Have you thought of Railroad conducting?

I've always been fascinated with modes of transportation especially with Planes, Trains, Automobiles, Motorcycles and Boats, actually after obtaining my CDL I'll have a license for all of them except Trains. I once spoke to a conductor for the METRA here in Chicago who told me that working for an operation such as BSNF pays very well, but they practically "wan't you to be able to walk on water." I've never inquired into it that deep but have always been interested in what it takes to become one.

 

Lets break it down: bad credit? You will be disqualified. If you can't run your own affairs, you can't run a train.

MMPI: Do you know what that is? Have you taken one? Do you know where you stand? It tells your psychological story. Will you go bonkers? Are you bipolar? Are you depressed? Here is your story, when something goes wrong, you can't be like that, the train has liability and they can't bank on you if you are any kind of psycho.

Shifty work history: If you have been in the workforce for like 15 years and have much more than 4 jobs, you are too shifty for them, and they think that they can't bank on you.

They actually like college grads better. No work experience. They can shape them as they wish. They do like former military, as you know how to follow orders. They are order driven.

Try, try anyway! It's a good job! I just know that they won't have me.

 

Brother in Law works at the NS yards in Elkhart, Indiana. He's an locomotive electrician, loves it. He tells me they're hiring laborers, trackmen, etc. They are VERY safety conscious, they can pull a random drug screen at any time, swab the inside of your mouth for drugs at any time. No second chances, you're fired for any safety related infraction, including not wearing the proper gear.
If I were 20 years younger, I'd be working for a Class1 railroad. But the thought of being a conductor, and walking a 1 mile train in a howling thunderstorm to throw a switch just doesn't appeal to me anymore!

 

I did not know there were still RR conductors??? There are not any midwest RR with passenger cars, other than Amtrack...

I might want to be a RR engineer, but I figure those jobs are pretty hard to come by.

 

The conductor is in charge of the train and sits next to the engineer.

 

I've been with the RR for three years, out of that three years I've worked eleven months. I'm as far north as CSX runs so it's the end of the line so to speak. The RR is hiring, but mostly in the south, it's very busy down there but very slow up here.
Starting pay is around $135.00 a day and progresses for five years up to about $ 225.00 a day. You can work more than one job in a day. So lets say you get called to work for a certain job and it only takes you four hours to do that job. You will get paid your daily rate, lets say $ 225.00 for that. If there is other work available you can get another days pay, yes another $ 225.00 for that job as well. On the RR you can work 12 hrs a day. I know a conductor in Chicago that worked four different jobs in one 12 hr. day. Yes, that's $ 1000.00 in one day. This doesn't happen often, but if you work a busy terminal you might get it.
You have to be 60 yrs. old to retire from the RR, and yes they will pay your wife her own retirement as well when she turns 60. She gets half of whatever you get, so most guys that have between 30 and 40 years of service do pretty well. After all is said and done they bring home somewhere between $ 5000.00 and $ 6000.00 a month for both husband and wife. If the wife is ten years younger than the husband she will have to wait until she turns 60 to get hers.
Health insurance is OK, it costs somewhere between $150.00 to $200.00 a month. If you don't need it they will pay you $100.00 a month not to take it. I forgot to mention you get time and a half after 8 hrs.
You also get about 11 personal days a year and 1 week vacation your first year increasing with years up to about 6 weeks after 30 years.
Once your through with your paid training you get placed on a guaranteed extra board. This means you will be paid a guaranteed amount of money every two weeks whether you work or not. You are being paid to protect the board, you might work 3 or four days a week, you may only work one day a week or you could work 6 days a week. The guarantee pay is around $1250.00 every two weeks, unless you work more. If you work enough to earn more you will get more, but it doesn't happen often, at least not here.
The part that's not so great is, you will be on call 24/7 unless you are on vacation. This is a two hr. call, that means you can never be more than two hrs. away from your terminal. Not your home, but the terminal. So if you live 2 hrs. north of your terminal and have family that lives lets say another hour north of you, you won't be seeing them unless they come to your house.
The RR is very strict on this two hr. call, if you have a missed call they will discipline you very quickly. The guys that hired in before 1985 are considered protected employees. This means they cannot be fired permanently. I know an Engineer that tested positive for weed, he was fired for one year and then was allowed to return to work with seniority intact. He has 40 yrs. of service. If you hired in after 1985 you would more than likely be permanently fired.
The RR has alot of rules that must be followed, I think it's like 400 rules and you are tested on these rules annually. The rules cover everything from safety on the rails to sitting in a chair properly. Yes, they have a rule telling you how to sit in a chair. They go way overboard with their rules, and here is why. The RR does not pay into Workman's comp, because they don't pay into it you cannot collect any if you get hurt on the job. But you are allowed to sue them if you get hurt, and they will try to settle out of court, and they cannot fire you for suing them or you can sue them for that as well. This is a standard practice with all Class one Railroads.
Needless to say they watch you very closely while you are on their property. They will hide in the bushes with binoculars and spy on you while you are working, and if they catch you doing something wrong or even appears to be wrong, they will write you up and give you time off. After a few times being caught breaking the rules you will be fired, and if you were hired after 1985 you might have a hard time getting back to work. The Union will fight for you and try to get you back, sometimes they are successful and sometimes not.
Lets say your terminal gets slow, the RR can force you to the next nearest terminal, which may be two hours south of the terminal you work at. Now remember you live two hrs. north of your home terminal. How are you going to get there on a two hr. call ? My point is you will want to live within an hr. of your terminal, or better yet between or around several terminals would be better.
If any of you have any questions I'll be glad to try and answer them.

 

Another thing about the RR is they do not discriminate against age. I hired on at age 49 and I know of a guy that was 55 when he hired on. You only need to get five years in to collect a small pension, which would be at age 62 since you will not be able to reach 30 yrs service by the time you are 60. That pension will not come from Social Security, it will come from the RR retirement fund which usually pays a little more than SS.

 

Wildbill123,

From your perspective, how difficult was the schooling you went through? I have researched Norfolk Southern...just curious about the typical day during training.

R/

Frat

 

Training was intense, six weeks to learn all the rules and how to move the equipment without getting injured. You also have to learn how to read speed signals which can seem overwhelming at first. Class for eight hours a day and then a test the following morning on what you learned the day before. You have to maintain a good grade point average or they will send you packing, this includes working outside with the equipment. They will go the extra mile to make sure you are getting it. If at any time they think you can't handle it they will send you home.
I interviewed with NS before I did with CSX, so I have a little info I can pass on. NS will send you to Mcdonough, Ga. for two or three weeks of training, and then you will return to your terminal for some training there. Then you will go back to Mcdonough, Ga. for a couple more weeks of training.
NS does not have a guaranteed extra board, the last I heard. So you will only get paid for the actual days you work, and that makes it much harder to get started. Also their pay is a little lower than the other Class 1 Railroads.

I just noticed you are a Chief, You more than likely will not have a problem with the classes. Check out other RR's in your area, NS doesn't have a very good Rep. By the way I'm a former Sgt. USMC