# Where do VIA sleeping car attendants sleep?



## Mailliw (May 9, 2021)

Are VIA sleeping car attendants accommodated in the sleeping cars like on Amtrak or in crew dorms? Or does VIA not have SCAs per se like Amtrak does?


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## greatwestern (May 9, 2021)

Mailliw said:


> Are VIA sleeping car attendants accommodated in the sleeping cars like on Amtrak or in crew dorms? Or does VIA not have SCAs per se like Amtrak does?


When I was aboard The Canadian in 2018, the car attendant for the segment between Winnipeg and Vancouver was accommodated in the bedroom immediately next to mine.

I believe that she was responsible for more than one sleeping car.


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## jiml (May 9, 2021)

On our Ocean trip in 2019, each attendant had a room in "their" car. You'd pass the dining staff in the sleepers as well in random rooms. On the outbound our attendant had the only other occupied room in the Park car - the rest were empty. On the return though every bedroom in the Park was occupied by staff except ours. One Renaissance room was reserved as the shower room for the Park and others that didn't have private showers.


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## OBS (May 9, 2021)

The attendant usually has a laminated sign (with their name written on it) hanging outside their room.


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## zephyr17 (May 9, 2021)

On the Canadian the attendants sleep in the cars. Often roomettes 1 or 2 because those have a slightly worse ride than 3 or 4. If there is an unsold bedroom, they'll sometimes claim that. 

The dining car staff, skyline lounge attendants, dining car staff and OBS manager and assistant manager are usually in the deadhead/crew Chateau between the second diner (if two) and the Prestige Chateau. The OBS manager usually has the Drawing Room in the crew Chateau.


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## railiner (May 9, 2021)

The title of this thread makes me smile...
On cruise ships, the cruise director will often entertain the passenger's with the funniest questions he/she has received over the years, such as, " what time is the midnight buffet?", or, "does this elevator take you to the front of the ship?"...but their favorite is often, "where do the crew sleep...do they sleep on the ship?"


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## Seaboard92 (May 11, 2021)

railiner said:


> The title of this thread makes me smile...
> On cruise ships, the cruise director will often entertain the passenger's with the funniest questions he/she has received over the years, such as, " what time is the midnight buffet?", or, "does this elevator take you to the front of the ship?"...but their favorite is often, "where do the crew sleep...do they sleep on the ship?"



I had that question on the dinner train I worked the other day. And my answer was actually true. I sleep two cars forward of the diner in an EX PRJ car.


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## crescent-zephyr (May 12, 2021)

Mailliw said:


> Or does VIA not have SCAs per se like Amtrak does?



They do. I think it’s only 1 per 2 cars if I remember correctly. The Heritage Roomettes do not require the attendant to convert the beds as it’s a simple Murphy bed so it’s not quite the same work load. Plus the attendants don’t put out ice or drinks like on Amtrak.


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## zephyr17 (May 12, 2021)

They do have to do the day/night conversion of the sections, though, which is at least as much work as an Amtrak roomette, maybe more with hanging the curtains.

Superliners sleepers have a lot more capacity, though. Total of 20 revenue rooms, not counting the SCA's roomette 1. Manors have 13 accommodations. I'd say handling two Manors is a roughly equivalent workload to one Superliner.


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## OBS (May 12, 2021)

crescent-zephyr said:


> They do. I think it’s only 1 per 2 cars if I remember correctly. The Heritage Roomettes do not require the attendant to convert the beds as it’s a simple Murphy bed so it’s not quite the same work load. Plus the attendants don’t put out ice or drinks like on Amtrak.


IIRC, they split 3 sleepers between two attendants. Each does 1/2 of the middle sleeper....


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