Passenger Trains > Amtrak "Julie" of the cheery voice fired

This probably happened a while ago (I have not used Amtrak's Voice Response System for a long time)...but it was just mentioned by a contact.

"Julie" is no longer available when you call the toll free number.  I was trying to get train status today and was told to press "1" for train status.
This then advised me to text the toll free number for information. I hung up."

"Julie" was a real, recorded human voice.  What she said was assembled by computer.  I would think that she could have been "fired" and replaced by an AI Bot with a computer-generated voice.  But not so???

And what does one put into a text message to 1-800-872-7245, as instructed to do?

IMAGE:  The real, human Julie Seitter, photo from before she married, as Julie Stinneford.

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She was probably smart and took the buyout like most of the good people that used to work for Amtrak.

Bitchin Betty retired from the Aviation world.  Look her up on you tube. 

milepost180 Wrote:
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> Bitchin Betty retired from the Aviation world.
>  Look her up on you tube. 

But her voice still lives on in cockpits everywhere.

milepost180 Wrote:
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> Bitchin Betty retired from the Aviation world.
>  Look her up on you tube. 

Wow, so she's a bit bossier than the Julies of the world. But then again, calling out warnings to a fighter pilot is a bit more higher stakes than checking on your reservation to Lordsburg, NM. 

Also more bossy than "Julie" was "Mom" on SP:

"SP Detector, milepost two six two point four. STOP YOUR TRAIN. STOP YOUR TRAIN. First hotbox. Axle two six three on left side."



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/06/25 10:29 by GenePoon.

That was Katherine Reynolds, a former NBC announcer in San Francisco and one of three female voices SP used on Defect Detectors before UP merged them. Reynolds' voice was used on legacy Harmon detectors like the Model 46 and Model 75. A very small number of both models remain on UP and were reverted to Harmon's legacy male voice, whose identity is still unknown. Reynolds' voice can still be heard on some Metrolink detectors and as well as the few remaining model 46 DEDs on CORP.

More information on SP's detector voices are here. It's still a mystery who the voice used on the SPCSL was and if SP requested it or the CM&W did in the very brief time they owned that line. At the moment no recordings exist of the presumably Ex-D&RGW Servo System 9000 "Speak N' Spell" units actually saying D&RGW. It's possible the carcasses of some of those may still exist in Tennessee Pass but I doubt it.

https://defectdetector.net/railroad/sp

GenePoon Wrote:
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> Also more bossy than "Julie" was "Mom" on SP:
>
> "SP Detector, milepost two six two point four.
> STOP YOUR TRAIN. STOP YOUR TRAIN. First hotbox.
> Axle two six three on left side."

Perhaps one of the funnier skits on SNL from previous years... the real Julie:  https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?3,2428020

 

Todd Clark
Canyon Country, CA
Trainorders.com

GenePoon Wrote:
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> Also more bossy than "Julie" was "Mom" on SP:
>
> "SP Detector, milepost two six two point four.
> STOP YOUR TRAIN. STOP YOUR TRAIN. First hotbox.
> Axle two six three on left side."

Most of the time the hotbox is buried deep in the train having the conductor take a long walk!

Of course with AI do you even need a human voice anymore?

GenePoon Wrote:
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> And what does one put into a text message to
> 1-800-872-7245, as instructed to do?

So I tried this little experiment.  And the reply was definitely "Amtrak worthy"

I simply texted "When will Train 3 arrive in Fullerton today?"

Amtrak:  To get the train status, I'd need your train number, located on the e-ticket.  Please make sure to only enter the train number (for example: 98).  Try typing it again.

Me:  When will 3 arrive in Fullerton today?

Amtrak:  Let me connect you to someone who can assist you.  The next available Amtrak agent will respond as soon as possible.  Due to high volume of chats, you may need to return later to chat or call 1-800-872-7245

5 minutes later I got this:

Amtrak:  Thank you for contacting Amtrak!  My name is (removed) Train #3 ETA for FUL today is 9:09am.

Not horrible considering.  I figure it wants Train X and three-letter station code in the inital response?  Not sure.

Kind of defeats the whole point of knowing 
where your train is when you call with your request?
"We're busy, we'll get back to you later...."

Gentle reminder too that Julie has been obsolete - for a while now - for another reason not mentioned.

as the saying goes, there's an app for that:

P.S.: for some reason the site didn't like the second screenshot - 40 is actually close to on home tonight for once! 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/06/25 18:30 by GP40.

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"Hi, I'm Julie, Amtrak's automated agent.  To check if a particular Siemens engine has died, please say the engine number." 

SCAX3401 Wrote:
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> Not horrible considering.  I figure it wants
> Train X and three-letter station code in the
> inital response?  Not sure.

Thanks for your post.

What people don't realize about technology is that the users (US) have to do all the brain work (provide information) to make it work. (Basically dumb AI "stealing" from real brains to call itself intelligent) Off topic, but relevant - getting an order at McDonald's used to be FAST (as in fast food) thanks to humans taking the order. Nowadays, people are compromising time and safety while ordering offsite from a Smartphone (maybe even while driving). Try ordering "quickly" from a kiosk.

Food prices are going up, yet we have to waste more of our time. Amtrak's "automated" calls is joining this march to mediocrity.

GenePoon Wrote:
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> IMAGE:  The real, human Julie Seitter, photo from
> before she married, as Julie Stinneford.

Enjoyed the post, and the human elements in the story.

I used to call Amtrak occasionally from my car to get train status.  Can't do that any more as they want you to get your status from the App by typing, which, or course, you can't do while driving!  We've gone backwards.

CR900945 Wrote:
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> "Hi, I'm Julie, Amtrak's automated agent.  To
> check if a particular Siemens engine has died,
> please say the engine number." 

LOL! Oh, I needed that this morning!!!!

bobs Wrote:
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> I used to call Amtrak occasionally from my car to
> get train status.  Can't do that any more as they
> want you to get your status from the App by
> typing, which, or course, you can't do while
> driving!  We've gone backwards.

I used to be able to get Amtrak Train Status from a payphone. 1-800 number, so someone else paid for the call. Amazing how many services were provided to us years ago, yet things weren't so financially dire like today.

You don't use an App while driving, but I see plenty of people who do. I can't for a different reason - I chose not to own a Smartphone.

Anyway, backwards, indeed. Full steam ahead to a dystopian society.