Become a fan and help us by clicking share on our page or the status. How did a rail car that once transported WWII troops come to rest next to Highway 59 in Heavener, Oklahoma, anyway? Restored to its 1940s elegance, it is now a mighty fine restaurant called the Southern Belle. True to its southern roots, the Southern Belle serves some of the best boneless fried chicken breast and "fixins" you have ever tasted. An authentic train car… Oklahoma’s best fried chicken strips… Homemade candy cheesecakes…
This is the experience of the Southern Belle Restaurant. The Southern Belle Restaurant is a 1905 model railcar that has been restored to a lovely little restaurant with the most amazing and savory home cooking. What is most surprising about this train car is the spaciousness and its ability to hold about 50 diners at one time. But the most amazing thing about this little jewel of a restaurant is the food. “The restaurant is most famous for its Southern Belle chicken.” The chicken is boneless strips that are marinated, breaded and deep fried and served with their famous house dipping sauce. On the menu you’ll find tasty steaks, burgers, fish, sandwiches and pork chops, all prepared in a down-home fashion. A slice of delicious homemade pie is the perfect ending to a perfect meal. The Southern Belle restaurant is one dining experience you won’t want to miss. Are you a train buff? The world is full of them, and many have been aware of the beautiful Sothern Belle, a passenger train of the Kansas City Southern Railway. Owned by Arthur Stillwell, the engines first came to Heavener in 1896, powered by coal and steam. The Southern Belle, known as the “Sweetheart of American trains,” beginning in September 1940 rolled on an established schedule between Kansas City and New Orleans, a distance of 868 miles, in 21 ½ hours. Many people were saddened when this passenger train with its luxurious journey was discontinued in November, 1969. But some local train buffs resurrected and refurbished an actual passenger car of the Southern Belle, a car originally built in 1905, to become the Southern Belle Restaurant at Heavener, Oklahoma which still remains an important 100-mile “Division point” of the KCS Railway.
