Passenger Trains > The Day The Boss Tagged Along

Amtrak President Roger Harris, checking his phone while sitting in the rear-facing catbird seat on the track inspection car American View, rolls through Ritzville on train 27, the Portland-bound Empire Builder, on Sunday morning.

The train was running nearly 3 hours late.

Harris, whose official Amtrak head shot I included, took over the president's job last July. He departed Chicago on the Builder on Friday.

 

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Bad order his private car and give him a roomette over the truck.

Just send his car out with a bunch of problems like is done with the other cars over and over.
Steve

BrynMawr Wrote:
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> Bad order his private car and give him a roomette
> over the truck.

No baggage and one engine?

Regards

Posted from iPhone

This train has rarely had more than one engine in many years. I took it with a single F40 and also with a single P40 on different trips.

Drknow Wrote:
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> No baggage and one engine?
>
> Regards
>
> Posted from iPhone

Bag car goes to Seattle...this is the Portland section.  Looks like it has a diner substituting for the lounge however.

Dave

DavidP Wrote:
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> Drknow Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > No baggage and one engine?
> >
> > Regards
> >
> > Posted from iPhone
>
> Bag car goes to Seattle...this is the Portland
> section.  Looks like it has a diner substituting
> for the lounge however.
>
> Dave

It's a 37000 series Superliner Cross Country Cafe car....... Still not a Superliner Sightseer Car, which the train deserves, but can't have due to the operable inventory backlog. Hopefully things improve this year - even if just a little! Something tells me its going to take a while for the Superliner fleet to get back to the level it once was at, even before cars began to be withdrawn pre-COVID. 

Says  a  lot about  his  style  if  he  came  up  into  the   'real'  train.   Met  crews  and  passengers.   Tasted  the  food!!

Good for him to out to see the operations and doing this over the weekend!

cutboy1958 Wrote:
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> Says  a  lot about  his  style  if  he
>  came  up  into  the   'real'  train.   Met
>  crews  and  passengers.   Tasted  the
>  food!!

He actually did do all that and slept in a roomette in the crew dorm of train 3 from Chicago to LA right after he took over as VP of Long Distance Service when he first came to Amtrak a few years ago. No business cars were on the train. He sat with regular passengers in the diner west of Fort Madison.

Amtrak CEO Graham Claytor frequently rode in a roomette and took his meals sitting with others in the dining car. He would make reservations using an assumed name and change that at the last minute so staff couldn't warn everyone down the line that he was coming.  I often accompanied him and we fouind lots of things needing attention by showing up unexpected. I wish the current senior management would travel frequently aboard their regular trains.

   Hope springs eternal.  Ross Rowland 

co614 Wrote:
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> Amtrak CEO Graham Claytor frequently rode in a
> roomette and took his meals sitting with others in
> the dining car. He would make reservations using
> an assumed name and change that at the last minute
> so staff couldn't warn everyone down the line that
> he was coming.  I often accompanied him and we
> fouind lots of things needing attention by showing
> up unexpected. I wish the current senior
> management would travel frequently aboard their
> regular trains.
>
>    Hope springs eternal.  Ross Rowland 

I am taking Auto Train May 8th south.....because I like it and I will use Sanford as a jumping off point for a road trip. As a railroad man myself it's a busman's holiday...but what can I say? I would like higher officers to have a requirement to ride at least quarterly....but what are the real chances? Of course Auto Train is it's own beast and the rest of the LD world needs much attention. Yes hope springs eternal. 

Circa 1978 met Paul Reistrup walking out to train at Washington,carrying his own bag; about 15 years ago Dave Gunn heading east on the Shore Line. W.G.Claytor was known to ride NEC Amfleet during his tour of duty at Amtrak,though never met him on the train.

I presume that a transition dorm car is tacked on the end of the superliners so he can get meals and a room, otherwise he has to "transition" by walking to the superliner cars at regular station stops.

Ediut: Whoops, see that an earlier poster said that a transition dorm car was on the end. Also noticed that a Charger engine was on the front of the train. Maybe checking out the engine performance was the main reason for his trip, though I'd like to think it was for other Amtrak related problems too.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/20/23 12:11 by Cumbresfan.

Be curious as to what he is travelling for and who may be going along. With such a shortage of Superliner Trans/Dorm cars in the Amtrak system - overall - surprised they did outfit the consist with a Superliner Trans-Dorm Sleeper. Just thinking of revenue lost....... But more context on the reason for the trip may shed light on the details for the arrangement. And depending on how many people were in the entourage, they may needed the extra rooms in the Superliner Trans-Dorm/Sleeper. 

co614 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Amtrak CEO Graham Claytor frequently rode in a
> roomette and took his meals sitting with others in
> the dining car. He would make reservations using
> an assumed name and change that at the last minute
> so staff couldn't warn everyone down the line that
> he was coming.  I often accompanied him and we
> fouind lots of things needing attention by showing
> up unexpected. I wish the current senior
> management would travel frequently aboard their
> regular trains.
>
>    Hope springs eternal.  Ross Rowland 

I seriously wonder how many of the folks currently in senior management at Amtrak even know where the station is to be able to catch one of their own trains.

HoggerMatt Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> cutboy1958 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Says  a  lot about  his  style  if  he
> >  came  up  into  the   'real'  train.  
> Met
> >  crews  and  passengers.   Tasted  the
> >  food!!
>
> He actually did do all that and slept in a
> roomette in the crew dorm of train 3 from Chicago
> to LA right after he took over as VP of Long
> Distance Service when he first came to Amtrak a
> few years ago. No business cars were on the train.
> He sat with regular passengers in the diner west
> of Fort Madison.
I was one of those passengers and I am happy to say that three of us—two railfans and a deadheading Amtrak employee—talked with him for several hours after dinner. And he was an intense listener. Also, he uses his smart phone as a notepad and appears to be a habitual note-taker. I found the guy to be incredibly honest about things that need to get fixed and the challenges of doing so.

Posted from iPhone

jp1822 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> DavidP Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Drknow Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > No baggage and one engine?
> > >
> > > Regards
> > >
> > > Posted from iPhone
> >
> > Bag car goes to Seattle...this is the Portland
> > section.  Looks like it has a diner
> substituting
> > for the lounge however.
> >
> > Dave
>
> It's a 37000 series Superliner Cross Country Cafe
> car....... Still not a Superliner Sightseer Car,
> which the train deserves, but can't have due to
> the operable inventory backlog. Hopefully things
> improve this year - even if just a little!
> Something tells me its going to take a while for
> the Superliner fleet to get back to the level it
> once was at, even before cars began to be
> withdrawn pre-COVID. 

It's been 3 years already, a while? Yeah that's wishful thinking!

Posted from Android