I am curious to know what the career aspirations of most railroaders are. Do most of you guys like working for a class 1 freight road or is finding a position on a short line, regional or commuter transit system something that a lot of railroaders look for? Is getting on with Amtrak considered a good move or not? Also would like to hear any thoughts on working MOW. Are these jobs hard to fill, have a lot of turn over, or are they hard to get? I’ve always had an interest in what others think about their careers. Have often wanted to talk to those who have chosen railroading. My father worked MOW for Southern Railway for many years. Can’t say if he liked it or not. He was away from home a lot, sometimes weeks at a time when they were working a big project.
I had the choice between a Class 1, BNSF and a local Switching & Terminal Class 3 road, the PTRA.
Because I was in a position to choose, instead of being in a position where I “had” to find a job, I went with the Class 3, for no other reason than it allowed me to be home every day.
Still had to put in several years on the extra board, but got home every night.
Because the roster is smaller, seniority is gained a little quicker, so in 5 years I could hold a morning trick job.
The pay and perks at short lines, regional and terminal roads are less, but for me, being home every day made up for it.
The pay and benefits are best on a Class I in Train & Engine Service.
Short lines like to hire pre-trained people. With a shortline you’re also likely to be the conductor, yardmaster, and customer service rep at the same time.
Regionals are willing to train, but pay less then Class Is. Most larger ones, have more diverse staffing, so a conductor is a conductor, the yardie is the yardie, and marketing guy is the marketing guy.
Amtrak is an iffy proposition, because a.) you earn less then in Class I freight; and b.) you’re never sure if the railroad will still be there the next morning. Transit agencies are more stable, but not by much. With any passenger operation, you have to wear a uniform and be nice to people.
Personally, my Class I career looks like this: Conductor - Training Conductor - RCO Operator - Training RCO Operator - Yardmaster - Training Yardmaster - Trainmaster. Eventually, I would like to gain some marketing and service design experiance, and work as a General Manager for a shortline or small regional.
Wow! I didn’t know that Amtrak pays less than a class 1. I always thought that because they were in the people hauling business they would pay more. And due to this, an Amtrak job would be a “plum” position.
I started my rail career about 2 1/2 years ago as a conductor for CSX. I worked the feast or famine life of the extraboard. One half (2 week pay period) I’d end up working every day and going out on my rest. I was exhaused and found out what sleep deprivation was, BUT I sure did bring home a nice paycheck. Then, there were other halfs where I’d get bumped and maybe work one day in the half. Since I was on a guaranteed extraboard it wasn’t a big deal and was often a welcome break. When I found out I was going to be a dad I volunteered myself for RCO so that I could stay in the yard. I ended up working 3rd shift all winter with not even a year of seniority mostly because everyone hated the Remotes and the cold winter nights. Remotes are VERY FRUSTRATING and I’d trade that junk box and my extra $18 a day for a good engineer any day. Railroading has its ups and downs, but I was very happy with my new career and finally could live comfortably in a financial sense. From railroad school through my training people told me I should try for train dispatcher. I wasn’t sure why, but it peaked my curiosity. I did a little research into the positon and found it a little imtimidating, but I love a good challenge. So, for the last year I’ve been a train dispatcher and I have to say that I’ve probably found the best job on the RR. Yes, there are stressful days where everyone and their brother wants a piece of me, but it’s an 8 hour shift and I’m home every day.
I like your signature line. I sometimes make myself stop and think of all that I have and be thankful I have it. What positions could a person move to from the train crew? For instance, you’ve went into dispatching, is there a move up from this position? I’ve often heard of trainmasters and road foreman of engines and such. How does a railroader get into these jobs?
15 years ago I couldn’t spell engineer,today I are one [(-D] .
The next promotoin I want to take is in about 23 more years.Yes retirement !
I just don’t want to get old to do that [:(] .
I took my job because I needed one,but having 3 generations in my Dad’s family,and 2 on my Moms side working on the railroad,I guess it was sorta written in the stars.Sometimes I wished I’d never found it.But I can’t afford to loose it [:D] .
I’ve had locals that had regular report times,days off ,but less pay.I’ve been on the engineer’s extra board on call 24/7,more pay (because you work all you care to work).Now I’m back on a regular pool job and back on call 24/7,and gone a lot.Espically hard with my wife having some medical issues right now.But thank goodness for FMLA .Because the railroads know only one thing, it’s business,who cares about you .Mumble, grumble [:(!] !
But in the face of todays economy,I’m glad I choose the railroad.I had chances to get on at other local industries such as AK Steel or Ashland Oil (now Marathon).But I’ve seen friends get laid off and trends in industrudy effect these and others.
So with Gods blessings I’ll see 60 years of age.It will be 38 years of service,but I hope the retirement is still there.
In theory, someone starting as a conductor could be Chairman & CEO.
The common move-ups for T&E (Train & Engine) employees are Yardmaster (YM), Trainmaster ™ and Road Foreman of Engines (RFE). It’s rarer for T&E to become dispatchers (DS).
Generally, railroads have a centralized job posting system - usually on either the companies website or an intra-net. You check this for any openings you might be interested in, submit an application, usually take some sort of apptitude test and go to an interview. The company will then look at your test and interview scores, work history, and safety record to determine if you meet the critiria for the position.
RFEs musr first be engineers. RFEs can become Senior RFEs or Division RFEs (depending on the railroads terminalogy).
YMs, TMs and DSs are sometimes hired off the street, but railroads will always try and hire them internally first. It’s easier to train someone already familiar with railroading in general, and the company’s operations specifically.
DSs can become Chief DSs. DSs are normally control movement on one or two subdivsions, the Chief DSs is in charge of train movement for the entire division, as well as that division’s crew calling, and crew transport. Alot of the DSs I deal with were either clerks or tower operators.
Once you cut your teeth as a Trainmaster, your avenues for advancement vastly increase. You could be a Terminal Manager, Line of Road Supervisor, Surpervisor of Train Operations, Division Manager or one of his deputies, work for the Power Bureau (the department in
Thanks for the reply nbrodar. And good luck with your degree. I’m currently plugging away at getting one myself. You’ve piqued my curiosity about the trainmaster position. Why doesn’t anyone like being a trainmaster? Sounds like it could be one of those jobs that follows you home or where ever you go, you never get away from it.
Although I’m not a railroad man, it sounds like we both are in the same boat. I pray that I can get to retire and there will be something there to retire on!!
Because Trainmaster is a position where you are stuck in the middle, between the two opposing forces, those of the T&E folks and their unions, and the wishes of senior management.
If you try and make the T&E guys happy, you never seem to get enough work out of them to make the super happy, on the other hand, if you try and get everything the super wants done, you PO the T&E folks…it is a no win job most of the time.
You end up overseeing the work of your former T&E buddies, and at some point in time you have to punish someone who you once worked side by side with…a pretty thankless job.
And, when things do go wrong, you get to fade the heat.
When things go right, the super gets the credit, not you.
The same situation exsist if I want to move up at my job. I do aircraft maintenance for Federal Express Corp. It would put me in a position where I would be supervising the guys I once worked with and that comes with some baggage I don’t care to carry.
You mentioned that you were with the PTRA in your earlier post, Ed. I once lived in Pasadena, TX and was working on offshore drilling rigs. I used to go over to the ship channel area often to watch the PTRA and SP. Remember there was an observation platform at the ship channel turning basin where you could watch the harbor. At that time you could actually walk down onto the piers and watch the longshoremen unload cargo. This was back in the early eighties. I recall there were some huge grain elevators near the basin and across the street was a seaman’s church and rescue mission for stranded sailors.
Everything that happens during your 12 hour tour (we work four 12 hours shifts a week) is your responsiblity. You have to coordinate locomotive moves, train accuracy, crew calling, customer service issues, safety issues, employee training and discipline. You’re responsible for investigating accidents, service failures, and injuries. You have to supervise the initial medical care of injured employees, the clean up of derailments, and a host of other issues.
It does follow you home…you’re always on call. When sometime goes wrong, your 12 hour day can become 16 or 20 hours. Or, you can get called in when the TM on-duty needs back-up.
You have the crews pulling you one way and your manager pulling the other. But, who’s really in the middle is the Yardmaster. He is on the front line getting the crews to do what needs to be done, listening to their complaints, etc. He also has the Trainmaster standing behind him decreeing what must be done, wanting to know what’s not getting done and why.
I often use this military analogy: the Trainmaster is the company commander, and the Yardmaster is the company First Sergent. The TM issues the orders, and the YM makes it happen.
For all it’s hassels, being a Trainmaster is the first step for higher management. Every senior manager I know, was a Trainmaster at some point.
That’s why they rarely put an individual in supervisor capacity on the same territory in which he/she holds senority.It sorta puts a person in between a rock and a hardplace balancing friends (sometimes family,I’ve seen that) and the role the person has to play as the boss,when that person doesn’t want to.
It would be hard to disipline somebody you really like or was related to [%-)] .
And yes, the time you devote to the company is never worth the pay.
I knew a former Divisional Roadforeman that was on a fishing tour and had to drive back ASAP to a huge derailment scene,and cut short his 2 week vacation right after he had just started it.But he told me,they gave him no choice but to be there yesterday and get there sooner.
What would be the chain of events if this does happen? Obviously, if the train derails, it can’t continue on. But, if a crew hits something or somebody and the train is capable of operation, does the crew continue on or are they replaced? I would imagine that the sight of a vehicle pulling onto the tracks in front of you and the jolt of the impact would be, at the least, an adrenaline rush that would take some time to get over, especially if there were fatalities involved.
The crew has the option of requesting Critical Incident and being relived right there (and automatically qualifying for 3 days of paid CI leave) or continuing the trip. If you continue the trip it’s much more difficult to get the CI leave. You can take more then 3 days of CI leave if you wish, but you only get 3 days of paid leave.
Train - vehicle collisions are bad. Train - pedestrian incidents are far worse. And any time there is a fatality, well that’s just plain Hades, especially if you’re the one that finds the body.
All the training in the world never prepares you for that.
I would like to thank everyone who has replied so far. You guys have a wealth of information that is interesting to listen to.
In my original post I mentioned MOW. I’ve noticed no one has touched on this. In fact, as I read through the forums, it seems that most of the railroaders who post are train and engine crew or in train operations in some capacity. MOW doesn’t seem to come up. To me, its fascinating to watch what some of the new equipment can do and how the road looks after a big MOW crew goes through.
I got to go out with my father a few times. He was an equipment operator for SR. What I regret now is not sitting down and talking with him about his career. He even served in a railway operating battalion in north Africa and Europe during WW2.