Sugar Bowl Ancient Mimbreno Indian Santa Fe Dining Car Replica Nostalgia Station

The Mimbreno china pattern was a distinctive dinnerware set designed by Mary Colter, an architect and designer for the Fred Harvey Company, in collaboration with R. Guy Cowan of Syracuse China, specifically for use on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway’s (AT&SF) Super Chief dining cars. The design was inspired by the ancient Mimbres pottery of the Pueblo III period (1100–1200 A.D.), featuring stylized animals, birds, and geometric patterns in brick red and blackish brown on an ivory body. The pattern was first introduced in 1937 on the dining car Cochiti and was used on the Super Chief and other named trains until the end of Santa Fe passenger service in 1971. Each piece was marked with the inscription “Made expressly for Santa Fe Dining Car Service” on the bottom.

The original Mimbreno china was produced by Syracuse China between 1936 and 1970, with the final order completed in 1970. After the discontinuation of passenger service, the Santa Fe continued to use the china on business cars. The pattern became highly collectible, with original pieces fetching hundreds of dollars. Following the discontinuation of the original service, the AT&SF authorized reproductions of the Mimbreno pattern, initially sold by Nostalgia Station (now Pipestone) in Freeland, Maryland, starting in 1976. These reproductions were manufactured by various companies, including Buffalo China, Sterling China, and Homer Laughlin, and later by H.F. Coors in Tucson, Arizona. The reproductions often feature the same designs but include markings indicating they are replicas, such as “Ancient Mimbreno Indian Design Replica from the Santa Fe Dining Car Service”.