How many of you train lovers wish you could one day take over the controls of a mile long freight train?
I know I do…
I have a reverser key. [:D]
Been running for a while now. It is a great job in some ways, but has a lot of hidden downsides too.
LC
What train lover wouldn’t want to give it a go sometime.
Of course it would also be nice to do it in the middle of a beautiful summer day, and not at 2am in the middle of an ice storm in the middle of winter like all the regular engineers have to do. [:)]
being an engineer is ok…beats the hell out sitting in an office or a factory evey day… evey train is differnt…evey run is differnt…even thow you may go over the same rails day after day…no 2 trips are exactly alike… it pays OK…but i think we should be payed more for the responsibly that is in our hands…1 wrong move with the wrong train…and you can wipe out a town…city… yourself…coworkers… the list can go on and on…
when i was a kid… i use to watch the trains go throw a town called greensburg PA… at the train station…and longed to be an engineer…well… the chance of my life came up…and i jumped on it… so here i am today…doing what i always wanted to do… like i said…its an OK job…alot of crap that unless your in the industry…you dont see evey day… manamgment that looks to fire emplyees… the rules we have to follow can fill a city phone book… so i guess what im saying is…
untill i am able to hit the power ball…i guess ill just keep plugging away at being an engineer…lol
csx engineer
oh by the way… i think the rail road that you got that revers from might want it back…lol
There are of course a number of places where you can be an “Engineer for an hour” and the like. You can run light locomotives in a controlled situation with an instructor. That at least gives you the idea of what it’s like. Of course you could do what many have done and hire out.
LC
It’s been much more glamourous here in the last few years with air conditioning and such, thank God for A.C.!!!
only when the AC works…lol
csx engineer
Amen brother!!! Watch out for SPs, they have AC failures often!!!
I don’t think the loco’ s up here in Canada have Air Conditioning.
I know the BC Rail loco’s don’t for sure, not too sure about CN/CP.
HEY! Your A/C actually works?!?
LC
well…they do now…after csx found out that not keeping up on the mantiance of it…fries the electronics of the technotoaster power… and voids the warrantees…i wonder how much csx shelled out in electrical and computer repair bills becouse they didnt want to spend a few bucks to keep the AC working…typical csx…step over a $100 to pick up a dime
csx engineer
RGR that…but lets remember, the NS had to have Federal Regs before they would agree to even have locomotive toilets…
Our A/C on the newer stuff usually works…
LC
Mookie is packing her sweatband for this weekend! Doesn’t want wet fur in her eyes when she is playing engineer. Bet these babies don’t have AC either. Pant, Pant…
And if I take pictures, then what do I do with them? Are y’all gonna send me your addresses so I can mail copies to you? Hmmmm? [}:)]
Jen…we’d like to see your adventure of this coming weekend…Install the series of photos on here for us to enjoy along with you…It all sounds interesting. Hope it is enjoyable and safe.
Your lucky our HEATER works!!
I did a little research and found out that CP did just have 40 new AC4400s delivered to them with Air Conditioning, first in Canada.
BC Rail and CN loco’s still don’t have it.
hell i have been on csx power where they didnt even work…nothing nicer then running at 2am with it being like -20 out with the windchill…in a cab of an engin that has more air leaks and holes then swiss cheese… bundled up like your outside… and debateing to take all the crew pack paper towels and TP to toss into the nose toilet… and set it afire with a fusee just to keep warm…lol…
csx engineer
My favorite was at Selkirk, back in the Conrail days. A CSX SD40-2 had just come in a with a train and a couple of officials were trying to download the event recorder as apparently the inbound crew had run thru a red. To make a long story short, the damn thing was busted and they couldn’t get a thing from it.
Bet that crew was pleased…
LC
They couldn’t find out what was wrong with that recorder…looks like some vandals had taken a baseball bat to it. [:D]
you know that if you can make an electro magent that plugs into the 74 volt plug for just such things…all you need is to locate the event recorder…and put that magnet close to it…and plug it in…eraces all the memory…just like if you took a magnet to the houseing of your computers hard drive… lol
csx engineer