Review: "The Worcester Lunch Car Co.," Richard Gutman

By Paul Carrier

Growing up in New England, where I still live, I’ve long been a fan of traditional diners, especially those produced by the Worcester Lunch Car Co. of Worcester, Mass., which is a mere 20 miles from the town where I grew up. These diners doted the region's landscape when I was young. Where they survive, the nostalgic combination of old-school craftsmanship and comfort food is hard to beat.

Contrary to the myth that kids believed when I was a boy, these classic diners were not converted railroad cars. They were built from scratch to serve food, usually in factory towns. From 1906 to the late 1950s, the legendary Worcester manufacturer assembled 651 numbered diners (the numbering system began with 200) known for their solid construction, interior woodwork, decorative tiles and porcelain enamel exteriors.

I’ve sampled the wares at several of these eateries over the years, in some cases more than once. My wife Liz and I are fortunate to have the A1 Diner of Gardiner, Maine, a 1946 Worcester beauty, located a mere six miles or so from our home.

A1 Diner, Gardiner, Maine (No. 790)

So I was delighted when Liz gave me a copy of The Worcester Lunch Car Company by diner expert Richard J. S. Gutman. This slim volume (128 pages) is part of Arcadia Publishing’s popular Images of America series, which relies on captioned photographs to tell the stories of local communities, and such topics as landmarks, architecture and ethnic groups. In this case, the focus extends far beyond any specific location because the book covers diners that were constructed in Worcester but sold throughout New England, and beyond. 

The Worcester firm (formally known as the Worcester Lunch Car and Carriage Manufacturing Co.) was “the premier diner builder in New England” during its 55-year history, according to Gutman. Most Worcester diners are long gone, but when Gutman’s book was published (in 2004) about 90 of them remained in operation, some of which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Gutman introduces each of his seven chapters with a full page of text, followed by several pages of black-and-white photographs, each accompanied by explanatory information. Most of the photos depict diners under construction, in transit, on site or in demise, but the book also displays advertisements and diner matchbook covers, as well as pictures of diner owners, staffers and customers.

The author begins his review with a look at the late 19th-century night lunch wagons that preceded the Worcester eateries. He quickly moves on to the birth of the Worcester Lunch Car Co. in 1906, with photos of the first Worcester lunch car and the evolution of the lunch car into the diner, pretty much as we recognize it today.

In the mid 1920s, Gutman explains, the lunch car was “striving for greater respectability,” so it became known as a dining car, a name that eventually morphed into “diner.” A 1925 company catalog says Worcester Dining Cars “are attractive clean and sanitary. People like to eat in them. They are well lighted. There are no dark corners where the dirt can lurk.”

Many diners, unlike lunch wagons, stayed put for years, even decades. Often, though, diners were sold and relocated, or refurbished by the manufacturer for resale. Art’s Filling Station diner began its working life in Maine before moving to Massachusetts, New Hampshire, back to Massachusetts and then to Rhode Island. It was twice renovated at the Worcester factory.

Some “Worcesters” remained fully mobile well into the 20th century. For example, there were horse-drawn diners in Taunton, Mass., as late as 1938. Other diners were literally built onto the back of a truck, often to replace a horse-drawn model that had outlived its usefulness.

Streamlined diners were the rage in the 1930s, when glossy exterior finishes on units with bullet-shaped ends replaced the boxier designs that had preceded them. Construction ground to a halt at one point during World War II, and although sales rebounded after the war, stiff competition from more forward-looking manufacturers, and the Worcester company’s reluctance to adapt, took their toll. The Worcester Lunch Car Co. sold its last diner in 1957, and the company was liquidated in 1961.

There’s a sadly recurring theme in The Worcester Lunch Car Company. Many of the “Worcesters” pictured by Gutman are known to have been demolished. Others have simply disappeared, their ultimate fate undocumented, but easy enough to surmise.

Miss Portland Diner, Portland, Maine (No. 818)