I am getting the following impressions from emails sent to me and postings on various forums; that folks who work for any of the big 4 railroads - BNSF, CSX, NS, and UP, lead the following type of life:
RR workers DONOT own or have homes.
Instead, these folks are gypsies who live in 1970’s van campers, which is the only way they can make their 1.5 - 2 hour call.
They are never awake during off hours because they are sleeping…
Based on #3 they cannot have children, because you cannot have sex while you are fast asleep.
When they are not sleeping, they are working, and when not working they are sleeping.
They do not eat because of #5.
They cannot shop for groceries because of #5.
They cannot shop at all and must get someone else to do it because of #5.
They work 30 days a month with no days off.
They work 12 hour shifts, then wait 2 hours for a cab, take 2 hours to get home, sleep for 2 hours, get awaken with 2 hour call, and then use up the last 2 off hours to travel to their crew change point.
Never get married because unless they meet a woman who lives on a train, in a yard, or in a shop, they have no time to date or hit clubs, etc.
If they do somehow get married, they all get divourced because of #1-11.
Your paychecks are usually incorrect, late, or never received.
The railroad doesnt pay for anything and if there is something they are supposed to pay for, no one knows how to go about getting them to reinburse or pay for it.
Locos have no AC or it doesnt work.
Locos dont have toilets, they have a hole cut into sheet metal with a bucket welded in place beneath it…this bucket is never emptied.
The crew cabs smell of human excrement because of #16.
Once hired, the RR will do everything they can to fire you.
Despite #18, 75% of RR employees are over age 50 and have been with the RR’s for 15-30 years.
#3 People really have off hours? I thought that’s when you spend “quality time” with the train crews who derail at 2:47AM or on a weekend/holiday and are so-ooooo lonely that they put the train on the ground just so they can have some extra company. (and they need to make sure #4 and #11 can’t possibly be circumvented!) #5 True #11 - Yes #12- Managed to escape that one (so far, with or without RR help, doghouse did get deeded over though…)
Thank God I was nothing more than a glorified mechanic. But even then, it still takes a special kind of lady to put up with the hours. My cousin, who is the superintendant of A & W E for the UP call’s them RR widows.
I somehow believe that the folks under discussion are not really human at all, but robots. They just look and sound like humans. They must even be pre-programmed to complain as part of a great deception plot. Technology has become so great in the last few decades that I confess I had been fooled for many moons!
Had fifteen years railroading when I got married. Five years and two kids later, I had to decide which I wanted to keep. I chose the wife & kids (and my health and my personal life) rather than the big money and long hours. So I quit railroading after 20 years. Occasioally, but not often, have I regretted the decision.
When I hired out, had a choice, apply at UP of the Port.
Chose the smaller PTRA, only because I would get to go home every night.
If I was unlucky enough to find myself in the same position Zardoz1 found himself in, it would be a no brainer.
As much as I love what we do, I chose Aimee and our kids long before I chose railroading.
Lucky for me, she understands that, and is willing to put up with the missed birthdays, holidays and each of us having to take seperate vacations, because she knows how much I love my job.
If I had to, I would walk away from railroading in a heartbeat, its just a job.
Time is way to short, I dont intend to waste one minute of it fighting with my spouse about a job.
Stay Frosty,
Ed
I have been told I was conceived after a 16 hour day, shoveling coal, after driving home in a snowstorm and climbing 3 flights of stairs! So yeah, they do have kids!
And I was married to the military - it was a pud job by comparison!
I am getting the following impressions from emails sent to me and postings on various forums; that folks who work for any of the big 4 railroads - BNSF, CSX, NS, and UP, lead the following type of life:
RR workers DONOT own or have homes.
Instead, these folks are gypsies who live in 1970’s van campers, which is the only way they can make their 1.5 - 2 hour call.
They are never awake during off hours because they are sleeping…
Based on #3 they cannot have children, because you cannot have sex while you are fast asleep.
When they are not sleeping, they are working, and when not working they are sleeping.
They do not eat because of #5.
They cannot shop for groceries because of #5.
They cannot shop at all and must get someone else to do it because of #5.
They work 30 days a month with no days off.
They work 12 hour shifts, then wait 2 hours for a cab, take 2 hours to get home, sleep for 2 hours, get awaken with 2 hour call, and then use up the last 2 off hours to travel to their crew change point.
Never get married because unless they meet a woman who lives on a train, in a yard, or in a shop, they have no time to date or hit clubs, etc.
If they do somehow get married, they all get divourced because of #1-11.
Your paychecks are usually incorrect, late, or never received.
The railroad doesnt pay for anything and if there is something they are supposed to pay for, no one knows how to go about getting them to reinburse or pay for it.
Locos have no AC or it doesnt work.
Locos dont have toilets, they have a hole cut into sheet metal with a bucket welded in place beneath it…this bucket is never emptied.
The crew cabs smell of human excrement because of #16.
Once hired, the RR will do everything they can to fire you.
Despite #18, 75% of RR employees are over age 50 and have
I’m married for almost as long as I’ve been a railroader…have owned a house, raised a family, and have a life off the railroad (seems like it consists of a computer and keyboard lately, though!).
However, I can say for a fact that in my little niche of employees (there aren’t more than about 30 people on the whole UP that can do what I do), I’m in the minority as far as being married to the same woman for all of my adult life. Out of five hump conductors here, four have gone through divorces…and one of those is young enough to be my kid!
But people do have lives on the outside…I hear about cruises, golfing, skiing, flying, workin’ on the Hog (Harley), and stuff like that. There aren’t too many of us that don’t have houses, and grumble about the problems connected therewith while at work.
I’m one of the liucky ones who can go to work, stay there eight hours (sometimes 12, if they can’t find any of the other rare people), and go home (I may also be rare in that I don’t stop at the bar after work). I have strange days off, in the middle of the week, but we’re used to that. We occasionally get calls from the caller in the wee hours of the morning, but those are most often ignored. I think my entire family should be grateful that they weren’t subjected to life on the Extra Board…I had enough seniority to get off that before I was married. What would I change about all of this? Nothing…absolutely nothing!
Sometimes true, depends on work assignment and how jobs are turning
False. I think I have done it while sleeping once or twice. Oh, and I have kids too…
Sometimes true see #3
False. The stuff we eat may not always be the healthiest, but we eat. After all, weren’t sidewall heaters invented to heat pizza subs??!
False. We have 24 hour grocery stores here, so not a problem
See #7
Sometimes, see #3.
Sometimes. See #3. This was very common during the recent mergers when congestion was rampant.
False. Although my wife was a conductor for a short while on a tourist pike, but that was after we met (I ran the train on weekends)., Don’t count on hitting the clubs much or being able to keep a date though. 24/7 means just that.
False. It does take a certain type of woman to be a RR wife though. Independence, loyalty and work ethic are things to look for.
Happens some of the time, but there are also always guys looking to zing the company for anything extra this often results in even more problems in figuring out who owes what to who.
Sometimes true. But you can usually get what you need to get the job done if you want to.
True.
False, except here on the NS.
Sometimes.
Yup.
False on the NS. Was more true on Conrail.
False. The RR is responsible for providing a safe working environment. If you get an honest answer out of many RRers you will find quite a number who have suffered serious injuries from unsafe conditions and/or equipment all of which is the RRs responsibility.
In some ways.
Which one?
In some cases, yes. In other cases there is a lot of dislike for change. I don’t care for RCL, but I also don’t think it will go away.
Well, good news/bad news…
I passed the reading test 100% with 10 minutes to spare and did great on the physical test.
Thus, I made it thru all 3 cuts.
Interview was fine.
9 folks made the cut from my session, and I am not sure how many made the cut from the previous 3 sessions.
They made 8 offers that night, and when I saw the 8 guys who got the offers, only one was from my session. He was already a UP sheetmetal worker looking for a TS job.
Supposidly, they can make offers for up to 6 months to the rest of us, without attending another session.
Unfortunately, I cannot attend another Train Service sesson now for 6 months, even for applications I already submitted.
Hopefully, one of the 2 Shop Laborer jobs will come thru for me before I get laid off.
That is unfortunate. Will they at least consider you for other locations?
The shop laborer job would be OK, but it seems to me that if you really want train service and ultimately locomotive engineer work you are just postponing your seniority by taking the laborer’s job. You laborer seniority will not transfer to another craft (except possibly for vacation and insurance purposes.
Hey LC, not sure if the offers will be for all locations or just that one.
Yeah, Shop Laborer isnt as good, but it beats unemployment…as we are still awaiting the big layoff here by year end.
Plus, the Shop laborer is in my hometown here, so I will sacrifice 2 years of seniority to get a TS position here where I live…really dont want to move unless I have to.
BTW, I have incredible RESPECT for you TRAINMEN!
After chatting with some of the UP employees there, I can tell you these guys are friendly, helpfull, and work their butts off.
So to you Trainmen everywhere…I salute you!