As a new student conductor, I got called out on the local passenger train from Anchorage to Fairbanks one weekend. That job had the crew work north, to Fairbanks, on Saturday, and return to Anchorage on Sunday. I was working with the most senior person on the railroad and two well seasoned engineers. In addition we had a student engineer, to make five of us total. The northbound trip was pretty uneventful, and even most of the southbound trip was quiet.
On Sunday, on the southbound trip, we had several large tour groups, which each had an escort to make sure the tour group members made all the appropriate connections between the bus and train at their origin and the train to the bus at their destination. Many of the tourists were foreigners too, and only spoke very basic English at best, so the tour escorts also served as interpreters if needed.
One group had boarded that morning in Healy, and was going to Wasilla. There were 22 in the group, and they and their tour escort were all seated in the first coach on the train. They were all very polite and for most of the trip, nothing unusual occurred. As we headed south, we lost a little time due to a couple speed restrictions and a longer than usual stop in Talkeetna, but even with the delays, we were still going to make it to Anchorage on our hours of service, so none of the crew was too concerned about it.
I was sitting at my makeshift office in the dining car with the Conductor, listening to him tell stories of his past 46 years with the railroad when the escort for this particular tour group approached me and asked when the train would be in Wasilla. I looked out the window to see that we were somewhere near Montana siding. Being my first southbound passenger trip, I was not entirely sure of the running times yet, so I told her, "Well, normally we would be there around 6:30, but we are running a little behind today, but we will make an announcement about ten minutes before we get there."
She said, "I want to let everyone know when they should start getting ready to go, so what time should I tell them?"
Again, I said, "We will make an announcement about ten minutes before we get to Wasilla, that should give everyone enough time to get ready. Just listen for the announcement."
Then she asked me, "We are supposed to get there at 6:30?"
"Yes, but we are running a little late today" I said.
She said, "Well I will tell everyone to get ready at 6:20, do you think that will be enough time?"
I said, "You should probably wait for the announcement, because we will probably be getting to Wasilla a little later than 6:30 today, probably about fifteen minutes late." I had not wanted to giver her a specific amount of time we were late, because I was not 100% sure myself. This whole time my Conductor was telling stories with the cook and she never asked him anything about this.
She replied, "Okay, that sounds good." I thought that was the end of it, but I was wrong.
At about 6:25pm, I walked back to the coaches to find the on board service manager and ask him about a bathroom that had been giving us problems. I wanted to write it up for the carmen before I forgot about it. As I was walking back to talk to him, I found that the entire tour group getting off at Wasilla was standing at the back of the coach, near the door, with their coats on and luggage in hand. Closest to the door was this tour director I had talked to earlier about arrival time in Wasilla. I told her again that we were running late and would not be in Wasilla for at least another 20 to 25 minutes. She said "okay," and that was it. I went and got the information I was seeking and returned to the dining car to write it down.
At 6:31pm, as I was filling out the coach inspection forms, this tour director marched into the dining car and approached me. Before she said anything, I could tell she was upset about something. I didn't have to ask what the problem was, because she immediately began shouting at me, "You lied to me! You lied to me! You said we would get to Wasilla at 6:30, and we aren't there yet! You made me look bad in front of my group, because you gave me bad information! You are in uniform, you should can't do that! You can't lie to me when we are late!"
I tried to remain calm and told her again, "We are running a few minutes late, but we will be there soon."
Obviously we were not there yet, and it didn't seem to matter how soon we would be there. She continued, "I got everyone ready to go because you told me we would get there at 6:30 and we aren't there! You can't lie to me like that!"
My Conductor was sitting there listening to this and decided to step in. He asked her, "Did you hear any announcements?"
"No"
"He told you we would make an announcement, why didn't you wait for the announcement?"
She replied, "Because he told me 6:30, he lied to me! He is in uniform, he has to know these things! He can't lie to me!"
My Conductor at that point had had enough and threw his hands up and said, "I'm done talking about this. We will make an announcement when we get close."
She was not finished though, and continued to explain, "You can't lie to me! You have to know these things, you wear a uniform!"
By this point my Conductor was losing patience fast for this nonsense and said, "I said we are done talking about this! Go back to the coach and wait for the announcement! We will be there soon."
She stormed out of the dining car and back to the coach. I started to explain what I had told her to the Conductor, but he interrupted me and assured me that he had heard the whole thing and had my back.
A couple of minutes later, as we were approaching Pittman, we spotted a moose on the right hand side of the train. Now most of the people who ride the train in Alaska are hoping to see some wildlife, so this was exciting for everyone in the dining car. My Conductor announced there was a moose on the right, and the cameras all came out. As everyone was peering out the window, he was standing in the middle of the car, also looking out the window and shouted, "Moose, you are late! You can't be late like that! You are late, Moose!" I was slightly shocked, but all the passengers in the dining car started clapping!
On Sunday, on the southbound trip, we had several large tour groups, which each had an escort to make sure the tour group members made all the appropriate connections between the bus and train at their origin and the train to the bus at their destination. Many of the tourists were foreigners too, and only spoke very basic English at best, so the tour escorts also served as interpreters if needed.
One group had boarded that morning in Healy, and was going to Wasilla. There were 22 in the group, and they and their tour escort were all seated in the first coach on the train. They were all very polite and for most of the trip, nothing unusual occurred. As we headed south, we lost a little time due to a couple speed restrictions and a longer than usual stop in Talkeetna, but even with the delays, we were still going to make it to Anchorage on our hours of service, so none of the crew was too concerned about it.
I was sitting at my makeshift office in the dining car with the Conductor, listening to him tell stories of his past 46 years with the railroad when the escort for this particular tour group approached me and asked when the train would be in Wasilla. I looked out the window to see that we were somewhere near Montana siding. Being my first southbound passenger trip, I was not entirely sure of the running times yet, so I told her, "Well, normally we would be there around 6:30, but we are running a little behind today, but we will make an announcement about ten minutes before we get there."
She said, "I want to let everyone know when they should start getting ready to go, so what time should I tell them?"
Again, I said, "We will make an announcement about ten minutes before we get to Wasilla, that should give everyone enough time to get ready. Just listen for the announcement."
Then she asked me, "We are supposed to get there at 6:30?"
"Yes, but we are running a little late today" I said.
She said, "Well I will tell everyone to get ready at 6:20, do you think that will be enough time?"
I said, "You should probably wait for the announcement, because we will probably be getting to Wasilla a little later than 6:30 today, probably about fifteen minutes late." I had not wanted to giver her a specific amount of time we were late, because I was not 100% sure myself. This whole time my Conductor was telling stories with the cook and she never asked him anything about this.
She replied, "Okay, that sounds good." I thought that was the end of it, but I was wrong.
At about 6:25pm, I walked back to the coaches to find the on board service manager and ask him about a bathroom that had been giving us problems. I wanted to write it up for the carmen before I forgot about it. As I was walking back to talk to him, I found that the entire tour group getting off at Wasilla was standing at the back of the coach, near the door, with their coats on and luggage in hand. Closest to the door was this tour director I had talked to earlier about arrival time in Wasilla. I told her again that we were running late and would not be in Wasilla for at least another 20 to 25 minutes. She said "okay," and that was it. I went and got the information I was seeking and returned to the dining car to write it down.
At 6:31pm, as I was filling out the coach inspection forms, this tour director marched into the dining car and approached me. Before she said anything, I could tell she was upset about something. I didn't have to ask what the problem was, because she immediately began shouting at me, "You lied to me! You lied to me! You said we would get to Wasilla at 6:30, and we aren't there yet! You made me look bad in front of my group, because you gave me bad information! You are in uniform, you should can't do that! You can't lie to me when we are late!"
I tried to remain calm and told her again, "We are running a few minutes late, but we will be there soon."
Obviously we were not there yet, and it didn't seem to matter how soon we would be there. She continued, "I got everyone ready to go because you told me we would get there at 6:30 and we aren't there! You can't lie to me like that!"
My Conductor was sitting there listening to this and decided to step in. He asked her, "Did you hear any announcements?"
"No"
"He told you we would make an announcement, why didn't you wait for the announcement?"
She replied, "Because he told me 6:30, he lied to me! He is in uniform, he has to know these things! He can't lie to me!"
My Conductor at that point had had enough and threw his hands up and said, "I'm done talking about this. We will make an announcement when we get close."
She was not finished though, and continued to explain, "You can't lie to me! You have to know these things, you wear a uniform!"
By this point my Conductor was losing patience fast for this nonsense and said, "I said we are done talking about this! Go back to the coach and wait for the announcement! We will be there soon."
She stormed out of the dining car and back to the coach. I started to explain what I had told her to the Conductor, but he interrupted me and assured me that he had heard the whole thing and had my back.
A couple of minutes later, as we were approaching Pittman, we spotted a moose on the right hand side of the train. Now most of the people who ride the train in Alaska are hoping to see some wildlife, so this was exciting for everyone in the dining car. My Conductor announced there was a moose on the right, and the cameras all came out. As everyone was peering out the window, he was standing in the middle of the car, also looking out the window and shouted, "Moose, you are late! You can't be late like that! You are late, Moose!" I was slightly shocked, but all the passengers in the dining car started clapping!
Well, Mr Derryberry, the conductor, got his signal to leave (via radio), the board went "high green",and he radioed Mr Ambrose, the engineer. "Awrite, George, le's leave heah on this h'yar Southern #1, OVAH!!!"
