The Railroad Commissary
Welcome to The Railroad Commissary's
Santa Fe / AT&SF supplementary information page. Please feel free to send questions or comments to: rrcomm@sonic.net Relevant information, and credits, will be posted.
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California Poppy Pattern
Only the thick, commercial grade, California Poppy pattern china can possibly be railroad china - the standard weight (a.k.a. "thinware") pieces are household china - and very common! It is very profitable to sell these household cast-offs as railroad china, but it can be difficult to discern the difference on-line - use caution! Even the commercial grade pieces were used by both the Santa Fe and Fred Harvey's "Harvey Houses". While some non-RR backstamped pieces may have been used aboard Santa Fe trains, one can only be sure of those pieces that bear the Santa Fe Dining Car Service backstamp. Whereas the Santa Fe marked pieces are highly prized amongst AT&SF china collectors, the unmarked commercial grade china is, at best, filler, and in a railroad china collection, the thin domestic pieces are subject to open derision. Beware, there is a lot of junk California Poppy china out there – it does not hold much value. Also, remember to see the reproduction advisory.
