The New Haven RR Image Page -- Menu Covers of the 1960s Era

THE IMAGE PAGE

The 'image page' is where we put a changing variety of New Haven Railroad photographs and advertising material for you to enjoy. Be sure to check back here often because we plan to refresh these images on a regular basis.

Menu Covers Of The 1960s Era

April 1st, 2004

Despite bankruptcy and huge financial losses on its passenger trains, the New Haven continued to offer a high standard of service on its diners and grill cars throughout its final decade. During the 1960s the New Haven Railroad Dining Car Department continued to employ the 8" x 11" magazine-style format of the 1950s era for most menus. These menus were supplied to the railroad on a monthly basis by Transportation Displays Incorporated (TDI), the famous commuter timetable people. These menus were financed entirely through paid advertising collected by TDI. In this "image page" we'll take a look at the standard Dining Car Department menu cover designs used during the 1960s. All menus from the collection of Marc Frattasio.

At the beginning of the 1960s decade New Haven Railroad Dining Car Department menus used the same gold-tone cover design with black and white "scratchboard" artwork introduced during the late 1950s. This menu from June 1961 features an illustration of the famous "Swanboats" of Boston's Public Garden.

Menus from the early to mid 1960s often featured a New Haven Railroad advertisement on the back. Menus from the 1950s typically had beer advertisements on the back cover instead. In this case, the back cover of the menu shown above features an advertisement for the New Haven Railroad's summertime passenger service between New York City and Cape Cod.

In 1962 or 1963 the New Haven introduced a new cover design for its menus. The new design featured a cover sized black & white photograph or photo-montage printed with a color filter. This example, from March 1963, was used on trains operated between Boston and Washington DC via the Hell Gate Bridge and New York's Penn Station. The cover photo in this case is an aerial view of New York City at night which was printed with a brownish filter.

In 1964 and 1965 the New Haven experienced a slight up tick in passengers carried between Boston and New York City on account of the New York World's Fair. Some New Haven menus from those years featured cover artwork depicting a family walking down a station platform past a passenger car, as seen on this example from the Patriot issued during November 1964. This same artwork was also used on Cape Cod passenger train schedules and other advertising in 1964 and 1965.

In 1965 the New Haven introduced yet another standard cover design for menus. This design featured the same full color artwork of an EMD FL-9 diesel-electric-electric locomotive employed on the covers of Form 200 passenger timetables from that period. This New Haven menu cover design would prove to be the last as it was used through the Penn Central takeover effective January 1st 1969. In fact, this menu cover design was used on ex-New Haven dining cars and grill cars for at least a month after the Penn Central takeover since examples exist that are dated January 1969!

Note, the Merchants Limited menu cover shown here is from June 1966.

Here's an unusual variation of the standard New Haven menu cover of the mid to late 1960s. By the simple expedient of substituting green for black on the FL-9 locomotive artwork a festive Christmas color effect was achieved for this December 1968 menu!

The back cover of the December 1968 menu features a religious Christmas greeting. No doubt such a thing would be a no-no on Amtrak in today's intolerant and politically correct social climate!