You have all seen the smiling faces in the ads for the Modoc Railroad Academy. Now, it is easy to be skeptical and to make fun of things, but all seriousness aside, what do you think of the Modoc Academy?
While reviewing some of the photos on their website - it is plain that some of their equipment is just, plain ancient. Of course, the basics of railroading is not tied to specific equipment, but rather technique.
I, personally, think they have a good thing going there, but have any of you reading this attended Modoc or have worked with a Modoc graduate???
It would be good to solicit here some honest opinions as to whether the $5492 required for the Conductors class is money well spent, an okay investment, or just money wasted. Their high percentage of hire rates for the graduates is certainly a strong selling point to me.
Dear arbfbe,
Thanks for the tip. I did the search and found out a lot of information. While some of it degenerated down to silly name calling, it was for the most part very useful.
How does the price compare to NARS? Which road are you looking at hiring out with? NARS has CBT (computer based training modules) that we use for our bi/tri annual tests as well on BNSF. I can speak from experience, the CBT is not a bad training tool and does have some well laid out programs, most are produced by our TTC. Does MODOC offer this?
Modoc does offer some CBT modules, but I suspect not to the same extent as the NARS, according to what I have heard about NARS.
Having been to Modoc myself, I will admit that their equipment (primarily motive power) is ancient, but that has more of an adverse affect on the engineer trainees than the conductor students. At least for the conductors (IMHO), what Modoc lacks in newer equipment is made up for by emphasis on techniques.
I guess they are supposed to have a GG20 yard switcher on order (a.k.a. “Green Goat”) but I don’t know if they actually have received that and put it in operation yet. There is no question that NARS has more sophisticated equipment (rolling stock), more track and more computerized training. The only thing that I don’t know is how the quality of the course content compares… obviously I am biased toward Modoc, but that is just an opinion. Probably most of the others on here will disagree with me, but without having ever been to NARS myself, it is difficult to not be biased
Out of curiosity does anyone on here know how much NARS’ conductor’s program costs? A figure I heard one time was that NARS’s program is in the $4,000 range? Is this accurate anyone?
BNSF hires from both schools, but definitely will give first preference to NARS graduates. I think most other railroads give both school’s graduates a relatively equal opportunity. I know a handful of “old head” RR hiring managers that really have little use for either school [:(].
I hired out with NS back in 1999 and was sent to McDonough, Ga. to attend their own “accelerated conductor training” course. I was paid to attend this course. I know they are hiring for this position in Columbia, S. C. and in Charleston, S. C. but don’t know about the rest of the country. If you live near a NS terminal, you might want to check the job listings on their website The rolling stock we trained on was pretty old but quite sufficient to teach the basics of how to safely work around railcars.
Just think, what if you paid a bunch of money for training only to find out railroading wasn’t your “cup of tea”? I recall a trainee that freaked out the first time he was on a train that traveled from Columbia to Linwood, N. C. Between Charlotte and Linwood exists some double track territory and the guy lost it when he thought his train was going to have a collision with another train. He got so out of control he had to be put off the train and taxied home. We had another trainee that had such a know-it-all attitude that he decided he was going to lay in the floor of the locomotive and sleep. Needless to say that was his last trip for NS.
These examples are why I like the way NS does their program - one week of initial training followed by a month of OJT then another week of book learning followed by more OJT until the student has worked every yard job, every road job, and every local that is based out of his home terminal. After that comes the conductor mark-up exam. All this good training and getting paid too!
What’s the name of the college? Dumb question, but how can [under what legal authority] any Canadian institution or carrier offer “FRA-approved” engineer training. 49 CFR 240 only applies to US common carrier railroads last I checked [%-)].
According to their website, http://www.BCIT.ca/path/trades/programs/ , the only offering I see is that of “Railway Conductor.” There is no indication of an engineer’s program.
Furthermore, according to the specific program’s website at http://www.BCIT.ca/study/programs/2070ipcert , there is no indication that the Railway Conductor program offers any type of locomotive engineer training, nor that the program is FRA approved or endorsed. The program specifically discusses teaching Canadian Operating Rules.
The program appears legitimate (as a conductor’s course) and does cost less than Modoc (and probably NARS??), but may not be quite as useful to US railroad job applicants as NARS or Modoc because of the operating rules that are used in the course of instruction.
This topic has stimulated more response than I expected after I had reviewed what all you guys contributed in the recent past. These new comments from a different slant are refreshing.
Personally, the best course of action is to apply to an open conductor’s position on the railroad of your choice and let the railroad pay you as you are being trained.
Because, if I have got my information correct - you still must complete the training provided by the railroad that hires you, even if you have completed a course at NARS or Modoc. Why go through it twice? Though the repetition would certainly help your retention rate.