Track Worker (510) 422-4676
|___||__|###|____} Niles Canyon Railway Lawrence Livermore Nat'l Lab
O-O--O-O+++--O-O Pacific Locomotive Assn. P.O. Box 808, Mail Stop L-352
Livermore, CA 94550
schu...@msus1.msus.edu
> Nigel...@f438.n250.z1.fidonet.org (Nigel Allen) writes:
>>I had dinner last night at a Toronto restaurant with a railway
>>theme. The "Victoria Station" restaurant is built around a
>>number of old boxcars and is decorated with British railway memorabilia.
>
> Believe it or not, this is a restaurant chain! There's another
> one in Universal City, California. No real railroad line, let alone
> a station, has ever existed there; it's at the top of a steep hill
> overlooking the San Fernando Valley.
>
Yes, it is a restaurant chain. I seem to recall that it went through
some financial troubles several years ago (mid-1980s ?). I believe that
at that time they closed a number of their restaurants to concentrate on
the more profitable ones in areas of the country where they could have a
visible presence.
I don't remember if each restaurant in the chain was owned by the
company, or whether it was a franchise operation, or a combination.
Nevertheless, I seem to recall that each restaurant was decorated
virtually the same. All of the ones that I've seen used boxcars as
part of the building.
As I recall, the reputation that they developed at that time was as a
restaurant that offered fairly standard food at somewhat higher prices.
Apparently, people would eat there, decide it wasn't the best value, and
not return.
I haven't been to one in years. In fact, I'm not even sure if the ones
that were located in Minneapolis/St. Paul (the closest large metro area to
Mankato, Minnesota) are still open. For example, there was one in
Roseville, a suburb of Minneapolis/St. Paul, not too far from where I lived
when I was a professor at the University of Minnesota (Twin Cities).
Paul L. Schumann, Ph.D.
Professor of Management
Mankato State University
Mankato, MN 56002-8400
Charley Wingate
Sykesville (due west of Balto., due north of DC) called Baldwin's. No
rolling stock though.
The ne plus ultra of this species, though, has to be the Red Caboose Inn in
Strasburg PA (home of the Strasburg RR and the PA State Traspo. Museum).
We're talking literal red cabooses, about 12 of them as I recall (all
ex-PRR), maybe more.
--
C. Wingate + "Hail thee, Festival Day,
+ Blest Day that art hallowed forever,
man...@cs.umd.edu + Day whereon Christ arose,
tove!mangoe + Breaking the kingdom of death."
Eddie Van Huffel
> In article <691.2A...@egsgate.FIDONET.ORG> Nigel...@f438.n250.z1.fidone
> >I had dinner last night at a Toronto restaurant with a railway
> >theme. The "Victoria Station" restaurant is built around a
> >number of old boxcars and is decorated with British railway memorabilia.
>
> Believe it or not, this is a restaurant chain! There's another
> one in Universal City, California. No real railroad line, let alone
> a station, has ever existed there; it's at the top of a steep hill
> overlooking the San Fernando Valley.
>
> It would be interesting to compare the cars used at the different
> Victoria Station restaurants.
>
> One of the most interesting thing done with old railroad cars is
> the Indianapolis Holiday Inn. The hotel uses a large part of the
> old railroad station (the other part is now a shopping center),
> and some of the rooms are actually converted railroad cars!
>
> Ed
> e...@wente.llnl.gov
>
>
There were several in the Cleveland area, but they all folded up about 2 or
3 years ago. They are all gone, including the Box Cars.
--
ed...@railnet.nshore.ORG (Eddie Van Huffel)
Railnet BBS +1 216 786 0476
Dave Pierson
more: Framingham & Burlington. Dunno if they are still active.
Also, if in Harrisburg, PA (Actually, cross the river at the
Conrail Yards, name escapes me...Enola?), there is a motel overlooking
the N/W end of the yards. SERIOUS Railroadiana decor in the restaurant.
Real stuff, not interior Decor imaginary.
thanks
dave pierson |the facts, as accurately as i can manage,
Digital Equipment Corporation |the opinions, my own.
200 Forest St |I am the NRA.
Marlboro, Mass 01752 pie...@cimnet.enet.dec.com
"He has read everything, and, to his credit, written nothing." A J Raffles
M00...@mbvm.mitre.org
schu...@msus1.msus.edu writes, in part, regarding "Victoria Station":
>
>Yes, it is a restaurant chain. I seem to recall that it went through
>some financial troubles several years ago (mid-1980s ?). I believe that
>at that time they closed a number of their restaurants to concentrate on
>the more profitable ones in areas of the country where they could have a
>visible presence.
>
>I don't remember if each restaurant in the chain was owned by the
>company, or whether it was a franchise operation, or a combination.
>Nevertheless, I seem to recall that each restaurant was decorated
>virtually the same. All of the ones that I've seen used boxcars as
>part of the building.
>
>As I recall, the reputation that they developed at that time was as a
>restaurant that offered fairly standard food at somewhat higher prices.
>Apparently, people would eat there, decide it wasn't the best value, and
>not return.
>
across the Channel from South Station and one in Burlington. My wife and I
enjoy them. We do not consider the food to be over-priced. The specialty of
the chain is prime rib. Decor is boxcars decorated with what I believe are
authentic signs and artifacts from British railways, undergrounds and trams.
Len Bachelder Archives Committee, Boston and Maine RR Historical Society
MITRE Corp. Secretary, Massachusetts Bay Railroad Enthusiasts
Bedford MA 01730 Member, 470 Railroad Club
<M00...@mbvm.mitre.org>
"Amazing love, how can it be that Thou, my God, should'st die for me!"
- Charles Wesley
M00...@mbvm.mitre.org
man...@cs.umd.edu (Charley Wingate) writes:
>
>Here in Maryland there is a very nice restaurant in the RR station in
>Sykesville (due west of Balto., due north of DC) called Baldwin's. No
>rolling stock though.
>
>The ne plus ultra of this species, though, has to be the Red Caboose Inn in
>Strasburg PA (home of the Strasburg RR and the PA State Traspo. Museum).
>We're talking literal red cabooses, about 12 of them as I recall (all
>ex-PRR), maybe more.
>--
theme restaurants? I'd be happy to start with a fairly long list that I can
think of. After all, next to riding and watching trains and boats, eating is
my favorite pastime!
Robert Wier
I used to go to the "Victoria Station" places in Fort Worth/Dallas and
Houston. The food wasn't great, but I didn't think it was grossly
overpriced. They had kind of a nice atmosphere (especially in the
booths if you were trying to impress a girl (I was very young then
(sigh...)). I just kind of wished that the decor was more oriented
to the RR history of the particular area where the resturant was
located (probably too much to ask in a Franchise chain, though) -
I forget who owned them, but it was a BIG company ( I want to say
Ralston Purina, or Pillsbury - but that's probably not it...).
- Bob Wier
-------------- insert favorite standard disclaimers here --------------
home of the mc68hc11 mailing list
Internet: r...@naucse.cse.nau.edu | BITNET: WIER@NAUVAX | WB5KXH
"Springtime in the Rockies - time to smell the flowers, ride the trains
mow the clover, count the stars, feed the hummingbirds"
john.a.welsh
I know of 2 of them, one retained a RR theme the other did not. The
one that did is in Whippany, NJ (Whippany Jct.?) just off Rt. 10. The other
is on Rt 18 in East Brunswick and it is an Olive Garden (very nice).
They were prime rib places and were good, but not great. My strongest
complaint was that it was all done in English steam era on the inside
with US rolling stock outside.
RR theme restaurants I know of are:
Casey Jones - Long Branch, NJ across from the NY&LB (North Jersey Coast Line)
My personal favorite, they have a well rounded menu.
The former VS in Whippany.
Kelly's Station - Boonton - A former Lackawanna RR station on Rt 202
Rod's in the Livingston / W. Orange area (Suburban Essex County)
I hope this is still around, it is very pricey, though
Union Jct. in Jutland off of Rt 78 West The open platform Obs. car is a
real former Jersey Central Blue Comet Obs
There are 3 that I'll mention in PA:
In Bethlehem, PA, there is a nice looking place in the old CNJ station
At Enola (near Harrisburg) overlooking the yard
The Lackawanna Station in Scranton.
Chris Lee
remember laughing when I saw them because (as far as I can remember) they
were BR Mark 1 and LNER Gresley panelled stock, but with LBSC markings.
Some of the artifacts in it looked genuine enough, ie the old mechanical
train destination indicator looked like genuine SR.
Chris Lee
Yoshio Abe
> one in Universal City, California. No real railroad line, let alone
> a station, has ever existed there; it's at the top of a steep hill
> overlooking the San Fernando Valley.
Also believe or not, this is a worldwide restaurant chain! Even over the
Pacific Ocean, I can find several (not sure) branches of Victoria Station
in Tokyo. Is Victoria Station chain owned by Japanese? probably not... :-)
Well, anyways, the Tokyo branches are actually a part of huge buildings,
so no real car is used. Only decoration and menus (mainly prime libs)
remind us American style. (I can't tell if the decoration is really
"American" or not, but not Japanese at all.)
In the U.S., I can remind you Mount Rainier Scenic Railroad (may not be
accurate) in Washington. At the station, They have a restaurant, made of a
caboose and three coaches put aside, and the walls in between are removed
so that two big rooms are made. (Correct my description if wrong.) The
scenary is not pretty good, since only one side of the room is open. I
visited there in the Summer, 1989. They served Beef, Salmon and some more.
Not so bad, but not great. $10-15 per person. * [one star]
In <167EE9D6...@MBVM.Mitre.Org>, Len Bachelder writes:
> Would anyone besides me be interested in lists of railroad station/railroad
> theme restaurants? I'd be happy to start with a fairly long list that I
> can think of. After all, next to riding and watching trains and boats,
> eating is my favorite pastime!
Good idea. Does anyone make Railroad-Michelin or whatsoever? ;-)
>Len Bachelder Archives Committee, Boston and Maine RR Historical
>Society
>MITRE Corp. Secretary, Massachusetts Bay Railroad Enthusiasts
>Bedford MA 01730 Member, 470 Railroad Club
><M00...@mbvm.mitre.org>
Yoshio Abe
Materials Science
California Institute of Technology
yo...@juliet.caltech.edu
Bill Gripp
>In article <691.2A...@egsgate.FIDONET.ORG> Nigel...@f438.n250.z1.fidonet.org (Nigel Allen) writes:
>>I had dinner last night at a Toronto restaurant with a railway
>>theme. The "Victoria Station" restaurant is built around a
>>number of old boxcars and is decorated with British railway memorabilia.
>
>Believe it or not, this is a restaurant chain! There's another
>one in Universal City, California. No real railroad line, let alone
>a station, has ever existed there; it's at the top of a steep hill
>overlooking the San Fernando Valley.
There were several here in the New York Metro area at one time
(including Whippany, NJ and White Plains, NY) however all except the one
in Wayne, NJ closed down several years ago.
>One of the most interesting thing done with old railroad cars is
>the Indianapolis Holiday Inn. The hotel uses a large part of the
>old railroad station (the other part is now a shopping center),
>and some of the rooms are actually converted railroad cars!
The old CNJ station in Wilkes-Barre, PA was converted into a restaurant.
The old railroad yard behind the station is now filled with old cabooses,
boxcars, and former Reading electric MU cars. These are all used as
"rooms" for a motel.
The old Lackawanna Scranton station was converted into a hotel by Hilton
5-10 years ago. I guess they didn't do well enough because although it
is still a hotel, it's no longer a Hilton.
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| |[_]| | | |[_]| |
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|_|___|___|________________________|_| |_|________________________|___|___|_|
@|_|[o][o]=[o]|__________|[o]=[o][o]|_|O|_|[o][o]=[o]___________|[o]=[o][o]|_|O
================================================================================
Clive Feather
> The "Victoria Staion" at the Universal Studios has British carriages. I
> Some of the artifacts in it looked genuine enough, ie the old mechanical
> train destination indicator looked like genuine SR.
When I went to the "Victoria Station" in Toronto, I could personally
identify the sign over the table as being one I had often seen in my
youth.
None of this is unlikely - there is a shop ("Collectors' Corner") just
next to Euston where British Rail sell off most of their surplus
equipment.
--
Clive D.W. Feather | IXI Limited | If you lie to the compiler,
cl...@x.co.uk | 62-74 Burleigh St. | it will get its revenge.
Phone: +44 223 462 131 | Cambridge CB1 1OJ | - Henry Spencer
(USA: 1 800 XDESK 57) | United Kingdom |
Mark Bartelt
| On my way to the restaurant, I walked past a private railway car,
| "Northern Lights" apparently belonging to a company called Private Rail.
| Reporting marks were PRLX 1915. It was on a track leading to a
| warehouse of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (the provincial
| government agency that runs Ontario's liquor stores), so
| presumably the LCBO doesn't get many shipments by rail these days.
Actually, they do. When I moved to Toronto from California, and was looking
at various options for shipping my wine (~70 cases) here, I discovered that
the LCBO will permit one to bundle a private shipment with one of theirs.
They have a collection depot in California, to which all their purchases are
shipped by truck. It sits there until they have enough to fill a boxcar, at
which point everything gets loaded on, and the car is sealed until it crosses
the border and clears customs.
The LCBO just added some prorated fraction of the shipping costs to my bill
for duties and taxes. (The shipping costs, incidentally, were far less than
any of the other options.)
[ Len Bachelder ]
| Would anyone besides me be interested in lists of railroad station/railroad
| theme restaurants? I'd be happy to start with a fairly long list that I can
| think of. After all, next to riding and watching trains and boats, eating is
| my favorite pastime!
A much shorter and far more interesting list would be one naming rail-oriented
restaurants that serve good food. I've eaten in quite a number of restaurants
with numerous variations on railroad themes (old stations, old railcars, etc.)
and, without exception, the food has been mediocre at best, and often worse.
And frequently overpriced to boot.
Is there some Law of Nature (tm) which dictates that "theme" restaurants and
above-average food can't exist in the same place at the same time?
Mark Bartelt 416/978-5619
Canadian Institute for ma...@cita.toronto.edu
Theoretical Astrophysics ma...@cita.utoronto.ca
"Clothes not busy being worn are busy drying." - Dylan, on laundry day
Ed Ravin
>There were several here in the New York Metro area at one time
>(including Whippany, NJ and White Plains, NY) however all except the one
>in Wayne, NJ closed down several years ago.
The one in White Plains sat abandoned for several years, with the London-style
red phone booth out in the front. Alas, the forces of "progress" have
marched on, and there's a car dealership there now...
--
Ed Ravin | I like to think (it has to be!) of a cybernetic ecology
era...@panix.com | where we are free of our labors and joined back to nature
philabs!trintex!elr | returned to our mammal brothers and sisters,
+1 914 993 4737 | and all watched over by machines of loving grace
Kershner Wyatt
>>In article <691.2A...@egsgate.FIDONET.ORG> Nigel...@f438.n250.z1.fidonet.org (Nigel Allen) writes:
>>>I had dinner last night at a Toronto restaurant with a railway
>>>theme. The "Victoria Station" restaurant is built around a
>>>number of old boxcars and is decorated with British railway memorabilia.
>>
>>Believe it or not, this is a restaurant chain! There's another
>>one in Universal City, California. No real railroad line, let alone
>>a station, has ever existed there; it's at the top of a steep hill
>>overlooking the San Fernando Valley.
I think all the Victoria Station restaurants have closed down, and most I think
have also been torn apart (at least the one's I know of). However, on the
thread of railroad restaurants --
Columbia, SC - "California Dreaming" - old main Columbia railroad station.
Montgomery, Al - Little excellent restaurant in station - could be in either
Montgomery, Wetumpka or another town in the vicinity, it's been 7 years now
since I lived there. Worth finding though.
Atlanta, GA - Station outside of Atlanta Underground is available for parties,
etc. Don't know if it serves as a restaurant normally or not.
Hagerstown, MD - not a restaurant - its the Hagerstown Police Department. One
of the main stations of the Western Maryland line. Corner of US 11 (Burhans
Blvd) and US 40 (Washington/Franklin Streets). A beautifully redone place, it
looks the best it has looked in years. While you're there, Hagerstown Round-
house Museum on Burhans Blvd, south of station about a mile, colocated with
the old WM roundhouse. The old Norfolk and Western roundhouse used to be
nearby. Could also have been the Pennsy or Cumberland Valley roundhouse.
Hagerstown City Park (rated one of the best parks in the country!!) has a
steam engine still under renovation (at least 20 years now).
Sorry about going on about Hagerstown, if you want more info, email or post.
Kershner Wyatt
Western Maryland - Fast Freight Line
kwy...@ccscola.ColumbiaSC.ncr.com
Opinions are mine alone.
Bill Gripp
>Sadly, it seems that New Jersey has lost its Victoria Station restaurants.
>I know of 2 of them, one retained a RR theme the other did not. The
>one that did is in Whippany, NJ (Whippany Jct.?) just off Rt. 10. The other
In case you missed my other post, the Victoria Station in Wayne, NJ
is still in operation.
>is on Rt 18 in East Brunswick and it is an Olive Garden (very nice).
>They were prime rib places and were good, but not great. My strongest
>complaint was that it was all done in English steam era on the inside
>with US rolling stock outside.
>
>RR theme restaurants I know of are:
>Casey Jones - Long Branch, NJ across from the NY&LB (North Jersey Coast Line)
> My personal favorite, they have a well rounded menu.
>The former VS in Whippany.
>Kelly's Station - Boonton - A former Lackawanna RR station on Rt 202
>Rod's in the Livingston / W. Orange area (Suburban Essex County)
> I hope this is still around, it is very pricey, though
There is also a Rod's in/near the DL&W at/near Convent Station, NJ (near
Morristown).
>Union Jct. in Jutland off of Rt 78 West The open platform Obs. car is a
> real former Jersey Central Blue Comet Obs
>There are 3 that I'll mention in PA:
>In Bethlehem, PA, there is a nice looking place in the old CNJ station
>At Enola (near Harrisburg) overlooking the yard
>The Lackawanna Station in Scranton.
Also the CNJ station in Wilkes-Barre, PA.
There is also the Iron Horse in Westwood, NJ. My memory is a bit fuzzy
on these, but I seem to recall a restaurant with a GM&O car attached on
Rt 46, around Hackettstown, NJ, a restaurant in the Somerville/Raritan,
NJ area with two cars (Erie Stillwells?), and there is hotel off Rt 80
in the Poconos (Tannersville?) with has an old 0-4-0T and several
passenger cars.
M00...@mbvm.mitre.org
kwy...@ccscola.Columbia (Kershner Wyatt) writes, in part:
>
>I think all the Victoria Station restaurants have closed down, and most I think
>have also been torn apart (at least the one's I know of). However, on the
>thread of railroad restaurants --
>
One in (almost) downtown Boston just across the Channel from South Station, one
on Route 9 in Framinghma, and one on the Middlesex Turnpike just off Route 128
(aka I-95) in Burlington. There may be others. My wife and I have eaten at
the Burlington one several times and like it.
Len Bachelder Archives Committee, Boston and Maine RR Historical Society
MITRE Corp. Secretary, Massachusetts Bay Railroad Enthusiasts
Bedford MA 01730 Member, 470 Railroad Club
<M00...@mbvm.mitre.org>
Eric Hvozda
They did have some of the best steak I had ever had.
--
Ack! esh...@psuvm.psu.edu ESH101@PSUVM
hvo...@vivaldi.psu.edu hvo...@wilbur.psu.edu DoD #0217
M00...@mbvm.mitre.org
under the name "Iron Horse" or something like that. As I recall (from the 60s
and 70s) it was quite good. Don't forget Station Square!
james.j.menth
>> Would anyone besides me be interested in lists of railroad station/railroad
>> theme restaurants? I'd be happy to start with a fairly long list that I
>> can think of. After all, next to riding and watching trains and boats,
>> eating is my favorite pastime!
>
The resort town of Eureka Springs, Arkansas has a restored steam era
station, a round-table and several type of motive power. They offer
a dining train for breakfast, lunch and dinner in which the train
moves you to a more or less scenic area and the meal is served.
Nice for a diversion in the Ozarks and the restoration gets better
each time I return.
Jim Menth
AT&T Little Rock Operations Center
j...@cbnewsb.att.com