The Wikipedia entry includes a list of "known locations", with another site saying they had over 100 locations at its peak:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_S ... taurant%29

What may be more interesting are the similar locations that weren't Victoria Stations. The huge restaurant and railroad-coach motel at the CNJ depot in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., for exampe, sure LOOKED like it should have been a Victoria Station.......

And I have an idea that 90% of the British rail lanterns I/we run into now and then came from a Victoria Station.

So does anyone have any nominations for THE most spectacular British railwayana ever displayed at one? WERE there actually loco nameplates? Or did they restrain themselves to second-rate London Underground and BR station signs and third-rate lanterns?

I can remember eating at the one in Memphis TN, and that was probably around 1979 or so. I have not been there in several years but it SEEMS that part of the structure was still standing but the cars had been long removed.
It was a TREAT as a kid to go there. I spent more time outside looking at the trucks and under gear than i did inside with my folks eating!!
Thanks for bringing back the memories!!
Bruce

Near my hometown of Westfield, NJ there was a restaurant called Winston's that was decorated extensively with British Rail signs throughout, so other restaurants must have bought into this sale as well. The restaurant disappeared about 1990 and there is now a movie theatre on the site.

Was the restaurant in Ohio in Akron, near the grain elevator that is now the hotel?

Chris.

Did all the 'Victoria Station' restaurants have rail cars? As a long-time resident of Salt Lake City, I vaguely remember one here (there was one in SLC according to Wikipedia) but I don't remember any rail cars on the property. IIRC, it was in a cramped downtown location that wouldn't have allowed for any.

"The Fife and Forfar Yeomanry" was just a test to see if any Deltic fans were reading. But I'm pretty sure I saw semicircular steam-locomotive nameplates on the wall on my one visit, and that I recall being told that some U.K. preserved engines' nameplates were on restaurant walls in the U.S. Now will Howie tell us if the PRR car with the fireplace is still in existance near Philly? (A twin to that car survives as a private car.)

Incidentally I recently discovered the heavyweight parlor car (ex-LIRR?) that is an Indian restaurant on I-80 just west of the NJ-PA border at Tannersville. The curry is passable, but pricy, and the elderly 0-6-0T with the wood cab is pretty hammered. The Pullman has a doorway blown through one side but retains some of its interior.

Aarne Frobom
Hereward the Wake, Michigan

Victoria Station, NorthEast corner of Grant Ave. & Roosevelt Blvd. (U.S. Rte. 1) was recycled as another name and then torn down. It had a baggage cart, 5 boxcars, and a Southern Rwy. bay window caboose with a fake cupola added by Victoria Station. The boxcars were in 2 rows of 2 each on the West side with the caboose, and the 5th box car on the North side of the building. Of course, the pair closer to the building had more holes cut in them for connecting hallways than the others. I don't think that they had roof walks, but the half ladders were relocated to the upper halves of the cars, I forget what happened to the brake wheels. When the name was changed, false siding was placed over most of the cars' sides and some of the couplers were cut off. When the building was torn down, the baggage cart reappeared and was used to move some of the trash.
I once saw another one in King of Prussia, Pa., on the SouthWest corner of DeKalb Pk. (U.S. Rte. 202) & probably Allendale Rd., but can't remember any more details.

When they built the one on Sleeper St in Boston, I sort of remember them adding the cupola to the caboose. I have to wonder if that was their standard operating practice.

Will be having dinner at the last Victoria Station in Salem, MA in the very near future...possibly next week. A full report will follow.

Stephen

There's a former Victoria's Station in Cordelia, California that Wikipedia doesn't know about. It's a very high visibility location on the southeast corner of the 80/680 interchange, but there are no other sit-down restaurants around, probably because the freeway exits in the area are a total maze, and impossible to navigate unless you know what you're doing. That is probably why there's an antique shop there. The building just got proudly repainted (wheels and all) so it's probably there to stay.

Looking at the aerial photos on Bing maps, the one in Salem, Mass. appears to be a Victoria Station in name only. I don't see any evidence of railroad cars incorporated into the building, unless they're inside. There's no mention of railroad cars at this location on their website either. http://victoriastationsalem.com/

I agree with what Richard said. Aside from possibly a few choo-choo decorations inside, the remaining Victoria Station has very little in common with the "Line up a row of boxcars and cut holes in them" design of most Victoria Station Resteraunts.

That could be related to its survival. I always suspected the general public's reaction to dining in boxcars probably wasn't as good as they'd have hoped...

On a related note, I once rode a tourist railroad that used cattle cars for passenger coaches (no, not the classic wood ones in CO). These were regular steel cattle cars, and they had actually done quite a bit of work on them, including lowering the roof for a better ride and fixing up the interior. What they didn't do, that would have been the first thing I did, was cover the cattle cars slats with sheet metal. So, when the train pulled into the station, you heard various rumblings about "They want us to ride in CATTLE CARS?" (Or whatever term the general public could think of for the cars, but the general concept of being treated like livestock was definitely not well recieved....)

Since I posted something on this earlier I'll go ahead and revive this Victoria Station thread.

The former Victoria Station I mentioned as being in Miami, FL is now gone. I checked Google Earth and there is a vacant lot where the building sat although the parking lot is still evident. Sure wish we had been able to save one or two of the Central of Georgia door-and-a-half boxcars that made up this building, or at least a couple pair of trucks. Sorry to see the ATSF caboose go, too.

was there one in Orlando FL? until a couple years ago there was a place made from box cars and a caboose, it was near 436 and 17/92 , I think.....most of the cars were ACL and Seaboard, the caboose was rumored to be FEC, it had a nice set of high speed trucks. all of them had brake valves, handbrakes ,etc in place, one box had a builders plate, said it was something like an "O-52" class, as scrap they were at least good for wheels, the AB brake valves, couplers,etc.