Leo,
On the Santa Fe, a Chair Car Attendant worked in short turns with the
Conductors and Brakemen. For example, a Chair Car Attendant worked the El
Capitan from Chicago to Kansas City. A fresh attendant worked from Kansas
Ctiy to La Junta, and was replaced by a La Junta - Albuquerque Attendant,
etc. This way, the Chair Car Attendant was awake and fresh at any hour to
assist passengers with locating their seat at night, and providing them with
a pillow, and keeping the chair car swept and clean. He could also check the
carry-on luggage checked in the lower level storage area of a Hi-Level Chair
Car.
Amtrak carried on this practice until about 1974. It was decided at that
time to run the Chair Car Attendant from Chicago to Los Angeles. While
practical on a labor-cost basis, it was a downhill move with regards to
passenger service.
I was fortunate to get the autograph of a former Pullman Company Conductor
(proctected by union contract) working the Amtrak "North Coast Hiawatha"
between Chicago and Minneapolis on the Milwaukee Road in 1974. He was one of
the last Pullman Conductors at that time working on American passenger
trains. Unfortunately, I don't have more information with regards to work
practices for Pullman Conductors.
It would be beneficial to research and document working practices of the men
and women who staffed the great American fleet of passenger trains.
Hubert
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