Swift Intermodal? (Chicago)

Forum:

My apologies if this thread is redundant. None of the threads I found on google really answered the questions I have. I have been driving OTR for about 6 months now. 4 of these were with Swift, I jumped ship at England beforehand. Things have been going fairly smooth at Swift and I want to stick it out with them for at least a year. I am a born and raised Chicagoan(south sider). I really like trucking, but really just got my CDL because I want to work for the railroad and do track, railcar, or signal repair.

Anyway I may have a kid on the way and I want to take some welding classes to help bolster my resume. So I am looking to be home more and have a fairly consistent schedule. I have been tempted to just find whatever local craigslist gig will take me, but would rather just stick it out with Swift. When I go on home time, I usually leave my reefer van at the intermodal terminal in Pilsen for the weekend and bobtail to my parents' house. I haven't gotten much of a chance to talk to any of the daycab drivers I see in passing there yet, usually just the security guard.

But Anyway! Is it difficult to transfer over to that division? Will they take someone with my experience? I occasionally see Swift post ads on Craigslist for intermodal and dedicated runs out of Chicago. Any advice and experiences would be appreciated. Schedule? Pay? My backing is fair. I am comfortable with a manual or automatic, although for lots of backing I'd prefer a manual. They have me in an older 8/9 speed freightliner at the moment. Being a native Chicagoan and a lifelong railfan, I am very familiar with the territory and already know where all the yards are(47th, 59th, Englewood, Corwith, Clyde, Landers, all the UP Globals, Bedford Park, Homewood/Markham, etc.) My girlfriend and I are even looking at apartments right now within walking distance of the Swift IM terminal.

Thanks
-SlantSix