I Will Return or a Heavy Breakfast at Betsy's

Al writes...
Back in August of  '12 I posted on a brief encounter with Betsy's Dinner in Falmouth MA. You may remember the "Eat Heavy" slogan. Last week we had a quick trip back to Falmouth on family business.  So I took the opportunity to do some heavy eating at breakfast.


First some background.  Betsy's is a Mountain View diner,  they were manufactured in Singac New Jersey from 1938 to 1957. This diner is serial number 498, built in 1957 so its among the last. It was originally the Peter Pan diner in Kuhnsville Pa.  The diner was moved to Falmouth in 1992 and is located on the site of the former Falmouth Diner.

On to the inside,  Betsy's appears to be very close to original complete with table side "remotes" for the Seeburg juke box and chrome finish. It reflects the '50s even down to the no credit cards accepted signs. 

The food was basic breakfast fare at reasonable prices, although the portions were generous.  My choice further reinforced my notion that no one makes omelets like those found in the Chicago area.  All in all an interesting place that I'll be sure to visit again.

Ruth's Diner-Emigration Canyon, Utah

David writes.....

Emigration Canyon is one of the several canyons that provide access to the Salt Lake Valley from the Wasatch Front. It is so named because Brigham Young allegedly declared "This is the Place" at the mouth of the canyon, thus starting settlement of the Salt Lake Valley.  The scene is depicted in a mural at the Union Pacific depot in downtown Salt Lake City.  The road through Emigration Canyon is actually very narrow and curvy.  Even as early as the 1850s this route into the valley was replaced by the road built up Parley's Canyon, which is the route taken by I-80.  It is how one gets up to Park City.

Tucked up in Emigration Canyon is Ruth's Diner.  Our editor Randy sent me on assignment to Ruth's as he had heard that it was made out of an old Salt Lake & Utah interurban body.  My investigation revealed this is not the case, but the diner still has a strong traction connection. Ruth's is built partially out of a Utah Light and Power company streetcar.  It appears to be one of the series built by American Car Company in 1914.  The body has been modified greatly, and only portions remain.

I sat in the car and had a wonderful roast beef dinner.  I understand Ruth's has an excellent breakfast as well, so we will return.

DOWT days 4 & 5 or See You Next Year

Al writes...

I'll make this fairly brief as it fits into the more of the same category. And actually that's a good thing, as the weather was perfect, the crowds were present and the Thomas train operated flawlessly. So more of the same is good news in this case.

Both days were roughly repeats of last Saturday and Sunday, except that we had enough customers that we added a 4:30 train on Saturday. I finally figured out how to get responses from the kids I was interviewing in the "Man on the Street" role other than a yes or no.  We'll see how that goes next time if i can remember it.

 As usual we had 4 cars operating on the streetcar loop and 3 trains on the main line. There were reports of queues for the mainline trains during the mid afternoon.  On Sunday the CA&E steel set was used rather the the North Shore cars.In general we had very few issues with the riding public however it did seem that the folks who were itching for a fight were concentrated on Saturday. Nothing serious but just a few of those incidents that make you shake your head. For example, a car arrived in the parking lot around 5:15 with Michigan license plates asking if this was the place for the Thomas ride. Seems they were a little late but!

One incident produced a very pleasant surprise. After a ride one woman came up to me and told me she was very upset with what she heard in her car. I thought oh boy a complaint to deal with! She then proceeded to tell me that the man in the next seat was complaining about what a rip off the price for the Thomas tickets is , and how the museum was just robbing people for this event. She then told me how she told the man that everything he could see, the barns, equipment, the diesel fuel in the locomotive etc. was all paid for with donated funds and receipts from the event etc. Nice to have some members of the public recognizing that fact.

 Last week I forgot to thank our very useful shunting engine 9255 for providing a view down the tracks for Thomas when he has to back up (that;s my story and I'm sticking to it!) So another Thomas event successfully concluded without any major incident.  By 4 on Saturday we had our routine down to the point where we just might do it again next year.

As you may have seen reported else where 2 significant milestones were achieved at IRM on Sunday. First as Frank reported the 803 was running on its own power, and secondly the 1630 passed its static hydro test.  Thus the steam crew can begin returning the 1630 to looking like an operational steam locomotive.

Restaurant Reviews

The restaurants for days 4 & 5 were old standards.  Sat. night we visited the Red Ox in Hampshire, the food was good, relatively fast and reasonably priced.  They were quite busy, but the service was still excellent.

Sunday we made the usual stop at Donley's.  The 2 weekends of Thomas have to go a long way to making their year profitable, but no special thank yous this time around.  But the food was good and a nice cold Blue Moon hit the spot.

Now if I can just get this sound out of my head. Chugga Chugga Wheesh!

Three Days of Thomas or He's a Useful (to the bottom line) Blue Engine

Al writes...

As I did last year I volunteered to be part of the boarding and master of ceremonies team for the Day Out With Thomas event.

Day 1

We got out to the museum early on Friday to make sure everything was in place and working.
Sure enough there were some bits and pieces that were missing, like the ropes to hold the crowd back when the Thomas train departed and returned.  It was soon realized that these were things that Jim Nauer  had taken care of and they weren't on a to-do list anywhere.  Another way he is missed.  Anyway after a bit of scrambling things got organized.

It wasn't too much after the 9 o'clock opening that the crowd began lining up for the first trip at 10. Part of the schtick that Harold Krewer and I developed was for me to act as the man on the street, to go out and fire up the crowd for the ride, then to do some "man on the street" interviews after the train returned.

Friday's crowd started out fairly heavy with the early trains sold out. But by around 1 the crowds began to thin.  It's been noted that Friday was the first day of school for a number of districts around Chicago land, so something to consider for future years?

As usual we did provide a lunch for the train crew and other volunteers helping with the boarding process.The lunch was the healthy selection of burgers, cheeseburgers, brats and hotdogs as well as pizza from the cafeteria.

As usual we had 4 cars on the car line as well as three mainline trains running.

 

And there was a familier face operating the 415.

Day 2

Arrived a bit later this AM as things were hopefully still set up from Friday.  The day was once again beautiful with a nice temperature , low humidity and not a cloud in the sky.   Things proceeded fairly well through out the morning.  One of our duties is to handle the missed connections {those that missed their assigned train times) and with a few "held back" seats on the train I think all were accommodated on the next train.  But we did have a few missed days, folks with Friday tickets arriving on Sat.  I was waiting for someone with a missed year, binging a set of 2012 tickets.   I took a little time off to take care of my crew that were out to enjoy the day.

We had sold out trains through the 3 o'clock trip, the 3:30 was about 75% and the 4 about 40% so a good solid day attendance wise. The funniest incident of the day was the 4391 getting stopped on the section insulator on the south side of the car line.  There's no wire on an adjacent track to swing the pole against to get the car moving again.  Several riders (members in this case) ended up pushing the car to get under live wire.Wish I was able to get a photo.

Day 3

 Sunday was pretty much a repeat of Sat.  Beautiful weather and good crowds. Loading was about the same as on Saturday.  Did get a chance to get over to the station to get a photo of the crew on the NSL cars.  Again a familiar face along with his motorman Ron Seavers.

After the crowd went home the 141 did make an appearance for the benefit of the volunteers.

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Restaurant reviews

We ended up each day with a group dinner. So here's a quick review of 3 places within striking distance of IRM.

The first evening we went to Cafe 20 in Marengo. They had a bit of trouble handling a group larger than 4 but after a considerable wait we did get seated, it was worth the wait.  Dinner for me consisted of a pint of Haufbrau lager, some all you can eat walleye and potato pancakes with apple sauce.  The German genes in me were quite satisfied.

On Sat. I'm not sure why, but we did a repeat of last year's disaster at the Marengo bowl.  In contrast to last year the staff was ready, the orders were correct and the checks were available promptly. They didn't do too badly for the sudden appearance of a group of 30 or so. I had some teriyaki salmon (should have been called wasabi salmon), it opened by nasal system pretty well and was quite tasty.  The only thing that didn't change from last year was the quality of the live music but we were able to exit quickly without too much ear damage.

Sunday night was at Alexander's on Rt 31, just north of the tollway in Elgin. After a spot of bother over seating arrangements, things got better.  This place is typical of the Greek owned family restaurants so common in the Chicago area.  Lots of variety, good food and reasonable prices.  After being a good boy with fish 2 nights in a row I opted for the small cut of prime rib.  Not the best I have ever had but good value for money as my British friends would say.

I do have to say this weekend was a test for my newly regained stamina, the most intense I've worked since the transplant.  The long days, leaving the house around 7:30 getting back at around 10, was a bit taxing, but it is great to see the kids enjoying them selves so much.  Hopefully we have planted the seeds for a few future volunteers and contributors to help ensure the future of IRM and the contribution to the bottom line doesn't hurt either.

The downside of all of this is the ear worms of Thomas music that gets stuck in your brain. If I hear "He's the Director of the Railway" in my head one more time I might scream!

Cafe 20

We haven't had any new restaurant reviews for a while, so last week Frank and I visited Cafe 20 on the east side of Marengo, about four miles from the Museum. It's changed hands a couple of times over the years and is currently an Italian-themed restaurant. Wednesday happened to be German night, though, and Tuesday is tacos, etc. so there's some variety.

I had the Jägerschnitzel and Frank had the pork tenderloin sandwich. The food was very good and service was fine.

Sandwiches start at about $8 and entrées at $11 or so, going up to about $25 for steaks. And there's a full bar. So this establishment is currently recommended by our team of culinary experts.

Country Cafe

The restaurant in Harmony has seen several owners over the years, and has been vacant for a while. But it just re-opened two days ago as the Country Cafe, so I decided to stop in and see what's cooking. This is the second restaurant for this owner; his first is the Hi Ho Cafe on N. Cicero in the city. The building has been thoroughly refurbished on the inside, and everything is nice and clean. It's conveniently located about five miles from the Museum on the way to the toll road interchange.

The menu is quite extensive. There are appetizers and sandwiches, burgers for $7-$8, steaks are about $15 to $22 for New York strip, chicken of various sorts for $9-$11, daily specials, Greek specialties, pasta, kebobs, and pizza. And they serve breakfast all day. Hours are 11AM to 10PM M-F, 7AM to 10PM Saturday and Sunday. That's important because several places in the area are closed on Sunday evenings. I had roast chicken with artichokes, and it was quite good, as was the baklava. Service was good, and the place seemed quite busy.

They are also going to have a full bar in operation in about two weeks when the license comes through, they say.

I wouldn't have recommended some of the earlier operations here, but let's hope this one is a success. The population in the area is increasing, of course, so that helps. I always thought it was kind of sad that so few people were willing to live in Harmony with the neighbors.

Lukin for Good Food?

Al Reinschmidt reports from London that one of our long-time members now has a second career. Looks like a great place to visit next time you're over there!

The Red Ox

The Red Ox is a steakhouse-type restaurant located about ten miles straight south of the Museum in Hampshire, along route 72. It has a very extensive menu. Entrees are generally in the $15 range, somewhat more for some steaks. This includes soup or salad, vegetable, and potato or rice. I had the broiled grouper with parmesan crust, which was excellent. Next time I'll have to try a steak. Service was excellent, and the ambience is quite pleasant.

Here's a view of the outdoor patio; the air was rather humid, so it was more pleasant inside. There's also a full bar. The Red Ox is highly recommended.

Del Toro's Tex Mex Grill

Our restaurant review feature continues with Del Toro's Tex Mex Grill in Huntley, a favorite of the Car Shop Sunday gang since it's open on Sunday evenings. The food is mainly Mexican and is quite good, though a bit pricier than some of the other local joints at about $10-15 for most of the entrees. The fajitas and enchiladas are highly recommended, as is the salsa served with tortilla chips before the meal. We'll usually go through several baskets of chips and a couple of bowls of salsa before the meal arrives even though the service is reasonably fast! The servers tend to be quite good at keeping everyone well stocked with salsa, drinks, etc. There's also a bar area next to the dining room.

Del Toro's is located on Route 47 on the north side of Huntley in the Huntley Center shopping mall; visible in the above photo is the Huntley water tower right behind the mall. But beware when you go: the parking lot in the mall has a large light pole in the center of it that has a reputation for having jumped out in front of a particular member's truck, giving Del Toro's its IRM nickname: Andy's Truck Stop.

Arrowhead Restaurant

The Arrowhead Restaurant is located at the interstate behind the Citgo station. All three of us recently ate breakfast there and can recommend it. The food and service are good, about what you'd expect for a truck stop. Frank was disappointed in the biscuits and gravy, but he should know better -- we have never found any restaurant where it's nearly as good as home-made! We have not yet tried this place for lunch or supper.

We should note that the Arrowhead is now open 24 hours a day except 9PM Sunday to 5AM Monday. (Unfortunately, 9PM Sunday is just when IRM members are often looking for someplace to eat!) As always, anybody who has more comments on any places reviewed here is urged to submit them.

RR Steakhouse

The "RR Steakhouse" is a small supper club-type restaurant located on Rt. 20 about three miles from the Museum, just west of the intersection of Coral Rd. and 20. (I.e. south on Olson to Coral, west on Coral to 20, turn right, and it's on the left.) This place has been there since at least the seventies under various owners.

Various types of steak are available at $18 to $22, including salad, potato, and rolls. Seafood generally runs about $14, apart from lobster. We tried the prime rib, New York strip, and steamed salmon, and all were very good. The menu also includes burgers, pasta, appetizers, etc. Drinks are very reasonably priced. You can eat either in the main dining area or at the bar, and the informal atmosphere should appeal to working members, or even rich lawyers. Closed Monday and Tuesday. Definitely recommended.

Allen's Corner

Allen's Corner ("Since 1921") is an old truck stop restaurant about nine miles east of the Museum on Rt. 20, about a mile and a half west of Starks. Currently it's only open for breakfast and lunch. (They were open for dinner on weekdays until recently. Debbie is waiting for the economy to improve, they say.) As you might expect, it's informal and serves basic American food. Many of the customers are regulars from the area. Prices are very reasonable, and the food is good. Service is usually very fast -- if you sit at the counter, the food is handed to you as soon as it comes off the grill. Because the place is so small and nearly always crowded, tables are reserved for parties of two or more. I'd recommend it for anyone on their way out to IRM from the east.

And it's safe -- you can see from the picture that the building is protected by huge concrete blocks and steel pipes, so it can't be taken out by a truck missing the high-speed curve on Rt. 20. I wouldn't be surprised if that's what happened to the original restaurant at this location.

The Walleye Grill

Here's another exciting new feature from your only full-service IRM blog: restaurant reviews!

The Walleye Grill is located about nine miles from the Museum at Sun City, Huntley, and is the only fine dining establishment of its type in the area. It overlooks the golf course, as seen here.

Service is very friendly, and all of the meals provided generous portions. Prices are in line with other restaurants of this type. Entrees run from $15 to $23, including soup or salad, potato, and vegetable. You can also order burgers in the $7 to $9 range, or pasta. We ordered the orange roughy (mildly seasoned), a dinner salad, the parmesan-encrusted walleye, and roast duck. All were excellent. There's a full bar attached to the restaurant, so cocktails are available, and the house wine was a bargain at $3. There's also a dessert tray which we didn't try. I understand there's a discount if you live in Sun City, by the way.

This obviously is not a place to go after a long hard day of work at IRM, but I would recommend it highly for a fine dining experience, such as if visitors happen to ask. Unfortunately, it's hard to explain how to get there via the back roads if you're not familiar with the area. The restaurant is inside the main Sun City center, so take the Huntley blacktop to 47, and south to the Sun City entrance and follow the signs.