For those in roomettes: have dinner in your room or with others

[Lonestar648]

The Broadway Limited did not change crews. According to the crew on the Three Rivers, it was a joint union and Amtrak experiment. The SCA said his tips were affected because most people tip at the end of the trip. Also, he said his one announcement at night that he would be getting off was often missed. Also, because they did a shorter shift, they were to available for all stops. This also meant they worked more days to get their hours. The Sleeper was a VL with a cafe and some coaches. I think the cafe reopened after Pittsburgh until near the destination, Chicago or NYP.

As far as the other west trains, the OBS staff works origin to destination. The SL OBS staff works straight between NOL and LAX. Only the 421/422 Sleeper changes SCA. It is a Chicago based SCA to SAS and a LA based SCA SAS to LAX.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

The lounge car (as you know) is open from 6am-12am, and the LSA has three breaks. So if the Cafe is open for 18 hours, aside from breaks, they're actually awake for closer to 20 hours, because they do need time to you know, shower and relax before bed, and get dressed and get the car set up in the morning. And that is how the job is, but you already know that.

Are you stating that Amtrak's standard employee scheduling system assigns one single person to run the snack bar as part of a massive eighteen hour shift (excepting meals and bathroom breaks) from 6AM to 12AM for several days in a row?

Yes. With few exceptions if you go out as the LSA/Lounge or LSA/Diner, or any other job position, that is yours and yours alone for the duration of the entire trip. The only notable exception is the Auto Train, where they work something different in each direction.

If that's true for the LD network I don't even know what to say about that. It's so far beyond my own experiences that I never considered it. I've never worked a union job but if I had I would want this addressed. Just seems crazy to me. As an IT guy I sometimes have to work long hours, or get woken up by phone calls late at night or early in the morning, but those are the exception rather than the standard work schedule.

 

[Lonestar648]

Though not 18 hours, my daughter is a Charge Nurse on her floor, working 6:30pm - 8:30am or longer, 4 days a week. She is so tired after doing 4 straight, she many times sleeps 12-14 hours straight without waking up. Most weeks, though not all, at least three of the four nights, the nurses have to work straight without ANY break (why nurses have bad kidneys). There are many careers with very demanding shifts. Those who work these build an endurance, just like the Road Warrior builds an endurance to traveling every day. At least the Cafe attendant is guaranteed three meal breaks and brief bathroom breaks. where at the hospital the patients come first and nights are many times the most hectic, so breaks are expendable.

 

[dogbert617]

The dining car experience has always been a highlight of the trip, despite the nonchalant and at times downright hostile dining car crews, the hostility level goes higher if you eat at the last sitting, as they are so bent on getting out, they will darn near snatch your plate out from under you.

Take as early a seating as you can, to avoid their running out of your favorite. I note that the crews ALWAYS have available to them the steak or other more desirable entrees, though...

-- Doc

Good to know I should get an earlier meal, rather than a later one for the dining car. Was thinking about doing more long distance train trips in the future, and I'd hate it if the dining car employees were too quick about taking away my food I was eating. That's a huge pet peeve of mine, in restaurants!

On the trains I have traveled recently, I know that the Cafe opens at approximately 6:00 - 6:30AM with the same person who closes the cafe at night. They do take about an hour break for meals during the slower times. The Dining Car staff is the same from start to end. Now the 421/422 Sleeper does change SCA in San Antonio. Way back, Amtrak experimented with a crew change in Pittsburgh for the "Three Rivers" that ran CHI - NYP.

Did the Broadway also change crews in Pittsburgh?

Other than the Texas Eagle (which in my mind is two separate trains anyway), are there other trains that have a crew change in the middle? Some obvious breakpoints: the CZ at DEN, the Crescent at ATL, the LSL at BUF, and the EB at Rugby, North Dakota.

I didn't think Rugby, ND was a crew change point for the Empire Builder. Maybe it was years ago, though? I checked numerous recent days there, and train dwell times of only a minute or 2 weren't uncommon at Rugby. I checked the last several days of EB arrivals and departures, and I didn't see an extended dwell time at Rugby. Unlike other stations that I had heard are definite crew change points(i.e. Alpine, TX for the Sunset Limited/Texas Eagle when they combine together, Greenwood, MS on the City of New Orleans, etc).

 

[Bob Dylan]

Slight correction: While the Sunset/Eagle does have a T&E Crew Change in Alpine, ( also in Del Rio)the Eagle through Cars are switched to the Sunset Ltd in San Antonio where the New SCA and Coach Attendant board for the Trip between SAS and LAX and SAS and CHI.

 

[Lonestar648]

The SCA for SAS to LAX is LA based and the SCA for SAS to CHI is Chicago based.

 

[tomfuller]

Got on the eastbound CZ in WNN shortly after 7PM. Our dinner reservations were made for 8:30PM. We asked for food in the roomette and were done eating before 8:30. All other meals we ate in the dining car.

 

[Triley]

The lounge car (as you know) is open from 6am-12am, and the LSA has three breaks. So if the Cafe is open for 18 hours, aside from breaks, they're actually awake for closer to 20 hours, because they do need time to you know, shower and relax before bed, and get dressed and get the car set up in the morning. And that is how the job is, but you already know that.

Are you stating that Amtrak's standard employee scheduling system assigns one single person to run the snack bar as part of a massive eighteen hour shift (excepting meals and bathroom breaks) from 6AM to 12AM for several days in a row?

Yes. With few exceptions if you go out as the LSA/Lounge or LSA/Diner, or any other job position, that is yours and yours alone for the duration of the entire trip. The only notable exception is the Auto Train, where they work something different in each direction.

If that's true for the LD network I don't even know what to say about that. It's so far beyond my own experiences that I never considered it. I've never worked a union job but if I had I would want this addressed. Just seems crazy to me. As an IT guy I sometimes have to work long hours, or get woken up by phone calls late at night or early in the morning, but those are the exception rather than the standard work schedule.

It's true for the majority of the trains in the system, yup. Like 67's LSA signs up at 7:30pm now (use to 7pm) and they don't get to NPN until around 12pm. Next day they report back in NPN at 1pm, and don't get to Boston until 8am (scheduled, even though it's typically 15-20 minutes early.) They've explored having crews get off enroute at NYP and turn around and work something home, as they're trying to cut back on hotel rooms. As part of that system, some mathematical genius said their algorithm suggested that whoever works 67 down should stay on the equipment and work 66 back. My manager, who was a former union rep, just about lost it and had to explain why you can't make someone work 37 hours straight, with a 4 hour nap on a train that's being cleaned, and no shower.

Don't even get me started on the union though. Agreement employees are so divided that it's no wonder stuff like this happens. OBS itself has three unions, though it's the same contract. Go figure. In Boston we only have representation from TCU, but in DC TCU has a rep that's based in NYC, and they also have a rep from HERE. Do we really need two OBS unions in crew base? Love this place, but some times, man... lol

 

[Philly Amtrak Fan]

On the trains I have traveled recently, I know that the Cafe opens at approximately 6:00 - 6:30AM with the same person who closes the cafe at night. They do take about an hour break for meals during the slower times. The Dining Car staff is the same from start to end. Now the 421/422 Sleeper does change SCA in San Antonio. Way back, Amtrak experimented with a crew change in Pittsburgh for the "Three Rivers" that ran CHI - NYP.

Did the Broadway also change crews in Pittsburgh?

Other than the Texas Eagle (which in my mind is two separate trains anyway), are there other trains that have a crew change in the middle? Some obvious breakpoints: the CZ at DEN, the Crescent at ATL, the LSL at BUF, and the EB at Rugby, North Dakota.

I didn't think Rugby, ND was a crew change point for the Empire Builder. Maybe it was years ago, though? I checked numerous recent days there, and train dwell times of only a minute or 2 weren't uncommon at Rugby. I checked the last several days of EB arrivals and departures, and I didn't see an extended dwell time at Rugby. Unlike other stations that I had heard are definite crew change points(i.e. Alpine, TX for the Sunset Limited/Texas Eagle when they combine together, Greenwood, MS on the City of New Orleans, etc).

I was being sarcastic about Rugby. Then again is there really any relevant stops on the EB that are an obvious midpoint? MSP is too close to CHI and SPK is too close to SEA/PDX.

 

[Ryan]

Crew change points have nothing to do with how big a city is or how worthy you feel it is to have service.

Also, Minot is the crew change point in ND.