Old railroad car finds new life as Elizabeth restaurant

By CHRISTINE HAINES

chaines@yourmvi.com

After a year of renovations, an old railroad car is a new restaurant in downtown Elizabeth.

The Elizabeth Express, located at 312 Market St., at the corner of South Third and Market, had its soft opening July 10 as details such as the menu and hours are worked out. The past year has been a labor of love to get the business going.

“It was a rail kitchen car, or kitchen mess, that was from the Pittsburgh area. We think it was from the 1940s,” said Gabriel Taylor, who designed the new restaurant along with a team of local supporters. “It had a real kitchen in it and a seating area for the staff. Our intention was to gut it and use it as a take-out diner.”

Taylor said that when crews began gutting the kitchen car they found the names of some of the old railroaders written underneath the paneling.

Preparations for the new diner began in May 2019 with the preparation of the lot, which was just a vacant grass lot.

“We decided where the train car was going to sit and built a foundation for it and the pavilion. All the utilities are underground. That part of it took months,” Taylor said.

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