President Boardman on the California Zephyr

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Agent

Agent

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A report on this forum says that Amtrak President Joe Boardman is on Amtrak #6(13) in the business car Beech Grove. I'm guessing Pacific Cape is returning with them as well. This California Zephyr will be in Denver on Tuesday and Chicago on Wednesday.
 
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Agent said:
A report on this forum says that Amtrak President Joe Boardman is on Amtrak #6(13) in the business car Beech Grove. I'm guessing Pacific Cape is returning with them as well. This California Zephyr will be in Denver on Tuesday and Chicago on Wednesday.
Click to expand...
why can't he ride in a Superliner sleeper like the rest of us? He might learn some things...
 
cynic said:
Agent said:
A report on this forum says that Amtrak President Joe Boardman is on Amtrak #6(13) in the business car Beech Grove. I'm guessing Pacific Cape is returning with them as well. This California Zephyr will be in Denver on Tuesday and Chicago on Wednesday.
Click to expand...
why can't he ride in a Superliner sleeper like the rest of us? He might learn some things...
Click to expand...
cynic said:
Agent said:
A report on this forum says that Amtrak President Joe Boardman is on Amtrak #6(13) in the business car Beech Grove. I'm guessing Pacific Cape is returning with them as well. This California Zephyr will be in Denver on Tuesday and Chicago on Wednesday.
Click to expand...
why can't he ride in a Superliner sleeper like the rest of us? He might learn some things...
Click to expand...
Its called "perks". Like corporate jets, air force 1, limos, executive rent a jets and so on. Corporate security could be involved as well. I bet he knows plenty about "things". Boardman is on top of it.
 
For the same reason that most major freights, even today, have a couple of business cars for upper management: He's likely got a truly workable office onboard in there.
 
cynic said:
Agent said:
A report on this forum says that Amtrak President Joe Boardman is on Amtrak #6(13) in the business car Beech Grove. I'm guessing Pacific Cape is returning with them as well. This California Zephyr will be in Denver on Tuesday and Chicago on Wednesday.
Click to expand...
why can't he ride in a Superliner sleeper like the rest of us? He might learn some things...
Click to expand...
Actually, most of the rest of us ride in coach ...
 
Anderson said:
For the same reason that most major freights, even today, have a couple of business cars for upper management:
Click to expand...
One difference being that managers of freight railroads cannot realistically be expected to ride on freight cars.
 
I know when I saw him in the Railroad Museum in SAC he had two Amtrak Police Offices in full uniform with him, one in Blue and one in White (I assume higher ranking). As the Amtrak Police here don't typically wear standard police uniforms (they usually just wear outer body armor that says POLICE) iI'd imagine they came with him. One had a full utility belt on. The one on white didn't have equipment on. They both had cameras on to take pictures of the museum like "rail fans" per say. They were in the same room but mostly the PR people were next to him taking photos. Not like presidential security by any means but he did have an entourage.
 
Norfolk Southern parks two business cars in Richmond near the Triple Crossing every year during the General Assembly session.
 
When he got off the train Sunday, I walked right over to him with my hand in my purse. I was fishing around for my pen so he could autograph my ticket. No one grabbed me, threw me to the ground, and put me in handcuffs. (Ah, memories of the sixties!). So while security probably close by, they weren't over active.
 
The Amtrak Police near him were looking at the museum and taking photos just as a tourist would. He was very outgoing and listened to everyone who talked to him as well as he was walking through the museum. He just was in there like anyone in the museum and people were around like business as usual. I'd say the average person in there probably didn't even know who he was. Minus the police walking in the same room as him it was business as usual (just a lot more crowded and with special tables/displays) at the museum :)
 
cynic said:
Agent said:
A report on this forum says that Amtrak President Joe Boardman is on Amtrak #6(13) in the business car Beech Grove. I'm guessing Pacific Cape is returning with them as well. This California Zephyr will be in Denver on Tuesday and Chicago on Wednesday.
Click to expand...
why can't he ride in a Superliner sleeper like the rest of us? He might learn some things...
Click to expand...
I very much doubt that there are any Amtrak employees who don't know what Mr. Boardman looks like. Therefore, any employee who actually wanted to keep their job would be doing it to the max. So he'd probably learn very little in fact, as all from mechanical to OBS to operating would go out of their way to make sure that things were just so.

Mr. Boardman would be far better off relying on clandestine spies placed onboard to learn about real, ordinary conditions on the trains.
 
AlanB said:
cynic said:
Agent said:
A report on this forum says that Amtrak President Joe Boardman is on Amtrak #6(13) in the business car Beech Grove. I'm guessing Pacific Cape is returning with them as well. This California Zephyr will be in Denver on Tuesday and Chicago on Wednesday.
Click to expand...
why can't he ride in a Superliner sleeper like the rest of us? He might learn some things...
Click to expand...
I very much doubt that there are any Amtrak employees who don't know what Mr. Boardman looks like. Therefore, any employee who actually wanted to keep their job would be doing it to the max. So he'd probably learn very little in fact, as all from mechanical to OBS to operating would go out of their way to make sure that things were just so.

Mr. Boardman would be far better off relying on clandestine spies placed onboard to learn about real, ordinary conditions on the trains.
Click to expand...
so if it's exceptional service you're seeking, disguise yourself to look like Mr Boardman .)
 
Here's the California Zephyr carrying President Boardman passing through Agency, Iowa at 10:59 this morning (1 hour and 41 minutes late):

 
cynic said:
Agent said:
A report on this forum says that Amtrak President Joe Boardman is on Amtrak #6(13) in the business car Beech Grove. I'm guessing Pacific Cape is returning with them as well. This California Zephyr will be in Denver on Tuesday and Chicago on Wednesday.
Click to expand...
why can't he ride in a Superliner sleeper like the rest of us? He might learn some things...
Click to expand...
Not to mention, I am sure he does not travel by himself, that there are other staff members traveling for business as well...How many rooms would you like them to block from revenue?

Also, unlike some previous Amtrak presidents I have worked for ( including one who flew rather than take the train 90% of the time), Boardman is always out and making his presence known (ie interacting) with the employees. Much like David Gunn did.
 
roadman3313 said:
As the Amtrak Police here don't typically wear standard police uniforms (they usually just wear outer body armor that says POLICE) iI'd imagine they came with him. One had a full utility belt on. The one on white didn't have equipment on. .
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That "utility belt" is known by police as a "Sam Browne" belt even though it does not have the over the shoulder strap.
 
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I'd say on a relative scale Amtrak has a "small" office car fleet. Typically its the Presidents car, an old 10-6, and occasionally the Great Dome that travel with him. Additionally its almost always attached to a revenue train, not a separate train. Whereas the freight roads usually have separate engines (enter CSX's F-40s or NS' F-9s) and five or six cars on a completely independent special train, which means tying up additional track and using more T&E to run the train.
 
On the "spies" front, one or two of the early Amtrak presidents took advantage of Rogers Whittaker (i.e. E.M. Frimbo) to do some of that, since he was relatively innocuous. It's been done before.
 
battalion51 said:
I'd say on a relative scale Amtrak has a "small" office car fleet. Typically its the Presidents car, an old 10-6, and occasionally the Great Dome that travel with him. Additionally its almost always attached to a revenue train, not a separate train. Whereas the freight roads usually have separate engines (enter CSX's F-40s or NS' F-9s) and five or six cars on a completely independent special train, which means tying up additional track and using more T&E to run the train.
Click to expand...
Yeah the interior of the car isn't on the same scale of opulence as the other CEO cars or many private jets.

I wouldn't object to making him eat every meal for two days in the diner... See if his stomach can handle the job...
 
There is a transdorm between the sleepers and his cars, so I'll be he had a few meals in the diner and walked through the train at least a few times.
 
OBS said:
cynic said:
Agent said:
A report on this forum says that Amtrak President Joe Boardman is on Amtrak #6(13) in the business car Beech Grove. I'm guessing Pacific Cape is returning with them as well. This California Zephyr will be in Denver on Tuesday and Chicago on Wednesday.
Click to expand...
why can't he ride in a Superliner sleeper like the rest of us? He might learn some things...
Click to expand...
Not to mention, I am sure he does not travel by himself, that there are other staff members traveling for business as well...How many rooms would you like them to block from revenue?

Also, unlike some previous Amtrak presidents I have worked for ( including one who flew rather than take the train 90% of the time), Boardman is always out and making his presence known (ie interacting) with the employees. Much like David Gunn did.
Click to expand...
True, that is very important.

Good managers go out and form their own opinions rather than relying on reports from subordinates who more likely than not will whitewash the truth to make their own performance appear better than it is.
 
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