North Broad's Bagel Train

North Broad's Bagel Train is finally open once again at Noble Street, just across from the Inquirer Building.

Built in 1922, car 1186 was once a dining car for the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad. The railroad sold the car in the 1970's and it found itself idle at its current location.

Immigration and Naturalization Services used the car as a Passport Photo Express in the 1980's. Later a diner and painted a drab green, the Philly Steak and Bagel Train was closed in 1996 and has since sat vacant.

Ibrahim Aly recently reopened the venue as The Philly Express Steak and Bagel Train, repainting it in a patriotic red, white, and blue.

I have yet to find myself dining on the abandoned car. Pointed downhill to the east, I would advise anyone with vertigo to call in a delivery.

More information on the Reading Railroad and the history of Car 1186 can be found at the Reading Railroad Heritage Museum.

Hitching a ride on a 20th century dining car