Mt Pleasant Station agent comes thru again

[Edgefan]

Hello all,

Sitting in my daughter's kitchen in Huntersville, NC, thanks to my station agent in Mt Pleasant, Ia. California Zephyr of Jan 3, 2011 would have missed our Capitol Limited connection in Chicago. He tried to route us on the LSL and drop us down from NYP and several other routings. But the simpliest seemed to be the best. He changed us over to the SW Chief grabbing it in Galesburg, Il. Overrode any price increases and we were off to Galesburg to catch it. It too was late but only an hour and a half, which was fine. It gave us plenty of time to get there and there was still 2+ hours of window left for our Capitol Limited in Chicago. He went before the railroad retirement board YESTERDAY. He says his target date for his last day is February, 11th. Ironic, in that's my birthday. (Maybe it's a sign) He has more than 38 years in with Amtrak. This was not his first job with a railroad. He stated with Southern Pacific doing various tasks. It was a melancholy moment when we had our new tickets in hand as we knew we would not see him again as a station agent. He did give us his address and number. (he already has ours ) He is one of the great ones that knows about customer service and goes that extra mile. In a past departure, he even called us and alerted us the we might want to make it down to Mt Pleasant the evening before departure as bad weather was approaching. Thanks Bob! We will miss you! :huh:

 

[Bierboy]

We had a great one in Galesburg on New Year's Day named Shannon. There was a mixup with our upgraded accommodations (roomette upgraded to a bedroom won in a contest) and he was very patient, calling someone on the phone and getting everything in order for our March trip to Seattle. Shannon was outstanding!!

 

[Devil's Advocate]

It's always good to hear about the folks who go the extra mile for good customer service. Most of station staff I've dealt with are good enough to get the job done but don't volunteer much in the way additional help. The guy at AUS has been great though, if only I could remember his name. :mellow:

 

[JayPea]

The last few times in Spokane I've had the good fortune to deal with Duane as the ticket agent. Very friendly, great sense of humor, and has always been good to update with additional info if needed. A couple of times the EB was running late and he gave periodic announcements as to its status. I have also run into a ticket agent or two in Spokane, however, who had all the personality and charm of a mummy.

 

[had8ley]

I am extremely fortunate to have Craig Carter as our agent in Hammond, LA He's # 1 in seniority so he's not going anywhere for at least another five years. Craig has been seen tagging bags as the headlights on # 58 are pulling into town (NOL cuts off bags with the dumb 30 minute rule). He is a getleman, scholar but most importantly a true asset to the Amtrak system. If anyone on the system can pull a rabbit out of a hat it's Craig! :hi:

 

[Edgefan]

I am extremely fortunate to have Craig Carter as our agent in Hammond, LA He's # 1 in seniority so he's not going anywhere for at least another five years. Craig has been seen tagging bags as the headlights on # 58 are pulling into town (NOL cuts off bags with the dumb 30 minute rule). He is a getleman, scholar but most importantly a true asset to the Amtrak system. If anyone on the system can pull a rabbit out of a hat it's Craig! :hi:

Stunning coincidence! I was looking for a different run where I could do "turnarounds" with no overnight. Mt Pleasant to Galesburg is a simple easy same day round trip deal. Going west, it is either Lincoln (wee hours) or that afternoon is Granby, CO. (There IS a point here) I did the same with #3 and #30. Nothing appealed to me at the moment. My wife's birthday is St. Patrick's Day and wanted to do something special. I plugged in GBB>HMD (round trip) last night on Amtrak.com. It appears to be a do-able turnaround. If there is a delay on #58, we can always get off earlier, but actually became intrigued with Hammond, LA and it's station. Although it appears larger than my Mt. Pleasant station, the style and era are identical. I am going to seriously consider this run for her birthday. A few days leeway here or there isn't going to bother either one of us in the least. :lol:

 

[PaulM]

I too am sorry to hear the MTP agent is retiring.

 

[had8ley]

I am extremely fortunate to have Craig Carter as our agent in Hammond, LA He's # 1 in seniority so he's not going anywhere for at least another five years. Craig has been seen tagging bags as the headlights on # 58 are pulling into town (NOL cuts off bags with the dumb 30 minute rule). He is a getleman, scholar but most importantly a true asset to the Amtrak system. If anyone on the system can pull a rabbit out of a hat it's Craig!

Stunning coincidence! I was looking for a different run where I could do "turnarounds" with no overnight. Mt Pleasant to Galesburg is a simple easy same day round trip deal. Going west, it is either Lincoln (wee hours) or that afternoon is Granby, CO. (There IS a point here) I did the same with #3 and #30. Nothing appealed to me at the moment. My wife's birthday is St. Patrick's Day and wanted to do something special. I plugged in GBB>HMD (round trip) last night on Amtrak.com. It appears to be a do-able turnaround. If there is a delay on #58, we can always get off earlier, but actually became intrigued with Hammond, LA and it's station. Although it appears larger than my Mt. Pleasant station, the style and era are identical. I am going to seriously consider this run for her birthday. A few days leeway here or there isn't going to bother either one of us in the least.

Great choice; there is a Mexican restaurant a block down the street called La Caretta's~ some of the best I've eaten. About two blocks away is Brady's~ an Irish pub setting. If all goes well time wise you probably won't leave the station. If you want to talk RR Craig will stay all day. If you come on a week-end they have a lady relief agent who is just as pleasant and nice as an agent can be. BTW, Southeasten Louisiana University is about two blocks from the station. It has consistently been in the top ten fastest growing universities in the country for quite some time now.They are in the process of building a million dollar platform and canopy which hopefully you'll get to use. Enjoy the trip.

 

[Edgefan]

I am extremely fortunate to have Craig Carter as our agent in Hammond, LA He's # 1 in seniority so he's not going anywhere for at least another five years. Craig has been seen tagging bags as the headlights on # 58 are pulling into town (NOL cuts off bags with the dumb 30 minute rule). He is a getleman, scholar but most importantly a true asset to the Amtrak system. If anyone on the system can pull a rabbit out of a hat it's Craig!

Stunning coincidence! I was looking for a different run where I could do "turnarounds" with no overnight. Mt Pleasant to Galesburg is a simple easy same day round trip deal. Going west, it is either Lincoln (wee hours) or that afternoon is Granby, CO. (There IS a point here) I did the same with #3 and #30. Nothing appealed to me at the moment. My wife's birthday is St. Patrick's Day and wanted to do something special. I plugged in GBB>HMD (round trip) last night on Amtrak.com. It appears to be a do-able turnaround. If there is a delay on #58, we can always get off earlier, but actually became intrigued with Hammond, LA and it's station. Although it appears larger than my Mt. Pleasant station, the style and era are identical. I am going to seriously consider this run for her birthday. A few days leeway here or there isn't going to bother either one of us in the least.

Great choice; there is a Mexican restaurant a block down the street called La Caretta's~ some of the best I've eaten. About two blocks away is Brady's~ an Irish pub setting. If all goes well time wise you probably won't leave the station. If you want to talk RR Craig will stay all day. If you come on a week-end they have a lady relief agent who is just as pleasant and nice as an agent can be. BTW, Southeasten Louisiana University is about two blocks from the station. It has consistently been in the top ten fastest growing universities in the country for quite some time now.They are in the process of building a million dollar platform and canopy which hopefully you'll get to use. Enjoy the trip.

Info permanently tucked away in my one track mind! :lol: Thanks ever so much.

 

[RailFanLNK]

We have three really good guys in LNK. The best is Mike, he's been there for at least 20+ years and then Mark who works LNK, HAS, OMA and every now then KCY. And Kevin, who's getting up to snuff and is the newbie. Probably been around 2 years or so. Kevin did this for our large Singles group in '09. A man wellknown in the LNK area that has mental problems and can be at times violent was riding the train. He tends to gravitate towards women and gets lewd. He alerted all of us and we were able to keep a good distance away from him.

 

[Edgefan]

I am extremely fortunate to have Craig Carter as our agent in Hammond, LA He's # 1 in seniority so he's not going anywhere for at least another five years. Craig has been seen tagging bags as the headlights on # 58 are pulling into town (NOL cuts off bags with the dumb 30 minute rule). He is a getleman, scholar but most importantly a true asset to the Amtrak system. If anyone on the system can pull a rabbit out of a hat it's Craig! :hi:

I have already posted in the "June 2011" trips forum, but I thought I'd post here that I'll be doing what I've termed the Hammond turnaround starting from Galesburg, Il on June 30th. Amtrak system has allowed it as a guaranteed connection. (July 1st #59 to #58) Tacked this on the front end of our July Trip. This allows us to set up camp in Galesburg between runs and we'll get a good day of exploring the area (Galesburg) on the 3rd of July! Thanks had8ley for your info.

 

[had8ley]

I am extremely fortunate to have Craig Carter as our agent in Hammond, LA He's # 1 in seniority so he's not going anywhere for at least another five years. Craig has been seen tagging bags as the headlights on # 58 are pulling into town (NOL cuts off bags with the dumb 30 minute rule). He is a getleman, scholar but most importantly a true asset to the Amtrak system. If anyone on the system can pull a rabbit out of a hat it's Craig! :hi:

I have already posted in the "June 2011" trips forum, but I thought I'd post here that I'll be doing what I've termed the Hammond turnaround starting from Galesburg, Il on June 30th. Amtrak system has allowed it as a guaranteed connection. (July 1st #59 to #58) Tacked this on the front end of our July Trip. This allows us to set up camp in Galesburg between runs and we'll get a good day of exploring the area (Galesburg) on the 3rd of July! Thanks had8ley for your info.

I'm glad it worked out for you. I never thought of the "guaranteed" connection for going back on # 58. I honestly don't know what Amtrak could do for you in Hammond except put you up for the night.I'll call Craig when he opens at 10 and find out. Enjoy the trip and don't trip over the new million dollar platform in front of the depot!

 

[Edgefan]

There has been some platform work done at Mt. Pleasant, Ia as well. At least the platform directly in front of the station. It now extends east an additional 30 yards or so. It also has some sort of shed at the end of it. Did not have time to discuss the new configuaration with station agent Bob, as we had to scoot off to Galesburg to catch the Chief, he reconfigured our last itinerary as stated in another post, per a very late Zephyr of Jan. 3rd, 2011. One possiblity of the new platform extension is to facilitate sleeping car passengers better without the need for a double stop. (Otherwise you have to walk a block west of the station for eastbound #6) There is platform work on the table for the north track (traditionally westbound) so I don't know if they have expended all 265K (directly from station agent Bob) allocated to Mt. Pleasant via the "stimulus".