Nostalgia & History > Amtrak sleeping car attendant - on duty

July 78
Looks like this attendant had been working sleepers for a while.
Probably worked for the railroads or Pullman before Amtrak.
This was an isolated slide I found so don't remember what train this was - probably the Lone Star or Sunset.

Gary

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There's a certain pride in position shown in the picture.  The gentleman has shiny, polished shoes, spotless jacket.  I'm sure he's seen a lot in his career.

A lot of them came over on May 1, 1971. Amtrak wanted experience and they had it. Most retired after 10 years with Amtrak. Great to hear their stories of yesteryear

I hired out in ‘84 and quite a few of these pre-Amtrak guys were still around, mostly in Sleeping Car and Diner service. Some were friendly and helpful, others no so much- but all were a kick to work alongside. It wasn’t for nothing they had survived so long!
SR

Great human interest photo - Photographically, he still looks ready to welcome us.
Bob

BoilingMan Wrote:
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> I hired out in ‘84 and quite a few of these
> pre-Amtrak guys were still around, mostly in
> Sleeping Car and Diner service. Some were
> friendly and helpful, others no so much- but all
> were a kick to work alongside. It wasn’t for
> nothing they had survived so long!
> SR
Yea, I think they all just went along for the ride when Amtrak started. Many knew it wasn't going to work, but it was a paycheck. I think the sury ones came from the SP, ha

Nice shot, Gary!

RC Lundgren

There was still a degree of pride in a lot of these guys.  I remember a trip on the Amtrak Denver Zephyr a few years after takeover.  I was in for breakfast and asked the waiter his background.  He said he was Q.  I asked if the chef was and he said that pretty much the whole crew was.  So I said "I'll bet the chef remembers how to make stirred eggs".  The waiter disappeared and next thing I knew was the chef was standing there and I thought he was going to kiss me.  He said he didn't think anyone would ever ask for shirred eggs again.  I had a wonderful breakfast of shirred nearing Denver!

Gordon

I'm thinking a Palm series sleeper.  I always liked the white coats, even though they were somewhat impractical in a sometimes dirty enviroment.

Classic image.Thanks for the post.Bill Webb                C

mp51w Wrote:
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> I'm thinking a Palm series sleeper.  I always
> liked the white coats, even though they were
> somewhat impractical in a sometimes dirty
> enviroment.

Yeah- white was deadly, especially around the exterior of the train. I ruined several white shirts- all working The Sunset. Those GE 700’s always coated the train with a fine layer of oil!
SR

gbmott Wrote:

> So I said "I'll bet the chef remembers how to make stirred eggs".... He said he didn't think anyone would ever ask for shirred eggs again.  I had a wonderful breakfast of shirred nearing Denver!

I don't understand this.  First, "gbmott" refers to "stirred eggs," then he refers to "shirred eggs."
 

johnsweetser Wrote:
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> gbmott Wrote:
>
> > So I said "I'll bet the chef remembers how to
> make stirred eggs".... He said he didn't think
> anyone would ever ask for shirred eggs again.  I
> had a wonderful breakfast of shirred nearing
> Denver!
>
> I don't understand this.  First, "gbmott" refers
> to "stirred eggs," then he refers to "shirred
> eggs."
>  Can't you tell, its a mis-spelling????????????

OK, so what's a shirred egg or stirred egg whichever it is? ;-)

Google is your friend

Shirred Eggs are basically just baked eggs.  My official CB&Q Dining Car Department recipe book list five variations, my favorite being Shirred Eggs Bercy which adds sausage to the dish before baking.  Shirred eggs were long a tradition on the DZ.

Gordon

gbmott Wrote:
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> Shirred Eggs are basically just baked eggs.  My
> official CB&Q Dining Car Department recipe book
> list five variations, my favorite being Shirred
> Eggs Bercy which adds sausage to the dish before
> baking.  Shirred eggs were long a tradition on
> the DZ.
>
> Gordon


That sounds heavenly!

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