Jim
It all came with practice and as you still had one Hand Free the Veges which were in a Silver Seperator Dish (That is up to Four Veges in one Dish) this was then placed in your free Hand by the Cook at the Serving Hatch,when you got to the table you of course first placed this Vege Dish on the Dumb Waiter ,then placed the other Dishes amongst the Passengers,then a quick dash back to the Serving hatch to collect the rest of the plates and more Veg, from there it was just serve up time . I actually found at first the most difficult part was trying to catch the various Veges from those Silver Dishes,as all you were gven was a sort of Rounded Fork Type (Long Handled) Implement and it was sort of an art to get the Veges out at first!
Only when I was in First Class did we have those Double Sided Silver Serving Implements which made getting Veges out of the Silver Service Dishes a breeze.
And that Jim is how we did it,as asid took practice but with me it wasnt too difficult as funnily enough when i was on the South African Trains ,we used Silver Service as well as the Double Sided Silver Serving Implements
, that is actually where i was taught to carry so many Plates at once.
And with the Train wobbling from side to side at quite High Speeds ,it wasnt the best i can tell you.
Cheers