What does a train crew consist of today (how many people operate a train)?
My ex boss’ son had just been hired by BNSF and was out in Glasgow Montana, receiving training in operations, it’s my understanding they start as the conductor now and that after years of doing that, they may become engineers. I was lead to believe a train crew now consists of only two people, an engineer and conductor?
That is my understanding, just an engineer and a conductor. Occasionally, on local runs, I believe that a brakeman may be part of the crew.
Rich
Curious list, Division Superintendent is listed as a dispatching center job. It is by no means all inclusive.
A normal road freight crew has an engineer and conductor. Some jobs that do local work or have a lot of work events might have an engineer, conductor and brakeman.
In the yard they can 3 main crews, engineer, foreman, switchman, or two man crews, engineer, foreman, or RCO crews, foreman, switchman.
Dave is correct…2-3 men crews is the norm.
Hey, I came up with that first. [:‘(][:’(][:'(]
Sad Rich [(-D]
Oops!! My bad! [:$]
Rich and Dave is correct…[:D]
Larry,you can come up front and sit with me,all the good boys sat at the front of the class,he he,Boy that ‘‘NUN’’, had long arm’s…
Cheers,
Frank
Frank,I fear there are those among us that thinks I should go to the principle’s office or stand in the nearest corner.[swg]
[(-D]
[bow][bow][bow][bow][bow]
Now, life is worth living once again. [(-D]
Happy Rich
So, two and sometimes three, no cabooses; sheesh, my dream job is gone!
Larry,
I know the short way,or the long way,to the principle’s office,I always preferred the long way…LOL…
Cheers,
Frankie
Actually some cabooses are still in use for long reverse moves.
There are two types…Some have the doors welded shut while others are fully functional…
I don’t think I’ve seen a caboose in operation out here in Minnesota in 15 years. Not saying they ain’t, just saying I have not seen one.
Brakie, what would be the purpose of a caboose with the doors welded shut? Do the trainmen climb in through the windows?
As far as my dream job is concerned, keep in mind I also wanted to be a Lighthouse Keeper, too.
A caboose becomes a “shoving platform”, someplace for the crew to safely stand while riding the point of a shoving move. The doors (and windows) are welded shut because there is no reason to go into the caboose. The conductor/brakeman are supposed to be on the rear platform watching the shove not inside the caboose. There wouldn’t be anything in the caboose anyway, all the seats, stoves, and other interior stuff would have been removed.
Thanks Dave!
Dave,You may be surprise that some cabooses has.'t been gutted…I know of several active cabooses that still has seats,stove desk…However,there is no fuel for the stove and the generator has been disabled.
One doesn’t need to stand on the platform during a shove…In inclement weather we stood in the door.
Canadian Pacific still has several Soo Line cabooses (including one brown one) that are used as shoving platforms when moving tank cars from the old Milwaukee Road yard southeast of downtown St.Paul down the Mississippi River about 10 miles to the large Marathon oil refinery in St.Paul Park. The yard and rail line (the old Milwaukee Road and parallel BNSF ex-Burlington Route mainlines to Chicago) are next to highway 10/61 which I take to and from my home in Cottage Grove to my job in downtown St.Paul. There are usually several Soo cabooses visible in the yard each day, and often a train with a caboose will be sitting south of the yard, north of the refinery.
I would imagine that they welded the car shut more to keep out unauthorized people than the train crews.
When I was a conductor for CSX I worked several jobs where we used a shoving platform. They did not weld them shut so we had a place to get out of the rain to escape the risk of lightning during thunderstorms. They were stored on a storage track away from the main yards so there were a lot of times we had to chase some bo out of the car who was sleeping in it. Fortunately, they had the decency not to use it as a toilet.
How many crew members on a transition diesel crew?
RicZ