Name a legendary Amtrak worker (Good or Bad)

[Swadian Hardcore]

For Amtrak Presidents, I think Graham Claytor and Paul Reisberg were both pretty good, and George Warrington really caused some big problems for Amtrak.

I think you mean Paul Reistrup, who I believe was Amtrak's 2nd president.

Ooops! That was a big mistake.

 

[AlanB]

In March 2012 I took my first Amtrak trip from NYP to HOL on the Silver Star. I was lucky enough to have Larry as my SCA. It was a sad trip for me. I was heading down to Florida to see my Dad who was dying from brain cancer. I took a roomette on the way down to Florida. I explained why I was going and that it was my first experience with Amtrak. From beginning to end, Larry was there with a kind word or just to ask if I needed anything. It was wonderful to have someone so caring on such a long trip where I was alone, with just my thoughts about the weeks to come!

My father passed a few days after I got to Florida but I got there in time to tell him just how lucky I am to be his daughter. He was only 57.

I've found my new way of getting from NY to Florida to see my family! I think a lot had to do with how wonderful Larry was.

My trip home I was in a bedroom. I have no complaints about the trip. My SCA was nice enough...although I can't remember his name. I liked the roomette better. I was able to fully stretch out on the seats and put my feet up. I was too short to sit comfortably that way in the bedroom.

I'm looking forward to my trip back down to Florida in September! Silver Star down and Silver Meteor back up. I hope I get to see Larry again and tell him just how much I appreciated his kindness!

Jen,

My condolences on your loss.

But Larry is indeed one of the good guys! And I'm glad to hear that he made your trip a bit easier.

 

[Steve P.]

Hi,

While I think it is fine to nominate "good" service, I feel unsure of the fairness in naming "bad". By all means contact Amtrak about bad service, but in an open forum it seems wrong to pillory employees without their knowledge, without their chance to give their side of the story.

I have been 100% hopping mad at many crappy employee's attitudes to me, but still feel naming in public forum is a bit like us mud slinging, but then hiding our true identities from those we accuse...

Seems to me that it's just not cricket, old chap !!

Ed

I agree. Additionally if you are looking for rotten service, you are more likely to find it.

 

[greatcats]

Here's my two cents:

Last November on the Silver Star from Tampa to Alexandria, VA, I had a fairly new SCA, Rolando. Excellent, conscientious service. On the Empire Builder from Chicago several days later enroute to Portland, the LSA in charge of the dining car was Misty. She really made the trip for me one of the best Amtrtak trips I have ever taken.

 

[Steve P.]

In March 2012 I took my first Amtrak trip from NYP to HOL on the Silver Star. I was lucky enough to have Larry as my SCA. It was a sad trip for me. I was heading down to Florida to see my Dad who was dying from brain cancer. I took a roomette on the way down to Florida. I explained why I was going and that it was my first experience with Amtrak. From beginning to end, Larry was there with a kind word or just to ask if I needed anything. It was wonderful to have someone so caring on such a long trip where I was alone, with just my thoughts about the weeks to come!

My father passed a few days after I got to Florida but I got there in time to tell him just how lucky I am to be his daughter. He was only 57.

I've found my new way of getting from NY to Florida to see my family! I think a lot had to do with how wonderful Larry was.

My trip home I was in a bedroom. I have no complaints about the trip. My SCA was nice enough...although I can't remember his name. I liked the roomette better. I was able to fully stretch out on the seats and put my feet up. I was too short to sit comfortably that way in the bedroom.

I'm looking forward to my trip back down to Florida in September! Silver Star down and Silver Meteor back up. I hope I get to see Larry again and tell him just how much I appreciated his kindness!

Jen,

My condolences on your loss.

But Larry is indeed one of the good guys! And I'm glad to hear that he made your trip a bit easier.

Very touching story. It brought tears to my eyes. Thank you for sharing.

 

[pennyk]

I'm also going to nominate EB_OBS, OBS, & Guest_LSA, all of whom take their own personal time to come here and post and provide everyone with their insight into Amtrak. Additionally, I'm going to nominate one other person whom I can't name. Sorry! But he was a very senior Amtrak manager now retired.
I think all 4 deserve kudos for being so giving of their own personal time, especially since in many cases they spent all day working for Amtrak and then come here to talk Amtrak.

SECONDED!!!

Thirded!!!

 

[pennyk]

Debbie, the Pacific Parlour Car Attendent on the CS. She is a real little firecracker. She really gets to know her guests and makes everyone feel welcome, relaxed, and friendly to each other. Also, she makes a killer Bloody Mary!

I agree. She was the attendant on the CS last October when quite a few of us were on our way to the Gathering. She was extremely accommodating even making sure that we had the tables with more "leg" room, since several of us were larger than average. :lol: :lol: :lol:

I also agree with Jim that Leo and Vic on the Silvers are great.

 

[pennyk]

In March 2012 I took my first Amtrak trip from NYP to HOL on the Silver Star. I was lucky enough to have Larry as my SCA. It was a sad trip for me. I was heading down to Florida to see my Dad who was dying from brain cancer. I took a roomette on the way down to Florida. I explained why I was going and that it was my first experience with Amtrak. From beginning to end, Larry was there with a kind word or just to ask if I needed anything. It was wonderful to have someone so caring on such a long trip where I was alone, with just my thoughts about the weeks to come!

My father passed a few days after I got to Florida but I got there in time to tell him just how lucky I am to be his daughter. He was only 57.

I've found my new way of getting from NY to Florida to see my family! I think a lot had to do with how wonderful Larry was.

My trip home I was in a bedroom. I have no complaints about the trip. My SCA was nice enough...although I can't remember his name. I liked the roomette better. I was able to fully stretch out on the seats and put my feet up. I was too short to sit comfortably that way in the bedroom.

I'm looking forward to my trip back down to Florida in September! Silver Star down and Silver Meteor back up. I hope I get to see Larry again and tell him just how much I appreciated his kindness!

Jen, you have my condolences also. In 2008, I traveled via Amtrak 4 times roundtrip during a 3 week period to see my father before he passed away. Although I only traveled between Orlando and either Hollywood or Ft. Lauderdale (depending on whether he was in the hospital or at home), it was very comforting being in a room on the train. I spent most of the time on the phone with either my father or relatives and did not have to worry about driving and "watching the road." Since I was recovering from surgery, driving was not a good option for me. Because my trip was so short and I was so distracted, I cannot remember any of the 8 SCAs that I had. I do remember that one trip I was in a bedroom because it was less expensive than a roomette. I travel on the Silvers a lot and hope to have Larry as my SCA very soon. He sounds like a very kind and caring individual. My father was over 85 when he died, and I thought that was too soon. I cannot imagine losing him in his 50's.

Thanks for sharing your story. I am sure it is making many of us who still have our fathers appreciate them even more, especially around father's day.

 

[Acela150]

I had a great SCA on the SS to ORL. His name was Preston. I believe his last name was Wilson. Great! I was 18 at the time and the guy constantly checked on me to make sure I was ok and if I needed anything. Plain and simple the greatest SCA I have ever had!

The one on my return was the total opposite.. Didn't even bother to learn his name or to tip him.. I think he was border line retirement.

 

[MSP_Train_Hopper]

Last April I rode the CONO and had a coach attendant named Damien. Great guy - was bummed when he wasn't on the train when I rode a couple months ago!!

 

[who had good service]

On our first Coast Starlight trip there was a girl working in the diner who was a really happy type girl. Her name was Daisy, when we came back through on the CS a week later she was working a sleeping car unfortunatly not ours . She was a really good employee with an infectious happy attitude and smile. I have been back through a couple of times and haven't seen her. These "great SCA" post pop up on occasion and I keep waiting to see someone mention her name, but I haven't. Has anyone seen her lately? I hope she is still doing great

 

[ehbowen]

Who are some other Amtrak folks who, like Cher, are so notorious for their job performance that a first name is all that's needed to instantly identify them?

While I don't know if anyone else here will recognize him (I kind of hope not!), our family will never forget "Bobby". He was our waiter on the Sunset Limited in May of '06. He was...well, it might be a bit excessive to call him "rude", but he was certainly brusque. He seemed to delight in telling us that the diner was out of whatever selection we wanted. My nephew, for example, wanted the French Toast, and "Bobby" told him "No French Toast!" A disappointed nephew then ordered cereal, only to see another waiter bringing out...French Toast. When we asked about that, "Bobby" said, "No order French Toast! Only with Bob Evans scramble! No French Toast!" What we got out of that exchange (English was apparently not "Bobby's" first language) was that the kitchen had the half-orders of French Toast which were supposed to accompany the Bob Evans scramble, but no full orders were available. If someone had told us this plainly, my nephew would have ordered the Bob Evans scramble and its half order of toast and been happy with that. As it was, he had a breakfast which he really didn't want and didn't eat much of.

We tried tipping "Bobby" in hopes of getting better service, but it was like dealing with a brick wall. All the tips seemed to accomplish was to make sure that he had us at every meal. He never showed the slightest hint of friendliness or concern; it seemed as if we were a bothersome lot taking up his valuable time. Even now, six years later, my nephews and nieces can get a laugh out of the family by acting out "Bobby".

 

[Jen G]

In March 2012 I took my first Amtrak trip from NYP to HOL on the Silver Star. I was lucky enough to have Larry as my SCA. It was a sad trip for me. I was heading down to Florida to see my Dad who was dying from brain cancer. I took a roomette on the way down to Florida. I explained why I was going and that it was my first experience with Amtrak. From beginning to end, Larry was there with a kind word or just to ask if I needed anything. It was wonderful to have someone so caring on such a long trip where I was alone, with just my thoughts about the weeks to come!

My father passed a few days after I got to Florida but I got there in time to tell him just how lucky I am to be his daughter. He was only 57.

I've found my new way of getting from NY to Florida to see my family! I think a lot had to do with how wonderful Larry was.

My trip home I was in a bedroom. I have no complaints about the trip. My SCA was nice enough...although I can't remember his name. I liked the roomette better. I was able to fully stretch out on the seats and put my feet up. I was too short to sit comfortably that way in the bedroom.

I'm looking forward to my trip back down to Florida in September! Silver Star down and Silver Meteor back up. I hope I get to see Larry again and tell him just how much I appreciated his kindness!

So strange to be replying on my own post. I have been "lurking" on these boards for months and have found a wealth of knowledge. I finally registered. Thank you all for your kind words and endless amounts of information!!

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Debbie, the Pacific Parlour Car Attendent on the CS. She is a real little firecracker. She really gets to know her guests and makes everyone feel welcome, relaxed, and friendly to each other. Also, she makes a killer Bloody Mary!

I agree. She was the attendant on the CS last October when quite a few of us were on our way to the Gathering. She was extremely accommodating even making sure that we had the tables with more "leg" room, since several of us were larger than average. :lol: :lol: :lol:

I also agree with Jim that Leo and Vic on the Silvers are great.

Did you shrink some since October, Penny? I know we do as we age, but that much? :giggle:

 

[AutoTrDvr]

For Amtrak Presidents, I think Graham Claytor and Paul Reisberg were both pretty good, and George Warrington really caused some big problems for Amtrak.

I think you mean Paul Reistrup, who I believe was Amtrak's 2nd president.

The only president with which I'm vaguely familiar is the late George Warrington who, after his Amtrak watch and prior to his retirement/death, became head of New Jersey Transit.

To be honest, I'm amazed you all know your crew members so well. I don't think I've had the same SCA once on the AT, after 7 round trips. Although there are 1-2 I would remember if I saw them again.

 

[railiner]

For you oldtimers...

My favorite was legendary Train Announcer Danny Simmons, for decades, The Voice of Penn Staion, New York.

Another favorite was Amtrak/Illinois Central Conductor Woody Vinson, who entertained passengers on the City of New Orleans with tales of characters like Casey Jones. Another PA Artist was Conductor Billings from the Rio Grande who entertained passengers on the CZ with lots of tall tales as well....

Another colorful character was Lela J. on the SFZ. She was a great dining car steward/LSA that I believe Henry Kisor interviewed in his book on the CZ...not sure if she is still around.....

Sorry that I have not ridden much in recent years to nominate more....

 

[Acela150]

For Amtrak Presidents, I think Graham Claytor and Paul Reisberg were both pretty good, and George Warrington really caused some big problems for Amtrak.

I think you mean Paul Reistrup, who I believe was Amtrak's 2nd president.

The only president with which I'm vaguely familiar is the late George Warrington who, after his Amtrak watch and prior to his retirement/death, became head of New Jersey Transit.

You never heard of Graham Claytor??? Google the man and see what pops up. I mentioned it earlier in the topic, he's possibly the greatest President Amtrak has had!

 

[Henry Kisor]

Railiner, Lela Janushkowsky—a k a The Train Goddess—is retired, married and living happily on a ranch northwest of Sacramento. She sure was one of a kind when she worked for Amtrak. I re-interviewed her for the ebook of "Zephyr," available in Nook and Kindle versions, and brought her story up to date. (End of blatant commercial.)

 

[white rabbitt]

steve the SCA on the texas eagle,he makes the best coffee on amtrak

brad avoid him he cant make coffee , he hide's and wont make up the beds

if u get steve u will never forget him

 

[railiner]

Railiner, Lela Janushkowsky—a k a The Train Goddess—is retired, married and living happily on a ranch northwest of Sacramento. She sure was one of a kind when she worked for Amtrak. I re-interviewed her for the ebook of "Zephyr," available in Nook and Kindle versions, and brought her story up to date. (End of blatant commercial.)

Yes, she was a pistol!

Thanks for the update, Henry. Is there a print version of your book available with the updates?

 

[railiner]

For Amtrak Presidents, I think Graham Claytor and Paul Reisberg were both pretty good, and George Warrington really caused some big problems for Amtrak.

I think you mean Paul Reistrup, who I believe was Amtrak's 2nd president.

The only president with which I'm vaguely familiar is the late George Warrington who, after his Amtrak watch and prior to his retirement/death, became head of New Jersey Transit.

You never heard of Graham Claytor??? Google the man and see what pops up. I mentioned it earlier in the topic, he's possibly the greatest President Amtrak has had!

I would have to pretty much agree with this. While Paul Reistrup was a superb passenger train executive that did wonders for the B&O/C&O, and later for the IC prior to coming to Amtrak and doing good there as well, he was not as politically astute or capable of manipulating Congress in Amtrak's favor that Graham Claytor could.

 

[rtabern]

Another stand-out that I have had is a younger sleeping car attendant on the City of New Orleans. I have had him twice... and I really wish I remembered his name... but it's slipping my mind now. If he notices you are a railfan or are really enjoying the scenery -- he will come by your room from time to time and chat it up with you -- and point out interesting things. On a cross-country trip I did last March, he came by and pointed out where a tornado recently struck down in Mississippi... where you could see an alligator in a cage near the Hammond, LA train station... and also where you could see this gigantic eagle's nest somewhere between Hammond and New Orleans. What REALLY made him stand out was the fact that he played the Arlo Guthrie version of "The City of New Orleans" car-wide on the PA system when we were arriving into New Orleans (and then again on the northbound when I had him in October 2011 coming into Chicago). I really appreciated the fact he was probably around my age (early 30's), but appreciated railroad history, the history of the train he was working on, and he cared about the route we were traveling and was knowledgable about it. He got a very good trip. I wish I remembered his name though... he was definitely NOL crew base and spoke with a little Louisiana accent.

 

[rtabern]

One of the worst sleeping car attendants I had was in March 2011 on the Southwest Chief from LAX-CHI. I also wish I remembered her name, but here her picture standing on the platform at ABQ:

http://rtabern.shutterfly.com/16097

First off, she was one of "those attendants" who always seem to be impossible to find -- spending most of the day chatting it up and sitting around the diner. Once you finally caught on to that fact, you atleast knew where you could find her if you needed something. At some of the service stops she wouldn't even open the door unless she had passengers getting off or not -- she would tell you that if you wanted to smoke or get off -- you'd have to go over to the next sleeping car -- and NO, it wasn't because that car didn't clear the platform -- it did -- she just didn't really want to be bothered. She didn't even bother stocking ice or having it available -- she would tell you to go and get ice from the next sleeping car. (Hence, she didn't get a tip and the other attendant did)

My guess is she was a new hire (she was young, probably in her early 20's) from LAX which probably explains some of it.

Anyway, the real "topper" making her one of the worst attendants ever -- comes from a story I know I have told atleast once before here on the forum.

This trip was part of a 10-day, 7-train, cross country loop trip I was doing with another Amtrak Unlimited forum member... and we were sharing Bedroom #C from LAX-CHI. It had been a long day already, so we were a little tired, and requested that our beds be put down not too long after leaving Los Angeles. We were still going to have dinner, but wanted to hit the hay not too long after that since we got up early that morning to do a Surfliner turn down to Solana Beach.

Anyway, when she tried to put the beds down, the latch on the top bunk wouldn't lock in place. She did try at for about 5 minutes and no dice... so she said she was would be "right back" as she was "too weak" to get it to work... and would have to get the conductor or someone else to try. Ok, I'm reasonable and can understand that... especially with 30-year-old equipment. BUT, instead of going to get the conductor or someone to help... we find her chowing down on her dinner at the crew table in the dining car. Nice... huh?? I actually went to her table and confronted her and she told me she "had to" take her meal break between San Bernardino and Victorville... and we just left San Bernardino. "Had to" take her meal break right then?? Even if she did -- she should have atleast had the courtesy to come back and tell us that it was going to be 45 minutes or so until she could fix the beds -- instead of leaving us sit there in the room with one bed down... one bed with a broken latch flopping around... and not much room in the room to move around!!!

I finally got the other sleeping car attendant to try and help out and even the conductor, but the latch wasn't fix-able.

So, when this young lady comes back from her meal break -- I told her that I found the conductor and other attendant -- and they weren't able to fix it.

SO, she suggests moving us into BEDROOM A. My traveling partner and I didn't really like that option because, if you didn't know, Bedroom A is actually smaller in size, than Bedrooms B-E on Superliner equipment. We wanted to stay in the bigger room.

While she was on her meal break east of San Bernardino there and it looked like we weren't going to be getting this fixed, I placed some calls to friends who work for Amtrak and have access to ARROW and found out that Bedroom B and Bedroom A were open all the way to Chicago... as well as about 6 of the roomettes.

So, I suggested, instead of being stuck in the smaller bedroom "A" for 2 days when we paid for and purposely booked "C"... that we be allowed to move to "B". She said "No, it's taken for the crew"... and wanted to move us to "A" only. We got into a pretty good argument with her about this. Finally, I suggested, how about that we be allowed to keep "C" for use during the day... my friend would sleep in there... and then maybe I could just sleep in any unoccupied roomette? She wouldn't go for this either saying "I don't think we have any open roomettes for you".

I kinda lost it at this -- and told her that I have some friends who work for Amtrak -- and that we were in-fact en route to Washington to meet with said friends who work at the HQ in Washington -- and that I knew "A", "B" and 6 roomettes in her car were indeed open. She got pretty white as a ghost, appologized, and let us keep "C" for day use and for my friend to use the lower bunk... and I used Roomette #2 to sleep in during the nights.

Well... it wasn't until La Junta, CO that we figured out what she was doing. We both over-heard her talking to the station agent in La Junta about "blocking off" Bedroom "A" and "B" so that she and her friend who was a coach car attendant on the train could sleep in there on the second night because she found the bathrooms in the car to be "gross"... she wanted her own crapper pretty much... so she wanted to have the bedrooms for her self and her co-worker.

Not only was that kinda crappy -- I think it's almost "theft" from Amtrak in my opinion. What if someone wanted to upgrade to a bedroom? or someone got on in the middle of the night and wanted a room?

We did report this to Customer Relations upon arrival.

 

[rrdude]

For Amtrak Presidents, I think Graham Claytor and Paul Reisberg were both pretty good, and George Warrington really caused some big problems for Amtrak.

I think you mean Paul Reistrup, who I believe was Amtrak's 2nd president.

The only president with which I'm vaguely familiar is the late George Warrington who, after his Amtrak watch and prior to his retirement/death, became head of New Jersey Transit.

You never heard of Graham Claytor??? Google the man and see what pops up. I mentioned it earlier in the topic, he's possibly the greatest President Amtrak has had!

No bout adout it, IS / WAS thee greatest prez that Amtrak has had, to date.

 

[zephyrstar]

The crew in the first class car on today's Acela Express 2151 will certainly not win awards for the best.

Here is a list of things that did NOT happen in the "first class" car : Anyone checking on me at all, or asking if I needed anything anytime between Boston and Washington, other than taking my meal orders. Anyone offering to remove my meal trays until I flagged them down. Anyone cleaning the restroom (the same pieces of paper towel stayed on the floor the entire trip). An offer to provide hot towel service or a newspaper as listed on Amtrak's website.

Here's what DID happen: When I decided I wanted a drink, I went to the front of the car. One attendant was gone and the other was asleep. I found the one in the cafe car socializing with the bartender. When I told him the other attendant was asleep he said "Why didn't you just tap her?" I told him I didn't think it was my place to wake up employees. He turned around and snapped, "Hey I know we are late" (the train was an hour and a half late at that point due to mechanical issues and a resulting 80 mph speed restriction). Of course there was no apology.

In short, it was a VERY disappointing trip. For those of us that don't get to travel on Acela very often (and especially first class), it was a major let down. I will be calling Guest Relations for sure. Hopefully the trip back on Monday will be better!