GREETERS HELP RIDERS FIND TRAINS `AMBASSADORS' A STATION FIXTURE.

Byline: JASON KANDEL Staff Writer

GLENDALE -- Looking to board the 9:16 a.m. train to Santa Barbara on Friday, Adela DeNava was unsure if the Amtrak train was running on time.

The Ambassadors were there to help.

``I trust them more than the phone,'' said DeNava, 72, of Eagle Rock. ``We don't know them by name, but it's beautiful to have them here, somebody to help you.''

The Ambassadors are the dozen-or-so retirees who gather daily at the California Mission-style Glendale Transportation Center.

``These guys are like the unofficial Metrolink greeters,'' said Denise Tyrrell, an agency spokeswoman. ``They are just incredible. They regularly advise people on train schedules and the various services that Metrolink offers.

``They're accurate and charming. It's just remarkable. They are a hoot.''

There's John A. Lee, 77, who's been watching trains there since the '70s and can tell you: ``The first train in the morning northbound is the 741, followed by the first southbound at 9:10, followed by the second northbound at 9:16...''

With a belly the size of a pillow and a white beard, Lee resembles Santa Claus -- but one who favors a camouflage jungle hat and a collection of railroad pins on his button-down shirt.

He spends most days on a folding chair, watching the trains rumble by.

``Here's your high-speed Flyer,'' said Lee, a retired employee of Lockheed Martin's legendary Skunkworks facility. ``There's why we tell people never go out to the center platform until after that train has gone by because it'll mess up your hairstyle -- or worse.''

At Lee's side most days, is his girlfriend of 12 years, Millie Gottier, 77, of Alhambra, another train enthusiast. She recently got back from a train trip to Santa Fe, N.M., on Amtrak's Southwest Chief out of Los Angeles.

``I sit and look out the window and watch the scenery go by -- and if you get the sleeper, your food is included in your fare,'' Gottier said. ``And I don't have to fight the traffic.''

After a morning shift at the station, Lee drives his 1986 Nissan Sentra station wagon, with 759,000 miles on the odometer, to get a cup of clam chowder at the Los Angeles Police Academy in Elysian Park. By late afternoon, he's back at the station.

``As long as I can drive a car, I'll bring it down here, and I'll sit in the morning and watch trains,'' Lee said. ``Nobody will get on the wrong train as long as we're here.''

Nearby is fellow Ambassador Gene Kramer, listening to the voices of dispatchers, engineers, and conductors, on a scanner tuned to a Metrolink channel.

``It keeps me out of the house,'' said the 73-year-old retired general contractor. ``My wife died six months ago. I'm all alone in the house and it's kind of a pain in the butt. I come over here, make friends. I like to help people out.''

jason.kandel(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

At the Glendale Transportation Center on Friday, greeters John Lee, right, of Glendale and Edwin Filek sit and wait for anyone who might need help.

Tina Burch/Staff Photographer