Red cap vs Baggage man

[Apd]

As the tittle says, whats the difference between the two?

 

[Shanghai]

Generally, the Red Cap carries your carry-on items and assists passengers

onto the train and off of the train. The Baggage Personnel generally provides checked luggage

service onto and off of the baggage car.

 

[the_traveler]

A Red Cap is the person you see in the station carrying your bags, with the golf carts, etc... - while the baggage personnel work "behind the scenes".

 

[ehbowen]

If you're talking "back in the day", there would be a baggageman who traveled on the train, keeping all of the luggage sorted by destination and handing it over to the station agent at stops large and small. We forget sometimes that it used to be general practice to offer checked baggage service at all stations; when I first took Amtrak in 1979 (Lone Star; Houston-Chicago and return) the only stops on the route which did not offer checked baggage service were Rosenberg, Brenham, McGregor and Pauls Valley. There was a full-time baggageman in the baggage car even then. Nowadays checked baggage service is much more limited and the task of keeping everything sorted is dumped on the already overworked conductors.

Redcap service, on the other hand, has always been analogous to Skycap service at the airports: They assist passengers at the station from their cars or taxicabs to the baggage check and/or to trainside, and vice versa.

 

[Apd]

Appreciate all for the replies. I applied for a baggage man position and the job description sounded the same as a red cap to me. Thanks for clearing it up.

 

[battalion51]

A lot depends on the location of the job. At stations like NYP, WAS, PHL, CHI, LAX there is a very defined line between what baggage personnel do and what a Red Cap does. At other stations like EMY, SLO, FTW, MSP, DEN, etc. the baggage person may not only handle checked bags, but may also assist passengers on and off the train, have janitorial responsibilities, and other duties. Small and medium size stations typically don't have dedicated Red Caps, but instead are a "jack of all trades" since there isn't as large of a staff to split out the duties.

 

[railiner]

A lot depends on the location of the job. At stations like NYP, WAS, PHL, CHI, LAX there is a very defined line between what baggage personnel do and what a Red Cap does. At other stations like EMY, SLO, FTW, MSP, DEN, etc. the baggage person may not only handle checked bags, but may also assist passengers on and off the train, have janitorial responsibilities, and other duties. Small and medium size stations typically don't have dedicated Red Caps, but instead are a "jack of all trades" since there isn't as large of a staff to split out the duties.

Good explanation. In stations's like Denver, during 'train time', usually the most senior baggageman will perform in the 'redcap' position.

All of the station personnel, baggagmen and redcaps, are covered by the 'clerks's' union and seniority. When they had train baggagemen years ago, those jobs were part of the Trainmen's union....completely separate....

 

[June the Coach Rider]

I know that in FTW the baggage man is also the one who handles the red cap services to handicapped passengers. I had to wait for them to get the baggage on the train before they came back to bring me to the train. Still before the mass boarding.

 

[Apd]

Great info everyone, thanks.

 

[Nick]

How much approximately do Baggage man make a year gross?

Thanks

 

[user 1215]

Kind of a tough question to answer, don't ya think?

There are generally no "Baggage" employees - at least that I'm aware of. Maybe at bigger stations, like NYP, PHL, WAS, etc... But at smaller stations, it's the ticket agent/baggage handler/janitor/customer service liason professional does all the work.