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PULLMAN PORTERS
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A few things. <br /> <br />When I was a brakeman on The Milwaukee in the '70's one of my jobs was flagman on Amtrak 9&8 between Chicago and Milwaukee. Returning from Milwaukee on no. 8, The Empire Builder, I would ride in the last car which was a sleeper. The attendants were mostly former Pullman men. They were all kind men, and eager to visit with a young brakeman, and regail me with stories from long ago. It was a pleasure to work with them. They taught me a lot about railroading, and people. Passengers could be rude to trainmen and porters alike. <br />When I would travel to New York on 40 and 41, in the sleeper, the men in charge were former Pullman men as well. They were even tempered, polite, and they could be really humorous as well. I miss them dearly. <br />A few years ago I did a PBS spot concerning my posters. The cameraman was very polite, spoke softly, and well. His good manners and spirit reminded me of Pullman men. In the TV spot was a painting I did of a Pullman attendant serving a meal in a Pullman restaurant car. He looked at it and the explained that his father was a Pullman porter. His father's spirit was inherited by the cameraman and we visited at length after the shoot. <br />A Pullman conductor had different duties from a railroad's train conductor. Just as a dining car steward differed from a train conductor, although they all were represented by the conductor's union. A train conductor is an operating employee whereby the authority for the operation of the train is vested. He may only operate upon his assigned division, and was covered by the hours of service law. He was responsible for lifting, inspecting, and cancelling tickets pertaining to railroad travel, along with being responsible for the fullfillment of operating rules. The Pullman Conductor traveled the entire length of the run of a train. He collected the Pullman tickets that covered assigned Pullman space occuppied. He managed the timeslips, and rest periods for the Pullman Porters assigned to the train. He could reassign accomodations, collcect cash for up-grades. He would work side-by-side with the train conductor in collecting transportation. The train conductor receiving the railroad (transportation) tickets, and the Pullman Conductor receiving the Pullman tickets for accomodations. The Pullman Conductor, at station stops, could signal to the train crew that all Pullman business had concluded, but he couldn't directly signal a highball to start a train. Although I'm sure this may well have happened. <br />A Pullman Porter was an employee assigned to a sleeping car run by the Pullman Company. A Milwaukee Road Sleeping Car Porter, as an example, was a porter, employeed by the railroad, assigned by The Milwaukee Road to a sleeping car owned and operated by The Milwaukee. Namely a Turalux economy sleeper. When the Pullman company ceased operations, their porters, now employees of the operating carriers, became "Sleeping Car Porters." <br />By the way, The Milwaukee employeed "Parlor Car Conductors." If the train had more than one parlor car, the Parlor Car Conductor handled all transportation collected in those cars. Like the railroads own sleeping car employees, he was governed by the dining car department. <br /> <br />Mitch
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