# Crew Base locations



## mjwo (Sep 22, 2009)

Hi! I am wondering if there is a comprehensive list of amtrak crew bases in North America. My husband is a current employee and I am in the process of applying to PhD programs and am trying to make sure that crew bases are located near the schools which I am applying.

Thank you for your help!

~mjwo


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## MrFSS (Sep 22, 2009)

mjwo said:


> Hi! I am wondering if there is a comprehensive list of amtrak crew bases in North America. My husband is a current employee and I am in the process of applying to PhD programs and am trying to make sure that crew bases are located near the schools which I am applying.
> Thank you for your help!
> 
> ~mjwoamtrak


Welcome - I'm going to move this over to the main forum where more folks will see it and respond.


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## Acela150 (Sep 22, 2009)

Depends on where you're going to school.

Stephen


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## Navy 118 (Sep 22, 2009)

Trains had a comprehensive map in an issue a few years ago. I'm not recalling it off hand but hopefully this will spur someones memory.


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## Guest (Sep 22, 2009)

mjwo said:


> Hi! I am wondering if there is a comprehensive list of amtrak crew bases in North America. My husband is a current employee and I am in the process of applying to PhD programs and am trying to make sure that crew bases are located near the schools which I am applying.
> Thank you for your help!
> 
> ~mjwo


Doesn't your husband have the ability to find that out through the employee's website?


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## the_traveler (Sep 22, 2009)

Is your husband an OBS employee? :huh: They stay with the train from beginning to end before they turn around and return home. So look at the end points of the routes.

I really don't know for certain, but I would guess NY, CHI and LA for sure.


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## saxman (Sep 22, 2009)

mjwo said:


> Hi! I am wondering if there is a comprehensive list of amtrak crew bases in North America. My husband is a current employee and I am in the process of applying to PhD programs and am trying to make sure that crew bases are located near the schools which I am applying.
> Thank you for your help!
> 
> ~mjwo


Is your husband a operating crew or service crew? That would help us know. Service employees have few bases. They are LAX, Seattle, Chicago, New Orleans, New York, Washington, Boston, and Miami.

Operating crew has those plus many others.


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## Donctor (Sep 23, 2009)

saxman66 said:


> Service employees have few bases. They are LAX, Seattle, Chicago, New Orleans, New York, Washington, Boston, and Miami.
> Operating crew has those plus many others.



I thought Oakland/Emeryville was a base. Is it not?


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## saxman (Sep 23, 2009)

Amtking said:


> saxman66 said:
> 
> 
> > Service employees have few bases. They are LAX, Seattle, Chicago, New Orleans, New York, Washington, Boston, and Miami.
> ...


I'm sure it is. I probably left out a couple. Fort Worth has a small base for the Heartland Flyer too.


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## Shanghai (Sep 23, 2009)

Marshall, TX is a crew change point, but I don't know if it is considered a crew base.


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## Shannon (Sep 12, 2011)

Hi,

My husband is a conductor on Amtrak, and we are thinking of re-locating. However, he is having a hard time getting a comprehensive list of crew bases and where he can work. He has asked his supervisor and his union rep., but no one seems to know where to refer him. Is there a web site or something. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks


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## Acela150 (Sep 13, 2011)

Shannon said:


> Hi,
> 
> My husband is a conductor on Amtrak, and we are thinking of re-locating. However, he is having a hard time getting a comprehensive list of crew bases and where he can work. He has asked his supervisor and his union rep., but no one seems to know where to refer him. Is there a web site or something. Any help would be appreciated.
> 
> Thanks


Sometimes he will be moved throughout the nation. But there will be a base. Where was the city listed that he applied to?? i.e. Omaha, NE, Chicago, IL, New York, NY, Boston, MA, Or Washington, DC. Remember crews must live within I believe 90 minutes of the base. So I would factor in weather conditions your city might incur such as snowstorms. But typically the crew base is the city listed on the Application.


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## zephyr17 (Sep 13, 2011)

Shannon said:


> Hi,
> 
> My husband is a conductor on Amtrak, and we are thinking of re-locating. However, he is having a hard time getting a comprehensive list of crew bases and where he can work. He has asked his supervisor and his union rep., but no one seems to know where to refer him. Is there a web site or something. Any help would be appreciated.
> 
> Thanks


I guess the best way we can respond is for people to chime in with what they know. I know on the Starlight route, there are bases at LA (although the Starlight conductors are crewed out of SLO, IIRC), SLO, Sacramento, Portland and Seattle. Klamath Falls is just a turnaround for Sac and Portland based crews. Seattle also bases the Seattle Builder crews and Cascades crews.

SWC is LA, Albuquerque, Kansas City. Don't think La Junta is a crew base, but a turnaround for Albuquerque and KC crews and I know Kingman is just a turnaround for the LA and Albuquerque based crews. I think there is a crew change at Ft. Madison, but I think that is just a turnaround point too.

Note that LA has the Pacific Surfliners as well as the LDs, and Metrolink commuter trains are now contracted with Amtrak and have Amtrak crews.

Not too sure about the Builder.


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## tp49 (Sep 13, 2011)

You forgot San Jose.


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## zephyr17 (Sep 13, 2011)

tp49 said:


> You forgot San Jose.


I thought SJ was engine crew only, not conductors. Not positive about that, though.


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## AMTK Conductor (Sep 13, 2011)

Tell your husband to have his T&E Clerk give him a copy of that week's job bulletins. It has every crew base in the country listed inside.


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## Aaron (Apr 11, 2012)

*NOTE - THIS IS A 6 MONTH OLD TOPIC*

Sorry to say but San Jose is not a crew base. That is a layover point for Sac Crew base. San Jose use to be advertised as a crew base but it is actually Caltrain and you report in SFO even though SJC is listed as the base.


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## Guest (Jul 30, 2012)

Aaron said:


> *NOTE - THIS IS A 6 MONTH OLD TOPIC*
> 
> Sorry to say but San Jose is not a crew base. That is a layover point for Sac Crew base. San Jose use to be advertised as a crew base but it is actually Caltrain and you report in SFO even though SJC is listed as the base.


. Is Oakland a seperate crew base? Or is it under SFO too? So it doesn't matter if you start in SKC or OAK, you're technically based in SFO?


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## johnny.menhennet (Jul 30, 2012)

Guest said:


> Aaron said:
> 
> 
> > *NOTE - THIS IS A 6 MONTH OLD TOPIC*
> ...


OKJ has no Caltrain service, so it would not be listed at all.


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## EB_OBS (Jul 30, 2012)

On the Empire Builder, Shelby, MT and St. Cloud, MN are T&E crew bases. Spokane, WA is an engineer only crew base.


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## roadman3313 (Jan 15, 2013)

After reading that F&B report from the hearing this past August... there is a lot of pressure on Amtrak to cut costs. It is a business and is being pressured to run more like one. Given the changes with state railway funding more scenarios like that may become more common to help contain costs. I'd rather contain costs than increase costs and have layoffs or service reductions.


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## TinCan782 (Jan 15, 2013)

It would seem to me that as an employee, that information would be readily available.

There is a big difference between crew bases for operating crews (engineer, conductor) vs service crews.


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