Thats no excuse

[Bardmaiden]

B/f works as a conductor on the trains and he gets the passengers asking questions who don't listen/won't listen/are idiots/drunk off their face.

The stories he tells....

[IamRed]

B/f works as a conductor on the trains and he gets the passengers asking questions who don't listen/won't listen/are idiots/drunk off their face.

The stories he tells....

I'm sure they are similar to the ones i will be telling on this site so keep an eye out for me. we can compare notes :-)

[CrazedClerkthe2nd]

Yes i do... particularly from tourists. Do you not have food trolleys in the USA cos It always seems to surprise and delight americans. Not that i mind that much cos is i play along i get a tip

The trolley weighs 17 stone due to enough water to fill 86 8oz cups as well as 4 sandwiches, 14 bags of crisps, an array of other snacks, 20 beers, 6 bottles of wine, 12 minatres of spirits, 20 soft drinks and finally all the milk etc i need.

pity me!

Train service in America sucks and most of our politicians (bought by big Oil) are in no hurry to change that. You will see serving carts on airplane trips but that's becoming less common as the airlines get fee happy and cut back on all frills.

[Ironclad Alibi]

You will see serving carts on airplane trips but that's becoming less common as the airlines get fee happy and cut back on all frills.

I think we're seeing more serving carts on airplane trips because the airlines are using them to sell food and snacks instead of providing them for free.

[Bardmaiden]

Most questions are about train times etc (as I'm sure you can guess), now i know a little but only about my own route and as guards and drivers go on a six week course every year to learn that sort of thing they are way better to ask so i usually direct customers to them. This is usually the cue for a stream of bile about it being so awful that a member of staff should be so uninformed. Unless my dear customers wish to pay for me to go on the course I'm going to stay relitively ignorant of the info they want no matter what.

*shows b/f the thread* He says they only go on that course once, he's worked for his company for six years. But they do a review of their routes regularly.

[IamRed]

*shows b/f the thread* He says they only go on that course once, he's worked for his company for six years. But they do a review of their routes regularly.

Thats not what my gurards have told me but i could have misunderstood of course. However It still stands that the guard will pretty much always know more about the route than me.

thanks for the info

[EricKei]

It probably doesn't help that the only remaining major US rail carrier, AMTRAK, has been hemmorhaging money for decades (in plain English: it's been losing money hand over fist since before most of us were born) -- basically, once flight caught on, our country's love affair with trains died a horrible stinking death. The only reasons it still exists is because the government supports it, and because people "expect" it to be there as an alternative to planes and buses/cars. The only truly major advantage it has these days is cost for the distance traveled.

[Bardmaiden]

Thats not what my gurards have told me but i could have misunderstood of course. However It still stands that the guard will pretty much always know more about the route than me.

thanks for the info

They may have different ways between company's but always willing to inform and educate other people.

[XCashier]

Do you not have food trolleys in the USA cos It always seems to surprise and delight americans.

On Amtrak trains, there is usually one car designated for food service. You go to that car if you want dinner, a soda, whatever. I don't know if other American passenger trains do this, Amtrak is the only one I've been on.

[EricKei]

I don't know if other American passenger trains do this, Amtrak is the only one I've been on.

I'm not sure if there are any left, aside from maybe a few small-region-only trains or inter-city "light" rail.

[Geek King]

From what I've read about the numbers, Amtrack really only makes money on the New England lines: D.C., New York, Philly, ect. Everything else is run at a loss. Its a real shame, as the North line from Chicago to Seattle/Portland has some great scenery. I'd recommend it to anyone willing to spend the four/five days travel to get a bed car and just relax. They even have wi-fi onboard.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

If I ever take a trip to Chicago, I plan on driving to Milwaukee and taking the Amtrak train the rest of the way into Chi-town. Just because I want nothing to do with driving in Chicago.

[Spork4pedro]

aww...I LOVE the train! One of the best trips that I've ever been on was from Los Angeles to Fort Worth (I think..) I wish that the train had a route up here. I would love to take it down to visit my parents!

[XCashier]

Every so often, we take our son on the Amtrak up to Portland. He loves trains (pretty much everyone in the family loves trains!).

[IamRed]

Every so often, we take our son on the Amtrak up to Portland. He loves trains (pretty much everyone in the family loves trains!).

Oh I like trsins and so does my partner. In fact the other day we were pulling into London waterloo station and there was a steamtrai on the opoosite platform. AWESOME!