Although the history of railway catering began with station buffets, meals were served on board trains as early as the 1860s in the United States, before gradually spreading around the world. In Europe, the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons‑Lits (CIWL) was a pioneer in this field. Its dining cars and their representations played a central role in the imagery and imagination associated with railways and travel. Combined with culinary arts, the quality of service and refined interior decoration, food formed the basis of railway luxury, which reached its golden age during the interwar period. The 1950s saw the emergence of new formulas and numerous innovations that challenged the traditional approach to “on-board catering”: buffet carriages, “bar and snack” carriages, mobile sales and meal trays all responded to changes in passengers’ eating habits. The 1970s marked a major break with the relegation of the kitchen to the outside of trains, inspired by the air model and the modernity it embodied. In many ways, eating on board a train was a revolution in motion!

The photographs and archives presented in this exhibition come from the collections of the former CIWL and the SNCF Archives and Documentation Department (SARDO). Halfway between industrial photography and advertising photography, the primary function of these images is to embody modernity by showcasing permanent novelty. Therefore, they tell the story not only of work and innovation, but also of aesthetics—with the evolution of design—and culture. Furthermore, these photographs document their time. They are not just mere markers of successive changes: they are as much a part of the different eras as they are a testimony to them.

Arthur Mettetal