Conductor “Offices” On Board

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OBS Chief
Joined
Aug 14, 2016
Messages
544
Location
MI
I was watching a documentary on railways in the UK and I noticed that on their version of long-haul routes (what would amount to corridors for us), the Train Managers (conductors) have a dedicated and lockable room that contains a PA interface, storage space for their equipment, and other control panels (probably for climate control, lighting, etc).

I don’t believe that Amtrak has anything like that currently, but would that be something to incorporate into future coach designs? Right now I think the conductors hang out in the cafe car on corridor trains and the lounges on LD services.
 
Another favorite conductors' hangout is an unoccupied family bedroom in a Superliner bedroom. I've lost count how many times I've seen that as I request roomette #14 on Superliners. I've seen them in Superliner bedrooms as well.
 
Another favorite conductors' hangout is an unoccupied family bedroom in a Superliner bedroom. I've lost count how many times I've seen that as I request roomette #14 on Superliners. I've seen them in Superliner bedrooms as well.

It sounds like it’s a game of “whatever works” right now. A dedicated space would be something I would seriously look into if I were a part of the procurement team for the next generation of equipment.
 
Please correct me if I am "off-base", but I get a bit irritated when I arrive in a LD dining car and find the Conductor occupying a table as well as the dining car's staff using another table for storage of supplies.
 
The transdorms have conductor offices in them. Not seen them used (but then again I try to avoid getting booked into transdorms, so sample us small).

Twice in the last couple of years, I have had a friend booked in the H room in the transdorm. In both instances, I went to visit her/him and noticed the conductors in the transdorm downstairs office.
 
Office in all coaches ? Not ideal. Take an extreme example. Train with 6 coaches 5 cars with wasted spaces. There seems not to be only one type car on all trains. Better still time for Amtrak national to crack down on these wasted spaces by crew taking spaces !
 
Where is the conductor office in the transdorm? Across from bedroom H?
Office in all coaches ? Not ideal. Take an extreme example. Train with 6 coaches 5 cars with wasted spaces. There seems not to be only one type car on all trains. Better still time for Amtrak national to crack down on these wasted spaces by crew taking spaces !

I’m not talking every coach, I’m talking one car in a trainset.
 
Twice in the last couple of years, I have had a friend booked in the H room in the transdorm. In both instances, I went to visit her/him and noticed the conductors in the transdorm downstairs office.

I once was in transdorm H on the Texas Eagle and I didn't see an office. All there was downstairs was on the opposite side of the car was the OBS lounge. Where would it be located? Where the roomettes would've been? (Admittedly, I didn't traverse the entire downstairs.)
 
I once was in transdorm H on the Texas Eagle and I didn't see an office. All there was downstairs was on the opposite side of the car was the OBS lounge. Where would it be located? Where the roomettes would've been? (Admittedly, I didn't traverse the entire downstairs.)
It was on the opposite side of the stairs from the transdorm H. It was an open area that looked like an "office."
 
It was on the opposite side of the stairs from the transdorm H. It was an open area that looked like an "office."

Correct. Several times when I have been in the Trans on Texas Eagle, the Conductor(s) have been using the lower level open area. There is a chair and small desk there if I recall correctly.
 
It was on the opposite side of the stairs from the transdorm H. It was an open area that looked like an "office."

Correct. Several times when I have been in the Trans on Texas Eagle, the Conductor(s) have been using the lower level open area. There is a chair and small desk there if I recall correctly.
This is the room that was originally designed to be OBS lounge. It has 4 standard booths in there and has transformed into a Conductor's office.
When the Transdorms were built, the first room on the left as you enter the non transition side was designed to be the Conductor's office. It was never really used as such and quickly transformed into storage/beverage/whatever room.
 
Back in the 1960s and 1970s it was the standard practice in the U.S. and Canada for the conductor and a trainman to set up their workspace at the rear seats of one of the coaches. Often it would be four seats facing each other with a table set up between them. The conductor and trainman could monitor what was going on in the car (usually it would be the car for the short distance passengers if I recall correctly) and they would be accessible to the passengers.

I don't seem to recall any instances of conductors and trainman hanging out in the dining car for long periods of time back then.

Nowadays it seems that the conductors prefer to be inaccessible to passengers and seem to pull a disappearing act except when they are in the dining car.
 
The Amfleet II cafes have a conductor office in them. I’ve never seen it used.

On the Silvers, I have seen conductors use the office to store their luggage, but use a cafe table to work. The office is pretty small.
 
That's all that "office" is good for. The current Acela fleet has an office on board in the cafe car. Fairly large for an on board office.

On the handful of times I've upgraded to First Class on an Acela, almost every time, I noticed the conductor setting up camp in seat 1A in the first class car (when it's not occupied). That's a 1 person table as the other side (2A) has no seat and is intended for someone in a wheel chair. Whether he liked the freebie food and beverage, or simply watching everyone walking to/from the restroom, he's in a perfect spot to do both.
 
On the handful of times I've upgraded to First Class on an Acela, almost every time, I noticed the conductor setting up camp in seat 1A in the first class car (when it's not occupied). That's a 1 person table as the other side (2A) has no seat and is intended for someone in a wheel chair. Whether he liked the freebie food and beverage, or simply watching everyone walking to/from the restroom, he's in a perfect spot to do both.

I've seen a conductor or two do such a few times. But they are always handling an issue that relates to a passenger. Example being someones ticket wasn't scanned and their reservation cancelled.
 
The Surfliners have a dedicated office area for the conductors in the Cafe/Coach car. Not sure if it was ever meant to be that way but the four seaters and couple rows of seat are blocked for use by UM's. Being that the next car over is also the Business Class car, the conductors usually do interloper duty while seated in their office area.
 
I'm sat on a pendolino train in the UK next to the conductors office. It's sat empty while the on-board crew have taken over 4 seats opposite.

Paying passengers are standing in the aisle....
 
I'm sat on a pendolino train in the UK next to the conductors office. It's sat empty while the on-board crew have taken over 4 seats opposite.

Paying passengers are standing in the aisle....

As unfair as that is, pax standing in the aisles and even vestibules is rather common from what I’ve seen in these documentaries. It looks like you can purchase a seat (likely for extra) or you can just purchase a ticket and hope you get one. Demand for rail travel exceeds capacity and there isn’t a lot that can be done about it without major capital spending.
 
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