Dining car interior with set tables and wall sconces

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Set tables in a dining car, with white linen and wall sconces lighting the paneled walls, show the careful order that railroads kept in their restaurant cars. Dining cars were among the most elaborate spaces on a passenger train, where a meal was served at a fixed table while the scenery moved past the windows. Pictures like this one were often taken to promote long-distance travel, so the crisp settings and polished fittings were meant to suggest comfort and modern service. The sconces and tidy table arrangements are worth a close look as examples of the design standards of the era.

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