Looks like the Crescent is running with a baggage-dorm car in place of the baggage car these days. That’s a good thing. More revenue space to sell.
I’m still not a fan of providing the crew with sleeping space on the train. Better to rotate them off with the train crew and let all the space be revenue space.
Why not treat the service crew just like deer, tie them over the front of the engines - real trophies.[/sarcasm]
Why do you have such disrespect and disdain for Amtrak crews?
I think the crews themselves would rather sleep at home than on the trains, on a regular basis.
To me, it would be inconvenient for diner crews to change when the operating crews changed, for then you could well have them change while serving meals. I can see changing diner crews in Winnipeg so that they have less time away from home, but I do not see changing in Greenwood or Meridian in Mississippi, when northbound, or Memphis when southbound.
One thing all the ‘home bodies’ overlook in giving employees ‘home time’ - the purpose of working for a living is to earn money. When the employee is a home he is not on duty and he is not being paid.
Relatively few want to trade their pay check for more home time. Yes, the younger employee, with minimal seniority, is a ‘slave to the system’ as the best ‘position’ their seniority avails them to is being on call on the extra board.
There is a eschelon of railroader that really don’t want to be home - for a variety of reasons that make no sense to those who are home bodies. Everyone has their own idea of how they want to conduct their lives.
Remember Mariners are away from homes for months at a time; by the same token they ‘can’ also be home for months at a time.
Great question.
I don’t have disdain for them. There is no reason for them to sleep on the train. Put them on and off with the conductor and engineer and let them sleep in the same hotel. 100 years ago, this may have made sense. Not any more. It’s just a waste.
Since the on board folk aren’t subject to HOS, you could do the Crescent as NY to Greensboro, Greensboro to Atlanta, Atlanta to NOL. Outbound crew doesn’t get off until they hand-off in person to inbound crew.