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Article: Porters ride in fitting tribute at Oakland event
- Article from:
- Oakland Tribune
- Article date:
- July 2, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2009 Oakland Tribune. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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Troy Walker relaxed on Monday in a plush, rose-colored club chair
on Amtrak's Coast Starlight and watched the scenery whiz by the
window. It was 7:30 a.m., but Walker, 90, a habitual early riser,
already was nattily attired and had enjoyed a hearty breakfast in
the dining car.
As the train whistle blew and San Francisco Bay came into view,
Walker recalled the bygone days when he was the one serving
passengers in the dining cars of the Railway Atchison, Topeka &
Santa Fe Railway Railway, not the other way around.
"I only made $80 a month, but I made good tips," said Walker, one
of thousands of African-American waiters, cooks and porters on whom
railroad travel and service depended for nearly ...