The Goody Train The Goody Train was a relatively short-lived restaurant in the 1950s on the DeBaliviere Strip. But it was long remembered by those who dined there.
The Goody Train was located at 406 DeBaliviere
Avenue, on the east side of the street, just north of Waterman. It
was across DeBaliviere from The Mural Room, a short walk north of The Parkmoor
and a block south of the Winter Garden.
The Goody Train was opened towards the end of 1950. As late as August 1950, the space was occupied by the Gudermuth Hardware & Supply Co. The restaurant was originally owned by Clarence W. Bick and his father-in-law, Joseph Greenberg. Bick was born in Mexico, Missouri in 1894, was in the furniture business in Terre Haute, Indiana in the 1930s, and lived in University City at the time he and Greenberg registered the name "The Goody Train" with the State of Missouri on November 13, 1950. He was twice widowed; Vera Greenberg Bick was his third wife. The Goody Train advertised "fine food delivered by fast freight." The "fast freight" was a gleaming Lionel locomotive which made its rounds every three minutes over an oval train track, which disappeared through tunnels into the kitchen.
A fanciful story-book mural was created on the
tunnel wall by two young Washington University artists. It featured
blinking lights and tiny crossing gates, which went into action when
the train whistle blew.
The Lionel train included alternate Santa Fe and New York Central double diesel engines, a caboose, a gondola, a Sealtest milk car and "plate-cars" to carry the food.
Customers sat on stools at the long oval
counter and could signal the train with a button to bring menus.
When orders were ready in the kitchen, the food was placed on the
plate-cars. A whistle was blown and the counterboy started the train
on its trip back to the dining area and stopped it in front of the
proper customer to deliver their order. Drinks were delivered by the
waitress.
The Goody Train menu included hamburgers, hot dogs, toasted cheese sandwiches and French fries. Fried chicken was a favorite. The train would bring the check at the end of the meal and customers could pay by train.
The train-themed restaurant became a haven for
young diners and was the site of many birthday parties. A
freight-drawn cake and a juke-box rendition of "Happy Birthday" were
added inducements.
Clarence Bick had plans to transform his restaurant into a chain of whistle stop diners. However, Bick owned The Goody Train for less than a year. He died in July of 1955 at the age of 61. Christina Spahn and Ethel Casey registered the name "The Goody Train" at 406 DeBaliviere with the State of Missouri on April 26, 1951. The restaurant was advertised for sale in the August 8, 1951 St. Louis Post-Dispatch. And in her 2008 obituary, it was stated that Alice L. Greenwood Travis of Bourbon, Missouri had owned The Goody Train. By the end of 1959, The Goody Train pulled into the station for the last time.
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