Railroading is still a dirty job even with the newer equipment and you still need bullet proof clothing. You might have a desktop job running it inside but just because the big black horse has a shiny paint job, walk down the side of the walkway and accidently brush up against the side and see how much diesel grime,coal dust,and dirt will end up on your clothes,same goes for climbing up on a coal car to knock a brake off, and don't step in any of that nasty gear oil tack around the tracks as it doesn't come off your shoes very well.

I like my job, i'm not afraid to get dirty and even these bright new lime green safety vests we wear don't stay clean! I also don't have selective amnesia as i liked the earlier day's of my career better and hearing about the good old days from the old heads.Working with some of them was a riot and i have some fond memories. The job was alot more fun then, you could get on and off moving equipment,the job was a challenge and if you did your job they would leave you alone. It was a total different workplace then along with the people you worked with. Railroads may be safer now but many of the people you work with now are a whole new breed!

If you look like a bum, you'll act like a bum.

When I'm on engine duty I polish my boots each evening for the next days duty as I'm trying to lead by example AND I feel it an honor to be representing the legacy of all the good men who proceeded me.

As confession is good for the soul, I must also admit that Mr. Mitchell's description of how things used to be sounds a whole lot better than how they now are. Beam me back, Scotty!!

Ross Rowland

PR

This conversation started and an opportune time. The day the thread started, I was waiting in line at a UPS Store to ship a package, when the person in line in front of me complimented by appearance, the fact I was in a suit and tie. I thanked them, and reminded them that I was in about the last profession that still wore them regularly. While I'd like to harken back to an era when men even wore dress shirts and ties to baseball games, I doubt it will ever return. There is a reason Stetson probably sells many times more cowboy hats than dress hats. There are a lot of things about the past I like, and a lot of things I do not. At least I'm a fan of the dress, decorum and daytime drinking.

I tend to think that if you work in the tourist railroad or railway museum industry, and you interact with the public, you should dress appropriately. Remember, you are selling an experience. That doesn't mean you have to be dressed like the N&W engineer on the cover of O. Winston Link's book Night Trick, but dressing in uniform or "uniform" conveys authority, shows pride in the organization, and simply "looks right."

Proper dress is one way your organization can look "professional" even if all of you are volunteers.

I'm going to chime with some comments that I hope make everyone feel at least a little better.

Anyway, I'm going to say I'm cautiously optimistic about younger people, in particular about those who show some interest in their world. Some, sadly, look and act like bums, but others are as well behaved and polite as you could ask for. That even includes some with ratty clothes and tattoos! We have one such lady in the office where I work who dresses quite well, has pretty red hair--and has some tattoos on certain parts of her anatomy that, well, shouldn't be mentioned when she's wearing something with a low neckline--and she is also one of the sweetest creatures to walk the earth.

The point is, appearances can and do deceive. This isn't to say Ross and the others are wrong, but it does say we need to judge people as people, and judge by actions as much as anything else.

I also have to say I am pleasantly impressed by a number of younger people who are interested in history, who are interested in older things. I just did an audit with a company in my area, and the pretty young bookkeeper and I got into a conversation. We were discussing an abandoned house just down the road from where the business was located, and her comment was "I would love to do something with that house." She also added that if she ever got married or bought a house, she said she "required an older house." This young lady was all of 24, and young enough to be a daughter if I had been lucky enough to have had children.

I've taken to wearing fedoras myself, originally just to be a throwback. I was pleasantly surprised to find them quite practical, keeping my head warm in winter and the sun away in summer. Biggest surprise is that young people like the thing and want to know where to find one (and dang, those young girls are pretty, where were they when I was single?) Some "cool guys" ask about it, too, and I'm a geezer compared to them at 57!

I think this ties in with a view expressed by some young people in "generation Y," at least some of whom see themselves as the "fix it" generation. They know we have a country in a world of hurt and trouble, they know things need addressing. They want to do so, and they are--I think understandably--not too patient with people who want to give them the run-around, who want to just pile on work and make them slaves. They want more than a job, they want to make a positive difference--as I did when I was younger, and still wish I could do so today. My big concern is that too many older people in leadership positions--and I've met some--don't share their vision, are still living a vision that's at least 20 years out of date, and have a vision that's more about power and money themselves rather than using the power and money wisely.

On to something a little lighter--Eastern steam in New Jersey, starting with an excursion and well-dressed officials. Power includes CNJ camelbacks, as well as passenger power from the Reading, the B&O, the Lackawanna, and even the Lehigh Valley:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3IhC65QbQM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=en ... rj1VTVkfcw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5f8KxHdSW4

Have fun.

My father remembered a newspaper interview with a Pennsylvania Railroad M.U. car engineer when the West Chester (Penna.) branch was electrified, "Now I have a white collar job!" He didn't mention if the man got new clothing for the occasion.

Jeff, you make some good points. My main point in all this is that when we're on duty on the railroad in passenger service we should look and act professionaly for obvious reasons.

I'm glad to say that in my very part time role at the NH&I I can report that they have a dress code that has the crews in uniforms befitting their roles. The conductors/trainmen look like conductors/trainmen etc.

The whole issue of tats,earings, low pants, outrageous hairdos etc. says to me that the individual in question is desperate for attention and on balance I feel sorry for them, but they don't have the "right" to detract from a professional attempt to present a proper image in a commercial setting.

It's your arm and fingers and if covering them with tats makes you feel better about yourself then They're your arms&fingers, so have at it, just don't expect to be on my team.

IMHO-Ross Rowland

I have to agree that when one deals with "the public," there should be a different standard of expectations. Places like Strasburg, Grand Canyon, Napa Valley Train, etc. are putting on a "performance," much like all of Disney World is, and we won't get much repeat business being excruciatingly realistic ("hole-in-the-floor" toilets, segregation, etc.). People in Victorian or Edwardian times didn't tattoo heavy metal band names on their knuckles.

But in my experience, there's more to be learned about someone in the 21st Century from their desires and rationalization to apply bigotry and stereotypes against those that don't conform to their expectations than there is from someone's choices of attire, body decoration, etc. And crazy polka-dotted caps sure screams "desperate for attention" to me......

Alex #4, you last commentary is the type of thing that gets threads shut down.
Knock it off, huh?

Perception based on image....something we do need to control in our performances and productions....and that's what we do - entertain, and inform as a byproduct. Otherwise, we pretty much do nothing that will keep us solvent.

A young mother about 30 with a daughter about 6 worked out at the same Y my wife and I attended...she had a tattoo of a broken heart with stitches and a bandage on her shoulder, just the sort of adolescent angst-ridden emotional crap a 16 year old would do to herself....which must have in some sense made her feel kind of stupid as a successful mature woman with a family of her own to raise. If all you knew about her was what the tattoo suggested, you would have written her off as much less than she was.

So, why stack the cards against yourself, and why muddy the image you present to the public as part of your brand?

Nobody would point to me as an example of stylishness. I tend to avoid projecting any visual image that would call attention to itself. I confess I don't understand why men do otherwise unless they are not comfortable with themselves, or need to wear the costume professionally (as we all do when we're working on our railroads.) The shallow idea of STYLE as propounded in the newspaper section once a week makes me cringe....they don't even offer a SUBSTANCE section. I kind of figure, when you are working wear your work costume, otherwise, wear something approppriate in demeanor and degree of formality to the occasion - I wore a plain gray suit to the interview for the job I have now, and the 2 steps up boss that interviewed me and all his staff wore work clothes. It was right to wear that to the interview; when I got the job I left the suit at home and wear work clothes to work with the company logo on them, just as the others in my team.

Appropriate and unobtrusive, people.....when you don't have a business reason to present a specific image. Making irreversable changes to your body is a great way to provide the police with a way to identify your corpse, but is of no practical use otherwise, and limits your options for times when presenting your costumed image is important.

Be sensible, not trendy.

dave

Excellent point Jeff and yes gloves on your hands would work too.

As has often been discussed, those of us who actively run "tourist" trains are really in the entertainment business competing for the consumers discretionary dollar. Just so happens that a train is our stage and attraction.

The more professional a job you do the better the chances that the word of mouth ( sellings by far most powerful tool), on your operation will be positive.

Part of that professionalism is having your team look sharp, well groomed and well trained.

Tats certainly don't fit that model....not even close.

IMHO-Ross Rowland

I'm very disappointed....I had hoped to get a schizophrenic with tattoos. Are you sure I can't find both in one person? Seems like I should, given many of those who work at my facility. None of them are in position requiring F2F interaction with the general public.........and most of whom are as competent as any others.

Which is what this is about. I'm not picking on Jeff, he's a smart guy based on his posts, and I can understand his defensive attitude under these circumstances. I'd be happy to have him on the other end of the main rod from me, especially if he has the heavy one.

I suppose until the majority of society stops mentally connecting tats and baggy pants and the purposeful application of foreign objects into one's skin with criminals, low lifes and drug users, there's a practical reason to avoid them if you want to make it easier to succeed. Practicality trumps shallow imagemongering based on that criteria. It isn't fair, just like the rest of life, so get smart and make personal decisions accordingly to stack the deck in your favor as best you can.

None of us are two dimensional. We all have personal aspects that are better suited for mass consumption, and some that aren't. Which do you put on display if you need broad based support? Ever had a sales job?

dave

So, on that note, how is the current say 18-29 age bracket doing in the rail preservation world, anyway?

I am 16, I haven't been active in the preservation world other then having my own 1941 farmall H. I hope to one day get more into it but as it sits right now I have no way to get to a museum.

Time to update this thread:

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