Mogul minder ; JAMES SMITH, 84 “I worked the dining car on the Golden States from L.A. to Chicago and back, for 17 straight
months,” recalls Smith—that’s more than a quarter-million miles by rail. A third-generation rail worker, he took a job with the Southern
Pacific three days after his 18th birthday. “I started out as a ‘fourth cook,’” he says, laughing. “That’s a dishwasher.” As for balancing
trays on a swaying train, “you just roll with the punches. Pretty soon it’s second nature.” One of his best jobs was on the Lark, an
overnight train between L.A. and San Francisco. “Nothing but movie stars and moguls,” he says. World War II and the Army interrupted
Smith’s 12-year career—he was stationed on military trains along the West Coast. His GI Bill education enabled him to become a Los
Angeles city civil engineer for 30 years. “But the best education I ever got,” he says, “my million-dollar education, was on the train.”
