Crescent ATN & TCL
OBS Chief
If they aren't doing their job complain. There are a lot of people who are just waiting for a chance to work for Amtrak.
Water Rationing & Ice Monitoring On Long Distance Sleeping Cars???
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seat38a
Engineer
I'm starting to sense that the Texas Eagle sleeper is to be avoided at all cost? Way too high of a chance of having Peggy as our SCA?
I was on the CZ a week ago.
On the ride out to Reno, our attendant, Courtney(we did not care for him), told us we could get ice from the dining car or the lounge. He left the bottles of water by the coffee and always had juice out and coffee. I heard him telling another passenger the rule changed for ice the last week, no more ice in the sleepers.
On our ride home, we had Bouchaid(I think that is the spelling), great attendant. He also told us to get ice in the lounge. I believe he had coffee all day, water was not really out for the taking(it was downstairs, sealed) but he always brought us some when we asked. And he did not keep juice out.
On the ride out to Reno, our attendant, Courtney(we did not care for him), told us we could get ice from the dining car or the lounge. He left the bottles of water by the coffee and always had juice out and coffee. I heard him telling another passenger the rule changed for ice the last week, no more ice in the sleepers.
On our ride home, we had Bouchaid(I think that is the spelling), great attendant. He also told us to get ice in the lounge. I believe he had coffee all day, water was not really out for the taking(it was downstairs, sealed) but he always brought us some when we asked. And he did not keep juice out.
J
jimhudson
Guest
This seems to be the new SOP on the Western Trains in regards to water, ice and juice! The coffee is another story which will really po folks who like coffee!
And I've had Courtney several times on the EB,TE and the Zephyr! He's Chicago based and basically he's Lazy and disappears a lot!(Fellow OBS agreed with this, they don't care to work with him!)
And I've had Courtney several times on the EB,TE and the Zephyr! He's Chicago based and basically he's Lazy and disappears a lot!(Fellow OBS agreed with this, they don't care to work with him!)
D.P. Roberts
Conductor
So the consensus seems to be...
You may or may not get an ice bucket.
You may or may not be able to get your own ice (or quantities of it).
You may or may not get any ice at all.
You may or may not be able to get coffee or juice by the late morning.
And bottled water may be limited or rationed, and (according to some posts) may be on the way out altogether.
Ride Amtrak! "We're making trains worth riding again!"
You may or may not get an ice bucket.
You may or may not be able to get your own ice (or quantities of it).
You may or may not get any ice at all.
You may or may not be able to get coffee or juice by the late morning.
And bottled water may be limited or rationed, and (according to some posts) may be on the way out altogether.
Ride Amtrak! "We're making trains worth riding again!"
NW cannonball
Conductor
No. I would never avoid the TE just cause people here report an annoying train worker. Pack my own ice - probably. Or even "dry ice" -- naah might be a "see something" thing.
NW cannonball
Conductor
Unfortunately that's how it seems to be going.
seat38a
Engineer
Everything is a 50% 50% chance these days on Amtrak. It pretty much all depends on your SCA and what good or foul nasty mood they are in. I can't complain. My first LD trip was a joy. Never ran into any of the horror scenarios mentioned by others.
The Davy Crockett
Engineer
going...
gone?
While it is tempting to get frustrated over the situation and poke fun at Boardman and his hench men and women, is this the fear at 60 Mass.?
So the question becomes...
If this is more than that the Chief Bean Counter has run amok (Am-mok?), are they they running that scared, or is this more about making a statement?
My wife and I were on this same train and I must say your evaluation of Peggy is quite odd. We found her very friendly and accommodating. There was always water available including that which she dropped off in our room. She sat and talked with us on several occasions. We did not require ice so I cannot speak to that situation. I did find several of the passengers in our car to be rather demanding and rude. I guess it just depends on how you approach a person.
Our car attendant on the eastbound SWC was also a nice guy and did have ice in a large styrofoam cooler on the shelf. I have problems with a public ice source since we had a couple of yahoos in our car who were coughing and drinking heavily while getting their cache of ice each day. Would rather see the ice sequestered. He did keep extra bottles of water in his room but they were available to grab if you needed more or requested additional bottles.
Yes , there seems to be an inconsistency among attendants.
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crescent2
Conductor
That does seem to be the consensus, and that's a shame. *sigh*
Sleeper accommodations are not cheap. It is reasonable to expect a consistent level of service. Water, ice, and coffee (along with courteous service) are very basic amenities at this price level. I can't see how these new policies are going to be helpful to profitability in the long run.
As someone mentioned, Amtrak has a near-monopoly on LD rail passenger travel, but unlike your local power company, in many areas it does not provide an absolutely essential service in many people's minds. For me and many others, traveling on Amtrak is a choice, and one that I must go out of my way to choose. The little relatively inexpensive touches that make Amtrak travel more pleasant and memorable than other means of travel most likely need to be retained.
I guess we're preaching to the choir here, though.
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I wouldn't avoid it. I had a wonderful SCA last year. Her name was Shante' (not sure if I spelled that right - she pronounced it Shawn-TAY). I was in the transdorm, and she came around to check on everyone every hour or two. She also kept everything clean and tidy. I'm pretty sure she was handling the transdorm and the sleeper behind us.
Well, isn't that interesting. :huh:
I have learned to cast a skeptical eye on everything I read here, there are so many conflicting opinions and contradictory offerings of 'information.' There is quite a lot of outright misinformation which is almost never acknowledged or corrected.
Ispolkom
Engineer
Twas ever thus. I've never noticed a consistent level of service from Amtrak.
With regard to amenities being cut, it seems to be a cyclical thing. Look at the latest issue of Trains. There is a short sidebar article that chronicles how amenities have come and gone over the years. Anyone else remember the First Class stationery?
Devil's Advocate
⠀⠀⠀
Such as?
If you read an earlier post I made, I corrected myself - I was riding the Southwest Chief and left Chicago heading to Los Angeles, on May 28th - not the Sunset Limited as erroneously stated in my original post, sorry for the confusion. Perhaps there is another 'Peggy' on the Sunset Limited / Texas Eagle, but I am referring to Peggy on the LA - based Southwest Chief. Just wanted to clear that up, again ...
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The Sunset Ltd crew is LAX based and Peggy has worked the Sunset in the past! I actually had her on the SWC and the Sunset and neither were a pleasant experience!
The infamous Miss Polly of the Diner crew is known by most who ride the TexasEagle/Sunset but due to complaints
From passengers she was on the California Zephyr for awhile, she's now back on her regular route spreading Amcheer on the Texas Eagles!
The infamous Miss Polly of the Diner crew is known by most who ride the TexasEagle/Sunset but due to complaints
From passengers she was on the California Zephyr for awhile, she's now back on her regular route spreading Amcheer on the Texas Eagles!
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rrdude
Engineer
Ice machines require plumbing (source and drain) and have to regularly cleaned, if they make ice. There are some that must be loaded with ice, but they require drainage, and have some moving parts. Moving parts don't like moving trains.
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Aha! Thanks for the clarification ... so it truly IS the same Peggy. She had the audacity to boast a claim that she received more passenger compliments than any other SCA of all LA based trains; we can now add delusions of grandeur and narcissistic personality disorder to her ever growing list of mental illness diagnoses. She needs to be fired! The SCA attendant in the car adjacent to us was AMAZING - his name was Steve, and he was ALWAYS taking care of his passengers. He checked on them often, was cheerful, respectful and kind to everyone, and brought meals to MANY in his car. Never ONCE did I see Paggy serving a passenger a meal in their room in our car, nor did she ever offer. The ONLY time I EVER saw her in the dining car was when she was taking her typical hour and a half to 2 hour meal break - ALWAYS during Dining Car passenger meal service. The second evening of the journey she announced on the intercom that, per her contract and as was her right, she would be unavailable after 2200 hours. I've never heard such a thing, have any of you? Every SCA I've EVER had was available 24/7. My understanding was that working those 24/7 hours was what allowed SCA's to be on duty for 6 days then have 6 days off (like firefighters). Am I wrong? One way or another, Peggy is poisonous to Amtrak and they should rid themselves of her and hire others like Steve or, better yet, Janelle from the CZ. I've had Janelle 3 times and I think of her as a dear friend - she is precious and dear. Janelle and Steve should be in charge of training new SCA's and if they don't pass muster, have the authority to recommend termination - there's too MANY 'Peggy's' on Amtrak's payroll. As far as Miss Polly, I'm wondering if she was working on the SWC May 28th when I was riding. All I can tell you is there was a middle aged dour, bitter, nasty, evil-looking woman in an Amtrak uniform that Peggy kept hanging off the leg of; I got the impression it was Peggy's 'Supervisor' ... could it have been Miss Polly???
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Rail Freak
Engineer
I hesitate when mentioning names, but can't resist. Anyone familiar with a SCA (SWC?) by the name of Dianne???????
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It wasn't Polly on the SWC unless she was working the Extra Board as a Server? She's not a Supervisor of anything except your Dinning Car order!
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Yes the crew can be off after 10 pm, however certain routes require all hands on deck for major stops.
To have a SCA make the announcement is normal, to have a SCA stick in your faces is not.
Sorry you had a poor trip, it should not happen, but it can and does.
Amtrak needs to give a management course on how to fire a union employee. Your SCA been down that road once or twice. I would think, and now she feels invincible.
Paperwork, paperwork, and more paperwork.
To have a SCA make the announcement is normal, to have a SCA stick in your faces is not.
Sorry you had a poor trip, it should not happen, but it can and does.
Amtrak needs to give a management course on how to fire a union employee. Your SCA been down that road once or twice. I would think, and now she feels invincible.
Paperwork, paperwork, and more paperwork.
J
jimhudson
Guest
Actually the Union Contract with Amtrak only guarantees OBS 4 Hours of sleep per night!(Including during layovers and turnarounds/ OBS aren't covered by the Hours of Service and Crew Rest like the T&E Crews are!) Lots of OBS trade off on covering each others cars during the night and the Conductors also cover the boardings and detraining during the night!
Good SCAs are usually very good about being available to their passengers and letting them know their availability!
Announcements such as "I'm off duty at 10 Oclock !" are made up by the crew member!
Good SCAs are usually very good about being available to their passengers and letting them know their availability!
Announcements such as "I'm off duty at 10 Oclock !" are made up by the crew member!
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