The Story

The 1926 Dining Car Mix-Up

Five smartly dressed passengers gathered for dinner aboard the Continental Limited. The gentlemen wore tailored suits and polished shoes, while the ladies arrived in fashionable dresses, gloves, and cloche hats. Their labeled luggage had been arranged nearby for their different departure stations. As the passengers settled in, the conductor stepped into the dining car and announced the remaining stops along the route: Harrisburg, followed by Altoona, Pittsburgh, Akron, and finally Cleveland. Just as the steward began serving dinner, the train rounded an unexpectedly sharp bend. The dining car lurched, sliding the place cards across the tables and mixing up the entrée markers on the steward's tray. Nobody was injured, but the dignified meal became thoroughly confused. Use the passengers' recollections and the steward's notes to determine which entrée each passenger ordered, which luggage label belonged to each traveler, and where each passenger left the train.