I always enjoy the letters in the Railway Post Office. On page 7 of the June 2006 issue there is this segment of a letter regarding dining on the Milwaukee Road:
“Because my dad and my uncles were railroaders, I was aware of Rule 883 and noted its observance by conductor … and brakeman … who doffed their caps when passing through while dinner was in progress.”
Was that the rule?
Did other railroads have a similar rule? Thanks.
It sounds to me like it was pure and simple manners. It always burns my heinie when i’m in a restaurant and i look around and see a bunch of people wearing baseball caps. Apparently the Milwaukee Road required their employees to be polite. I hope they still do.
That is a typical rule… notice I said rule, an infraction of this rule would be treated like any other rule infraction.
I agree Chasteney, I get tired of the hats and caps in restaurants, and when I read that comment in Trains I was curious as well.
Thanks for all the info that is shared on this site.
Amtrak does not follow this rule. On several occasions I have seen Amtrak crews walk through the diner with thier hats on.
Many other roads had this rule. It also covered parlor cars.
Given their track record of on-time performance, they should wear helmets…[;)]
Dan
I do not know if Amtrak have this rule in place or not. (Anyone can jump in here if they know.) But I do know that on a recent trip on the Coast Starlight between Seattle and Simi Valley, my spouse and I both witnessed two different conductors (one of each gender), throughout the trip, remove their caps as they moved through the Dining Car. Several other diners in the car noticed and commented on the practice as well.
Marty on Vancouver Island
New one to me, but in a New Haven dining car employees rule book it states “All dining and train service employees shall remove hats, when not engaged in their duties… if such is not otherwise required”.