7 replies to this topic

[Allen Dee]

What is the correct title for the person who is in charge of the dining car (not the waiters or waitresses).

On my recent trips these people announced themselves as "Dining Car Attendants."

I would like to know this pertinent bit of information before I post my very long, and very detailed trip report.

[Amfleet]

All Amtrak onboard service crew members are now refered to as an "attendants". "Steward" and "Stewardess" are now somewhat out of date terms. Even on airlplanes crew members are refered to as a "Flight Attendants". Regarding the crew in the Dining Car, Dining Car attendant is probably the offical term Amtrak uses, but you will here waiter or waitress used also. One Dining Car will usually have a Lead Service Attendant (manager) and two Dining Car attendants.

[Anthony]

I always liked it better when the LSA announced him or herself as being the "Dining Car Steward". Something more sophisticated and unique than your everyday "attendant"

[Amfleet]

I always liked it better when the LSA announced him or herself as being the "Dining Car Steward". Something more sophisticated and unique than your everyday "attendant"

Most of them still seem to announce themselves with a more "professional" presence. However, their offical name under Amtrak would be a LSA.

[battalion51]

Most of the older generation will refer to the LSa in the Diner as the Steward. The Diner LSA from Crew 5 always asks me, "So Sean who was the Steward on 98 today?" when I catch him on 97.

[Bill Haithcoat]

Most of the older generation will refer to the LSa in the Diner as the Steward. The Diner LSA from Crew 5 always asks me, "So Sean who was the Steward on 98 today?" when I catch him on 97.

Yeah, I have trouble getting away from the word "steward" myself.

I have had more success not saying "porter" any more. Even coach attendents were called porter in the past, as well as pullman attendants. A few trains even had stewardesses, the same word airlines used to use.(now replaced by"flight attendant" as we all know).It was a position somewhat similar to the stewardess position on airlines, it did not mean a "female steward".

My sister was an airline stewardess back when that was the correct word, so I had a double exposure to the old, now sometimes politically incorrect terminology.

[AlanB]

Well the word Porter went out much earlier than the word Steward, so that may have something to do with it being harder to stop saying steward.

I started riding Amtrak frequently back in 99 and the word Porter was already out of fashion. However on trips that I took in both 99 and 00, even the dining car steward was still calling himself the "dining car steward".

While I haven't bumped into him in the last few years, I had the pleasure of riding with a gentleman who went by the name of Doc several times back in 99, 00, and 01. He always started his diner calls with the phrase, "This is your dining car Steward".

I wonder if Doc is even still riding the rails, as I think that he was close to retirement age when I last saw him?

[Bill Haithcoat]

Interesting how the airlines no longer use the term stewardesses.......when my sister was flying (mid-late 50's) they were struggling to BE called stewardesses. (And "stews" was allowable as slang )...For them the condescending, put-down word they were trying to steer the public away from was the word "hostess".

On trains that had stewardesses, they had different names. I think the Seaboard called them "Registered Nurses". The CZ's operators called them Zepherettes.