I want to become a locomotive engineer

Trains Magazine General Discussion
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You are considering working for the railroad as an alternative to college and if you could get a railroad job after high school you would do that instead of going to college. That suggests you have a real passion for railroads. At your age it is unusual to have a passion for any kind of life’s work. The issue is how do you use your passion when you are not old enough to actually work for the railroad.

Right now you should try to involve yourself in railroad related activities which you can do at your age. Any railroad related activity will be a good thing because as you get involved you will meet other people with similar interests and some will have real experience.

Some places have railroad museums or railroad related projects such as restoring an old station. You can volunteer and participate in their activities.

Do any railroad companies near by offer summer internships? You are not paid or only paid a small stipend but you gain experience and inside knowledge of how railroads work.

I already mentioned pursuing the history of railroads, especially local railroads.

If any of your classmates share your interest you might try to start a railroad club at school.

Do you live near an Amtrak stop? If so you might check with Amtrak for internships. Some Federal Government Agencies offer a “Stay in School” program. It is summer work for students. You can check the Amtrak website for opportunities. Also, your Senator and Member of Congress have people who work with constituent services. They may be able to assist you in learning about opportunities with Amtrak.

Finally, there will be people who will warn you that your have a romanticized idea of railroading; it is not what you think it is and ultimatedly you will be disappointed and turn away. Ignore them. Part of growing up is learning what we do not want as well as what we do wa

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I do realize that the railroad isn’t all fun and games. I see alot of people saying the railroad isn’t a place for people who love trains. To me thats like saying don’t be a veterinarian if you love animals. I think that if you can do your job responsibly and safely and have a liking for trains you can be successful.

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Why? On this thread we have railroaders (that are interested in railroads) giving this young man some advice. Why should he ignore it? I think the advice he gets from the railroaders on here would be worth more than a railroad club or riding Amtrak.

One of the only other pieces of advice to offer is be aware of your state’s financial aid policies (if you need it). In Pennsylvania, if you didn’t go to school in the fall immediately following your high school graduation, you would lose the opportunity for a lot of financial aid. Granted (heh) with all the turmoil in the country, financial aid and loans are getting harder to get, but still… something to think about. I know people always say “you can go back to school later”. Well, that is true, but it isn’t as easy as people make it sound.

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Many people out here like trains. And they are successful. But it’s like any other job - there’s many bad days for the good ones. Riding around in trains can be fun, but switching out a yard full of cars at night in a 33 degree rain? Not so much so.

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Do the railroads really look at/care about high school grades? What do they mainly look for when they are hiring?

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It depends on when you apply and to which railroads. I applied in 1981. I was rejected because I didn’t have 20/20 uncorrected vision (i.e. I wear glasses) and I didn’t have any relatives on any of the railroads that I applied at. I don’t know what the qualifications are now…although I’ve read they now allow glasses. Not sure if having a relative on the railroad helps now. I don’t think anyone checks HS grades… hiring people just don’t have the time for that… so long as you can come up with a HS diploma you should be good to go.

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THIS.^^ There is nobody on this forum or anywhere else that is more qualified to give advice to someone who is interested in a career on the railroad than actual railroaders. We have something that not everyone does, it’s called real world experience. You can choose to ignore our advice if you want to, but we’ll be straight with you. I wont sugar coat anything, ask me a question about this crazy world we call the railroad and I give you a straight honest answer.

What do recruiters look for? They want someone who is looking for a career, not a summer job. They want commitment. They do look at job history, and how long you spent at this job or that. Now coming right out of high school you wont have much job e

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[quote user=“Georgia Railroader”]

THIS.^^ There is nobody on this forum or anywhere else that is more qualified to give advice to someone who is interested in a career on the railroad than actual railroaders. We have something that not everyone does, it’s called real world experience. You can choose to ignore our advice if you want to, but we’ll be straight with you. I wont sugar coat anything, ask me a question about this crazy world we call the railroad and I give you a straight honest answer.

What do recruiters look for? They want someone who is looking for a career, not a summer job. They want commitment. They do look at job history, and how long you spent at this job or that. Now comin

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[quote user=“Trainfan25”]

[quote user=“Georgia Railroader”]

THIS.^^ There is nobody on this forum or anywhere else that is more qualified to give advice to someone who is interested in a career on the railroad than actual railroaders. We have something that not everyone does, it’s called real world experience. You can choose to ignore our advice if you want to, but we’ll be straight with you. I wont sugar coat anything, ask me a question about this crazy world we call the railroad and I give you a straight honest answer.

What do recruiters look for? They want someone who is looking for a career, not a summer job. They want commitment. They do look at job history, and how lo

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mmmmm…this is a good way to get informed about what it takes to be a railroader…the people who should know this are right here.

I went into healthcare in pretty much the same way the OP did…by asking people who were in that sector.

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Trainfan25-

We have a son graduating college next spring, a son who is a junior in high school, and a son who is an eighth grader, so I find your thoughts about the future interesting.

Have you considered, that maybe you’re simply in love with the romantic idea of being a locomotive engineer, and not much more? Now, I’m not pickig on you. When I was 15, I didn’t have a real clear picture of what I was going to be when I grew up. (At 51, the picture is still sometimes a bit hazy as well.) I’m now watching three sons go through the same thing I, and everyone else on this board, went through, to try and see into the future.

At one point, I wanted to be a residential architect. I was in love with the idea of designing people’s dream homes, and making big dollars. I didn’t however, do any kind of research into the education required, and what the dreanm job actually entailed. In the end, I got an AA degree in Architectural Drafting. That lead me to a sales job. I sell lumber and building materials to builders. I also work with architects, and now realize that I would not have been cu out for, nor enjoyed that kind of work.

If I were in your shoes, I’d be doing two things: 1) Learning all I could about the railroads, the engineer’s job, and the railroad lifestyle. 2) Taking every kind of occupational influence test I could find, and researching the nuts & bolts of every type of occupatiuon or field of work that might show promise.

I have to give you a great amount of credit for one thing. Being 15, you’re writing is certainly at a higher level than what I see from most high school students, and a lot of ad

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Maybe also contact the railroad directly to make sure you’re aware of ALL their hiring criteria… When I was15 I too wanted to work for the railroad…should have informed myself of their requirements…didn’t know about their eye sight requirements until I was 18.

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Thank you for all of your answers as this is greatly appreciated. Another question I want to know:Should I start to build my body up a little(working out). Also if I ever do get an interview, instead of saying that I like trains and I’m a railfan what should I tell the interviewer? And thank you to the person who praised my spelling ability as I take pride in that.

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Physical condition has never hurt any 15 year old to grow to manhood.

Hireing out in Train service you will be expect to perform a number of physical actions, such as handling a coupler knuckle that weighs in the 75/80 pound range; making the step up to the stirup to mount a car (most carriers have made mounting moving equipment a violation of safety rules these days - it wasn’t always that way), maintaining 3 point contact on a car side for a extended period of time when controlling the lead end of a long shoving move, the routine need to walk and inspect equipment for 4 miles (on Main Track ballast in the middle of the night with a brakemans lantern in the rain at 33 degrees with a 25 MPH breeze to freshen things) when your train has a emergency brake application.

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At this point, the best thing you can do to enhance your chance of being hired by a railroad is to stay out of trouble. A rap sheet is the best way to be asked to leave a hiring session. I hired on with NS in 1999. I am not a college graduate, I am not a tech school graduate, I am not a military veteran. I simply had a stellar work history, solid work references, and no police record. I was also 49 years old, one of the oldest new hires on the Piedmont Division. The youngest in our hiring class was 18. Don’t let anyone discourage you.

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Is it possible to apply at 17 in your last semester of high school? I could have sworn I heard that somewhere…

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You dont have to be Tony Atlas to work on the railroad but being in decent physical shape is a plus. You will be required to change coupler knuckles that weigh 75-85lbs. You’ll also be required to hang on to the side of a car for miles at a time in some occasions. Walking, yea you’ll do a lot of that too. Weight lifting is fine at your age just dont over do it and get hurt, it doesn’t take much to do so.

Now, what do you tell the interviewer? Tell them you want a career, a place to retire. Outdoor work is your preference, you dont like being stuck indoors. You like to travel(better start liking it LOL) I’m sure there is something I’m leaving out but I’m tired from putting in a long 12 hour day today. Just dont mention the fact you love trains and your dream is to be an engineer, that will crush your chances quicker than most anything.

There really isn’t much else you can do to prepare for life on the railroad. There is no book or magazine article that will do it justice. It’s one of those things you have to experience for yourself, and only then will you know if it’s right for you.

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The physical aspect of the job, will be the ability to pick up a dropped knuckle, about 90lbs.

Tying hand brakes and lining switches.

Of course the physical stamina to remain standing for long periods of time, and walking sometimes 2 miles or so.

Most folks can handle all of that without a problem.

Eyesight is not much of a problem anymore, if it can be corrected close to 20/20 with glasses.

The hardest part of the whole thing is going to be the lifestyle…it is nothing like you or your parents ever experienced, you will be on call 24 hours a day, for a long long time until you achieve enough seniority to hold a scheduled job, and most of those are yard jobs, switching and such, and local jobs like yard to yard transfers.

There will be times when you lose track of what day it is, and it can be very mentally challenging.

As for loving my job, well, I am a ground pounder, (yard switching foreman) and have been for 15 years, there are still a few days where I am amazed they pay me to do this….and there have been days when I wonder what the heck I was thinking when I signed on!

Put it this way, after 15 years, I find it a little harder to remember what I did before I went railroading, I actually have to think about it before I can remember,

As one poster pointed out, don’t let the romantic stories and the myth of railroading sway you too much, it is a hard, dirty job at times, boring beyond belief, terrifying at times.

In T&E service, you will start out at the bottom and work up, which means at some point, you will be

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My reasons for wanting to be a railroader are because of the fact that I like trains, the salary, I like traveling and doing outdoor work, I want to be able to call myself a railroader and hopefully share my stories with my children or grandchildren one day, and even though I hear a lot of people talk about the negatives of the railroad I atleast want to try it before trashing the whole idea. I realize that its not an easy job that you will love every second of. Also can you please give me an idea of what being on call 24/7 means? I’ve never really grasped the idea of what that means. Another question:What jobs are considered better than others on the railroad and when should you start to gain some seniority?

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Well, I like trains too, but believe me - you can get tired of them pretty quick on some days. A few people are able to keep their job and railfan hobby, but many lose the latter real quick-like. But that’s not all bad - you will discover new hobbies to waste your time and money on.

As far as on-call 24/7: you will most likely start out on an extra list. An extra list is what is sounds like. You will be on a list of people being called to work extra jobs or to fill in vacancies as needed. For example, you work a job and go home. The minute you get done and sign off, you begin your 10 hours of federal-required rest. The minute that 10 hours is up, the railroad can call you whenever. It may be 1 minute past your 10 hour rest. Or it may be 30 hours later. It all depends on how many people you share the list with, how many are ahead of you, and what the needs of the railroad are. You will figure it out pretty quick, but there’s always surprises. You may think that you have at least a good 24 hours off and you will get called in 10. Why? Well, 4 people on the list marked off, 2 miscalled, 3 took tem