“I must give these Amtrak
Conductors credit. Railway conducting
could become a “lost art” when you think of the conductors of old with their
pocket watches in vest pockets and the
related fashion thereof.
“These modern Amtrak conductors
were out on the wintry platform in Utica, sweeping with brooms to place their
yellow foot stools at train steps and personally escorting passengers and their
baggage. The vestibule of the train car was caked with snow on the inside (outer door didn't quite seal) and here was
this conductor diligently sweeping out his vestibule as the train was departing. While there is no
real steward service on-board, these men look after their train.”
The above e-mail was
sent to me by my son on his return home for Christmas
from Newark,
New Jersey...a scenic journey along the Hudson River
until near Albany…where engines are
exchanged...
for its destination
to Niagara Falls, New York.
Amazing How
Service Differs From Station to Station!
I drove in a horrific snowstorm
to Niagara Falls, NY to meet his evening arrival. The QEW was slow, yet traffic was
cautious...lanes often snow-covered...and windswept blizzard conditions
obliterating one's visibility at times.
No line-up at Customs! At a
nearby Burger King, relaxed with hot coffee I
enjoyed their 2 for $5 beef burgers. Nearing 5 pm I proceeded to the
Amtrak Train Station along Lockport Street.
Due to darkness and lack of clear visibility (blowing snow), I missed
the location for the entry street. A
friendly black man gave me directions that were not quite accurate...so I
clarified these with gas-filler-uppers at a local petrol station.
Arriving at the Amtrak parking
lot (where I had been three previous times), with my cane, I walked to the
several wide steps leading to the entry doors of ..WAITING ROOM and OFFICE.
Doors Locked!
No lights on except the second
floor! No response when many times I
banged on the door windows! So returned to my cold car! At 6:30 I tried again! No response!
I saw a couple vehicles drive
through the parking lot...going around the end of the building. I assumed they must be employees arriving on
duty to open the WAITING ROOM doors.
By 7 pm I was certain the doors
would be open...yet no lights on inside.
At 7:15, at the entry doors again, I noticed through the windows
a woman standing in front of what seemed
a counter. I banged on the
doored-windows to get her attention without result. After several minutes, 2 uniformed employees
(stationmasters?) came from behind the building...advising me, “The Office and Waiting Room closed at 4
pm.” NO KIDDING! They told me the “Waiting Train Room” was at
the rear of the building. To them I asked a few questions: Why is there
no sign to indicate the WAITING ROOM & OFFICE was
closed? Why was no notice posted to
state that the WAITING ROOM was changed?
How was I to know this? They
reluctantly agreed that , “Yes, a sign should have been posted.”
Without apology, they told
me to park at the back to await the 7:50 arrival. There I parked and noticed a long
snow-covered winding ramp leading to this small hall-like waiting room. These
same two men exiting from a small adjunct shed-like building with
shovels...looking at me and the ramp about which I inquired, they proceeded to remove the deep snow from the ramp! They told me I could wait in my car near the
train tracks or wait inside. I told them
I was cold...being in my car since 6 pm.
(There were already two elderly people inside...and the men had not
even shovelled the snowy ramp for them?????) Unbelievable!
Inside was a Senior couple
awaiting their son's arrival from Syracuse. They (not even the employees) told me
the train was delayed one hour in arriving.
This was the woman I had seen from the front side of the station ~ due to some noisy generator producing heat
for this room, the woman and her husband
would not have been able to hear me at the front doors! There was no washroom access in this area!
The train arrived
beside our “waiting room” (One hour and 10 minutes late)
and happy were the passengers as they
disembarked!
(The delay, westward
from Syracuse, was due to frozen
switches.)
Of Interest: “Stationmaster” was the person in charge of
railways stations before the modern
age. Now called a “Station Manager” he
manages the other employees and would have responsibility for the safety and
efficient running of the station.
Pearls of
Wisdom
Adversity tests us
from time to time...
and it is
inevitable that this testing continues through life.
(Walter Annenberg,
a publisher, philanthropist and diplomat
who died in 2012.
Our prime purpose
in life is to help others.
And if you can't help them...don't hurt them.
(Dalai Lama)
Merle Baird-Kerr...written
December 22, 2013
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