Amtrak Conductor Experience

[FormerOBS]

To be clear, I did not confront that new Conductor in a public way, in the hearing of passengers. I did it subtly, so that he and I and one or two other employees were the only ones who knew about it. Wearing a hat in the diner is a rather minor faux pas; but it is a matter of conforming with a policy that is designed to maintain a certain level of behavior and appearance. If I had confronted him in a public, embarrassing way, I would have been guilty of a far more serious breach of etiquette.

I could never say it to a passenger while I was an employee, but I was very put off by passengers who came into the diner looking like they were dressed to replace a muffler or change the oil in their car, or to go fishing. We wore our uniforms in order to establish a certain ambience, and an employee who broke that protocol was (knowingly or not) working against that goal.

The Amtrak policy rises out of a long-established railroad tradition. I guess it could be argued that the policy is outdated; but I feel that the more convincing argument is that the policy helps maintain a certain level of dignity, in addition to being a bow to tradition. Conductors remove their hats and carry them through the diner under their arms. This applies to female Conductors as well as males.

As an aside, I remember a time when a Conductor was sitting in the lounge car in the middle of the night. He got up and left his seat for a few minutes, leaving his cap on the table. When he came back, his hat was gone. The sad thing is that this was a hat with sentimental value. He had worn it for many years and was now nearing his retirement. He had said many times that the hat was the one part of his uniform that he intended to keep as a souvenir after retirement. The hat was never recovered and the thief never identified. The man died a few years later while he was doing one of his favorite retirement activities: Helping to build homes for Habitat For Humanity.

Tom

 

[Bob Dylan]

As pertains to Amtrak Uniforms, I've noticed that some OBS wear Blue Shirts ( which I think looks sharp!) As opposed to White which get dirty easier!Do employees have some of each and have the choice of which to wear?

And my two other questions have to do with Name Tags, which IINM are required and Neckties. Some employees don't wear their Nametags, some have Tags with just First Name, some with Initial and Last Name and some have Both! Is the way the Name is on the tags optional also??

Lastly, I'm not a fan of Ties, especially in hot/ humid weather! I would think they make Amtrak Employees jobs harder, they perform real work, they are not executives sitting @ desks!I feel the same way about Fast food workers having to wear ties!!

 

[HAL]

The Amtrak policy rises out of a long-established railroad tradition. I guess it could be argued that the policy is outdated; but I feel that the more convincing argument is that the policy helps maintain a certain level of dignity, in addition to being a bow to tradition. Conductors remove their hats and carry them through the diner under their arms. This applies to female Conductors as well as males.

As an aside, I remember a time when a Conductor was sitting in the lounge car in the middle of the night. He got up and left his seat for a few minutes, leaving his cap on the table. When he came back, his hat was gone. The sad thing is that this was a hat with sentimental value. He had worn it for many years and was now nearing his retirement. He had said many times that the hat was the one part of his uniform that he intended to keep as a souvenir after retirement. The hat was never recovered and the thief never identified. The man died a few years later while he was doing one of his favorite retirement activities: Helping to build homes for Habitat For Humanity.

Tom

I can't find that the policy of removing hats is currently in effect. If anyone knows the page number in Service Standards please post it.

The hats only last a year or two before wearing out. They get ratty after a while if you actually wear as required. So I can't imagine one lasting many years and having sentimental value. If the hat disappears or when it wears out another hat is easily obtained. Certainly he could have had a hat as a souvenir. It did not have to be that hat. Likely that was not his only hat anyway.

 

[Green Maned Lion]

I was under the distinct impression it is generally rude to wear a hat in a place of eating.

Under very, very traditional manners, this was true for men and not for women. This is kind of obsolete.

So are traditional dining cars and most Amtrak sleeper class customers.

 

[Ryan]

I can't find that the policy of removing hats is currently in effect. If anyone knows the page number in Service Standards please post it.

It was in v6, page 5-14 (italics in original):

Hats that are required, must be worn when in uniform. (When entering the Dining Car, hats must be removed and carried under the arm as a matter of common civility.)

In v7, the italicized portion was removed.

 

[FormerOBS]

Can't find my latest manual. I'm not aware that the rule was ever removed. Whether required or not, the tradition continues.

The "souvenir" hat was actually not truly in compliance with the rulebook because it was not an Amtrak-issued hat. It was very similar to Amtrak standards, but it was actually a bit different. It was one that the owner had owned prior to Amtrak service. It had sentimental importance to the owner that made it much more than just "a hat".

 

[Devil's Advocate]

The Amtrak policy rises out of a long-established railroad tradition. I guess it could be argued that the policy is outdated; but I feel that the more convincing argument is that the policy helps maintain a certain level of dignity, in addition to being a bow to tradition. Conductors remove their hats and carry them through the diner under their arms. This applies to female Conductors as well as males.

I see where you're coming from but as the Amtrak diner has slowly morphed into a generic fiberglass food cart serving precooked frozen meals it has become harder and harder to see it as a traditional setting requiring formal attire. There's something to be said for all those little touches and flourishes which made the dining car look nicer and more formal than your typical fast food restaurant. As the House continues to focus its time and effort on Amtrak's food services the diner is likely to regress further and further into McDonald's territory where just about anything goes so long as it comes with some sort of shirt and shoes.

 

[HAL]

Can't find my latest manual. I'm not aware that the rule was ever removed. Whether required or not, the tradition continues.

The "souvenir" hat was actually not truly in compliance with the rulebook because it was not an Amtrak-issued hat. It was very similar to Amtrak standards, but it was actually a bit different. It was one that the owner had owned prior to Amtrak service. It had sentimental importance to the owner that made it much more than just "a hat".

The latest manual is Version 8, I am in possession of it, and the remove hat rule when entering the diner is not in it. I would not expect Conductors to follow tradition.....although some might. Some might not have noticed the rule was removed. Some who find out the rule has been removed might keep their hat on. LOL

Did you ever mention to the conductor with the non Amtrak issued hat that he was not wearing a hat in compliance with the rules like you mentioned to the other conductor that he was not following the then rule about removing his hat?

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

On several commuter lines the Conductor uniform borders on casual; I always recognize the Conductor by the radio as normally they are the only crew seen by pax carrying a radio.

 

[FormerOBS]

I don't want it to be too formal. Times have changed, and that might make others feel uncomfortable in 2014. I want it to be comfortable and pleasant for all. That starts with the staff setting a certain standard of appearance. Hopefully the passengers will pick up on those unspoken cues and arrive in the diner looking like someone the other passengers will want to have sitting across the table from them.

Jim, the current uniform allows the Attendant to wear blue or white shirts. Both colors are available. In the diner, we sometimes got together beforehand and decided among ourselves whether we would all wear white, or all blue. Usually there was no plan like that. Same for ties. Red or white are both available as options. In some areas, managers have allowed Attendants some leeway regarding the wearing of ties in warm weather. Same for shorts for Station personnel.

Name tags are required, but the Attendant is permitted a lot of leeway. Most of us preferred to use our first name only.

Tom

 

[Guest]

In the military- at least the Army, head gear is removed indoors UNLESS the servicemember is under arms. Not sure if this is honored in a war zone.

 

[blueman271]

In the military- at least the Army, head gear is removed indoors UNLESS the servicemember is under arms. Not sure if this is honored in a war zone.

The same rules apply in the Navy. Covers(hats) are not worn indoors unless you are armed.

 

[VentureForth]

I remember when tradition was starting to fade in Japan during one particularly hot Summer... Bus and taxi drivers would removed their gloves and hats during the Summer. Considered to be faux paus, they put in signs with a very apologetic icon of a bowing driver with an explanation why they weren't wearing hats and gloves in 100-degree heat.

 

[FormerOBS]

For anybody who is still concerned about the stolen hat being nonstandard, it looked more formal and attractive than the standard Amtrak hat. Nobody ever objected to it.

As far as wearing a hat indoors is concerned, the hat is an instantly recognizable symbol indicating that the wearer is a person of authority, so it is appropriate that it be worn in areas where the wearer does indeed have authority.\

Tom

 

[fillyjonk]

As pertains to Amtrak Uniforms, I've noticed that some OBS wear Blue Shirts ( which I think looks sharp!) As opposed to White which get dirty easier!Do employees have some of each and have the choice of which to wear?

And my two other questions have to do with Name Tags, which IINM are required and Neckties. Some employees don't wear their Nametags, some have Tags with just First Name, some with Initial and Last Name and some have Both! Is the way the Name is on the tags optional also??

Lastly, I'm not a fan of Ties, especially in hot/ humid weather! I would think they make Amtrak Employees jobs harder, they perform real work, they are not executives sitting @ desks!I feel the same way about Fast food workers having to wear ties!!

I tend to cut the TE conductors (and others) a break in the summer weather (where it can be 100+ degrees outside). On the last trip I think most of the conductors were in shirtsleeves, no ties, which I was fine with. (They still wore their badges and hats).

I also suspect there are some jobs on the train where a tie could be a liability, getting caught in stuff or having stuff spilled on it...

 

[neroden]

Neckties are bad. They dangle and get caught in things.

Apparently the rate of infection in hospitals was reduced substantially when the doctors were prohibited from wearing neckties... (they were told to wear bowties if they wanted to be formal)