Does KCS have a formal training program for new conductors similar to those of NS, CSX, and perhaps some others ? See their websites for more info about the job.
Search this website/ Forum for articles by and references to Linda Niemann (or Linda Grant Niemann, etc.). She wrote 3 or 4 articles in Trains about 10 -12 years ago (some were controversial) about her experiences as an SP (later UP) switchman and conductor:
“Wendy and the lost boys on the Lawrence switcher - switch crews at San Jose”
by Niemann, Linda, from Trains, April 2005, p. 38
“Boomer in a boom town - working for Southern Pacific in Houston”
by Niemann, Linda Grant, from Trains, June 2004, p. 52
“The hospital yard - memories of working in Southern Pacific yards”
by Niemann, Linda, from Trains, January 2003, p. 42
Likewise, this topic has already been discussed a few times here before - sometimes for men, occasionally for women.
Admittedly; I suspect that it ( Overland Park,Ks ) is probably out side your home area ( SW Louisiana (?) But as Ed B. suggested. Something other than T&E might be a better entree to a RR Career.
Bad pun. If I recall correctly, Otto Klemperer, who was Werner Klemperer’s father, was a classical musician and may have been a conductor from time to time.
Otto Klemperer was in fact a distinguished and revered conductor, and also has some compositions to his credit. Son Werner may or may not have been a musician, but was very much in demand as a narrator in orchestral works that required them.
Perhaps, but the knuckles and drawbar chains are just as heavy now as then…and the ice is just as hard to chop out of a switch, the packed snow just as difficult to dig through…
Regarding Carl’s advice to perhaps try for another craft on a railroad - when I hired out I was applying for a job as a yard clerk, but during the course of the interview, it became apparent to the interviewer that I was much more suited for the Operating department; of course, that was 40 years ago (geez, am I that old already…?)
I suspect the knuckles are somewhat heavier on today’s railroad than they were 100 years ago - 100 years ago there weren’t 143 ton cars assembled into 15 & 20K ton trains of 8000, 9000 feet and longer. I don’t believe chains are common on locomotives any more - if you have a drawbar out of the ‘wrong’ end of a car, Car Department assistance or the assistance of another crew will be required to get the car set out. Snow and Ice are still the same as they were, however, now it is generally up to the train crew to clean their own switches when necessary to service a industry. Strenous work - work that has been done by numerous women on my carrier.
Yes Mookie , everytime I find myself standing waist deep in a showbank at a switch with frozen fingers and toes I reflect that it never really worked out .
Girl power. If you feel you can do the work, go for it.
Railroading can be a great profession to be part of, my parents would have agreed. It was a lifetime job for Dad and Mom worked at Frisco until she married Dad. Only reason I never worked for them is they had moved most of the office staff to Springfield, MO and I didn’t want to relocate. In those days, women could only do clerical duties.
Keep trying, and keep in mind there are other railroad jobs than conductor. I applied to the UP as a bridge tender (operating a lift bridge over the Mississippi). Seemed to me it would be an interesting job.
In 1982 I asked a young brakeman with CP in Kamloops, BC why his division hadn’t hired any women yet while the division to the east, the Revelstoke Division had hired quite a few by that time already. He frowned and stated…“sure wish they’d hire some here too”. I can understand. Both genders with some cultural diversity thrown in make the job more fun and interesting.
I’ve worked with lady conductors and found them to be equal or better than men, and sometimes they are even more pleasant on the eye.## Since railroading will be new to you, be prepared for total confusion at first. Switching will befuddle you and making a joint will seem awkward. But if you hang in there and complete the training and mark up, it will eventually become clear as to what to do when. I found learning where the cars usually go(assigned customers) takes the most time, and after that switching becomes almost second nature. Once you get railraoding in your blood and get used to working all the time without much rest, then you will never want to do anything else.
"NONE YET ?.. Kind of hard to imagine… Out here on the BNSF, I see lots of “women” conductors,and even a few engineers. It’s hard work, but you can do it.