Content provided by Those Classic Trains

The Pullman Representative

A contributing article by

Tom Greco

The Pullman Company has been likened to the world's largest hotel, furnishing sleeping accommodations to over 50,000 passengers nightly, not to mention those who use its first class Parlor services by day. If one employee could be said to symbolize Pullman hospitality and luxurious travel, it would have to be the ubiquitous Pullman Porter. Much has been written about this long-suffering and often-overlooked railroader, but the Porters aren't the only Pullman employees who ride the nation's sleeper and parlor trains. . . . . .

The Pullman Representative is the "man in charge" of all Pullman accommodations on a given train. While he wields no authority in terms of the operation of the train, he can easily be in charge of more employees than the train Conductor. Each sleeping car has a Porter, and each parlor, club, buffet or lounge car an attendant, all employed by Pullman. In the few instances of Pullman owned diners (mostly leased for seasonal consists which migrate back and forth on a regular basis) the diner Steward and his staff are also under the supervision of the Pullman Representative.

As a supervisor, the Pullman Representative coordinates the activities of the train's staff, ensuring, for instance, that, when a Porter takes his meal period, his car is "covered" by the Porter in an adjacent car. He collects accommodation tickets from the Pullman passengers, and will sell tickets to coach or sleeper passengers wishing to "upgrade".

In this capacity, he is in charge of all funds collected in behalf of Pullman- including the receipts of Company owned dining cars and buffets. (Unlike railroad owned diners which are in charge of the Commissary Department- and whose receipts are kept by the Steward, Pullman diners and buffets are all under one central management.)

Even before the train's departure, a high degree of coordination is required between the Pullman Representative and the train Conductor. On many trains, especially those with heavy sleeper traffic, a counter will be set up at the train gate and tickets collected there. This is important for late night departures en-route, so as not to disturb passengers once they had board the train. These counters were generally staffed by both the Pullman Rep and train Conductor, who work to ensure that all reservations were claimed, that space was not over-or double-sold, and that dining and other services would be sufficient for the number of travelers aboard the train.

The Pullman Representative also provides a "court of last appeal" in disputes involving passengers. If a passenger is dissatisfied with his/her accommodations or the level of service provided by the staff, the Pullman Conductor will be summoned to provide a solution.

Surely, many of these "issues" would have yielded to the simple application of diplomacy and/or common sense, but, given the "social values" of the times, the Pullman Company wishes to ensure that its passengers (usually white) would not be "forced" to abide by the decisions of a black man usually cast in the role of a servant. This seems more obvious in cases in which a train carries perhaps only one Pullman car, staffed by a Porter or attendant, but still supervised by an (always white) Pullman Representative.

Like his railroad counterpart, the Pullman Representative advances in his career based on his seniority. He starts on the extra board, and many are the stories of Pullman Reps being dispatched on trips which would keep them away from home for weeks and take them from coast to coast. This was especially true in wartime, as the stories of veteran Conductor William Moedinger related in several issues of Trains magazine.

Enough seniority would enable a man to hold a regular run, or one that operated from and to the city in which he lived. He can bid on one of the "better" jobs with greater chance at landing it. This might be a more prestigious train, or just the opposite - a train with few Pullman cars where the Porters do most of the work allowing the Rep to simply "go along for the ride". One might even aspire to supervise a parlor car operation, which would place a Pullman Rep in the seemingly unheard-of position of having a daylight job!

Off the trains, the Pullman Representatives report to a district superintendent or an agent, who in turn reports to a Regional Superintendent, and from there to the home office in Chicago. The June 1935 issue of "The Official Guide" (the informal timeline for this site) lists 6 regional headquarters and 42 district superintendents in larger cities throughout the United States. Chicago, with its crush of traffic, boass four district superintendents. Agents are assigned to points with lesser volume; there being some 40 agents listed in the same "Official Guide".

Note: Tom Greco spent 13 years (1971-84) with the Missouri Pacific, hiring out as a clerk/telegrapher in Omaha. He was finally promoted to trainmaster in charge of the Dallas Terminal on the night shift. As trainmaster, he was in constant contact with T&E employees, supervising their work and becoming well familiar with their daily routine.

We are indebted to Tom for sharing this experiences in these articles. Thank you, Tom.