Dining Car

Overview

A dining car is a single-deck passenger carriage fitted out as a working restaurant. One end holds a commercial galley kitchen, the rest of the body is a dining saloon with fixed tables, and the carriage runs in the consist as a normal trailer coach. It shares the running gear, brakes and gangways of any passenger car but devotes most of its interior volume and a large share of its electrical supply to food preparation. Because cooking, refrigeration and dishwashing all draw heavily, the dining car usually takes a three-phase feed from the trainline rather than the lighting-only supply of an ordinary coach. A typical car offers around 48 covers, runs at the same line speed as the rest of the consist, and weighs close to 44 tonnes empty. Operators place it near the centre of a long train so that passengers from either end reach it with a short walk through the gangways, and the galley is positioned at one end to keep cooking smells and noise away from most diners.

The carriage is built on the Carbody Shell shell. Catering equipment fills the Galley Kitchen, passengers are served in the Dining Saloon, and the Water & Waste System system supplies and collects water. The car rides on two Trailer Bogie trucks, links into the rake through the Couplers & Gangways, stops with the Air Brake System, is climate-controlled by the Roof HVAC Pack pack, boards through the Sliding Plug Door doors, and is powered by the Low-Voltage Electrical subsystem. About 50 grouped Fastener Set kits secure the structure and fittings.

Carbody and saloon

The Carbody Shell uses a welded steel Welded Steel Underframe and a Floor Panel strengthened under the galley to carry concentrated equipment loads. Sidewall Module modules, a Roof Structure braced by Roof Rib members, and End Wall Structure panels close the body, with 22 Double-Glazed Window units giving the saloon its glazing. The Dining Saloon itself seats around 48 diners on Seat Assembly units arranged in bays, each bay served by a Fixed Dining Table made from a Table Top on a Table Pedestal. The space is trimmed with Interior Lining Panel walls, divided by glass Glass Partition screens, fitted with a Service Counter near the galley, and floored with a hard-wearing Floor Covering covering.

Galley kitchen

The Galley Kitchen is a stainless-steel commercial kitchen. Cooking is done on an Induction Cooking Range with four Induction Hob Zone zones, each a Copper Winding coil under a Ceramic Hob Glass ceramic top driven by a Range Controller. A Convection Oven adds baking and reheating capacity using a Heating Element pair and a Oven Circulation Fan to circulate air through the Oven Cavity. Induction is preferred over open flame because it confines heat to the pan and removes any combustion risk in a moving vehicle. Chilled storage comes from the Refrigeration Unit unit: a Refrigerant Compressor feeds a Condenser Coil and a Evaporator Coil to cool the Insulated Cold Cabinet. Soiled crockery passes through the Commercial Dishwasher, which uses a Wash Pump and a Rinse Pump feeding two Spray Arm jets over a Wash Tank, with a Heating Element booster raising rinse water to sanitising temperature. A Extraction Hood over the cooking line removes heat and grease through an Extraction Fan and four Grease Filter elements, and a Galley Water Heater supplies hot water to the Stainless Worktop & Sink sink.

Water and waste

The Water & Waste System system keeps the kitchen and lavatories supplied. A Fresh Water Tank holds potable water that a Water Pressure Pump, built around a Stator Assembly, a Rotor Assembly and an Pump Impeller with a Pressure Sensor, pressurises for the galley and washrooms. Used water splits into a Grey Water Tank for sink and dishwasher drainage and a Black Water Tank for sewage, all connected by the Water Piping & Valves run. Tank capacities are sized for a full service shift so the car can run a route without intermediate replenishment. Fresh tanks of several hundred litres are common, and the grey and black tanks are emptied at the depot rather than en route. Pipework is lagged and, on cold-climate stock, trace heated so that lines near the underframe do not freeze when the car stands idle overnight.

Running gear and brakes

Each Trailer Bogie is a two-axle trailer truck with a welded Bogie Frame carrying two Wheelset assemblies. Each wheelset uses an Axle, two Steel Wheel discs, and an Axlebox running on a Ball Bearing pair behind an Oil Seal. The Primary Coil Spring coils locate the wheelsets and a Secondary Air Spring with its Rubber Air Bellows and Levelling Valve carries the body, steadied by a Yaw Damper pair. Braking uses the Bogie Brake Rigging disc rigging, driven by the Air Brake System: a Brake Distributor Valve meters air from the Auxiliary Air Reservoir tanks, and a Wheel-Slide Protection Valve with a Pressure Sensor and an Microcontroller guards against wheel slide.

Climate, doors and power

The roof Roof HVAC Pack pack runs a Refrigerant Compressor, a Evaporator Coil and a Condenser Coil, with two Supply Air Fan units pushing air through the Distribution Ductwork and a Heating Element reheat stage for winter. Two Sliding Plug Door plug doors give access, each driven by a Door Drive Unit using a Servo Motor, a Ball Screw and Linear Guide Rail rails under a Door Control Unit. The Low-Voltage Electrical subsystem feeds the heavy galley loads: a Distribution Box with Relay contactors and Circuit Breaker protection distributes power from three Power Supply converters and an 12 V Battery backup to lighting, the kitchen, and four Passenger Info Display screens.