(The following story by Jennifer Palmer appeared on The Oklahoman website on June 12, 2009.)
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — Hungry or thirsty passengers on Amtrak’s Heartland Flyer train seek out Carol Dougherty, who runs the cafe car.
Dougherty’s official Amtrak title is lead service attendant — like a flight attendant but without the flying.
She, and the rest of the train staff, provides the top-notch customer service the Heartland Flyer is known for.
She’s gotten to know the regulars, like Marilea Hoffmann of Oklahoma City. Hoffmann rides the train often to visit her daughter in Fort Worth, Texas.
Hoffmann, 81, stopped driving last year.
“The train is important to me,” she said. If the railway is ever extended to Tulsa or Kansas, she said she’ll ride it to visit her sisters, too.
Dougherty has been working the Heartland Flyer for nearly its entire existence. The first few weeks, patrons were served by a vending machine, but that didn’t work out, she said.
She sells snacks and drinks, including alcoholic beverages, and has fun interacting with the train’s passengers.
“I absolutely love my job,” she said.
Dougherty is married to John Dougherty, assistant manager of the railway division at the state Department of Transportation. They met on the train and married in the train depot in 2003.