Bar cars were common during the heyday of U.S. rail travel prior to World War II. Since May 2014, outside of
Amtrak's full-service lounges, café, and
dining cars, there are no bar cars left.
Former services The
Long Island Rail Road operated bar cars from 1960 until 1999, when the rolling stock on the railroad's non-electrified branches was replaced with
double-decker C3 coaches. Metro-North Railroad has replaced the 1970s-era cars now used by commuters from New York City to Connecticut, with the new
M-8 cars rolled out between 2010 and 2015. The M-8 was designed by
Cesar Vergara, a train designer from
Ridgefield, Connecticut, who also provided a design for a modern bar car. The last bar cars were retired in May 2014. Formerly, a bar car service (officially, "refreshment car") ran on 3 of
Chicago's Metra lines: the
Milwaukee District North Line, the
Milwaukee District West Line, and the
Rock Island District line. The last service was on August 29, 2008, when the last contracts expired. 10
Comet I bar cars were built in 1970 for the
Erie Lackawanna and were used for AM coffee service and PM bar service on diesel trains based from
Hoboken Terminal into the 1980s. The bar cars were converted to standard coaches when rebuilt in 1987. ==In Canada==