How about a lecture on the family or single life of a railroader. So many people may think it is a glamour job but tell the true story. Copyright 2008 Jerry DeBene
This one should get several different opinions! Myself, divorced once over railroading due to the extended stays away from home in motels, the on call 24/7, missing Holidays, Birthdays, Anniversaries because I was out on a road train somewhere. Shortline railroading changed that somewhat with a move to a different railroad that was schedualed, but it is still a very demanding job. I have remarried again to a more understanding woman, (Thank God!), and am still shortline railroading. Still longs hours, still work days and nights and holidays and birthdays. Still away from home longer then I am there. Railroading is more then a job. It is a life style. It has been very rewarding for myself, and I wouldn't be happy doing anything else, but it has at times come at a very high price. Glamour Job??? Well, LOL, I guess that depends on who is looking at you.
You find out very quickly when you take a railroad job that what you thought you knew about railroading was only a small part of the overall story. Jerry has just recited a litany of the woes of railroading and those are some of the "insignificant"(emphasis mine)problems. You have to deal with adversary management, 19th century works rules and ethics, constant oversight by supervisors who will deliberately conceal themselves and cause difficult situations to entrap you. As an operating employee, you WILL have at least one fatality of a trespasser/passenger/motorist involved with a train under your control. Every day you will see the public playing "chicken" or some other irrational actions with your train. You WILL be involved in derailments, "run through" switches,shove or run over a derail, hopefully you will not be killed or injured. You WILL trip on ballast, you will lose your grip or footing on grabirons and fall or be thrown from a moving car,hopefully not in the path of it or its wheels. You will have airhoses part suddenly while you are working with or near them.You will be riding a shove during violent T-storms,trying to hold on to the grabiron,your radio,your lantern and talk to the engineer at the same time. You will do the same thing in a blinding blizzard,at night,and you CANNOT see the standing train until you are almost on it.You will be the brakeman having to make a joint in pea soup fog where the hogger cannot see your lantern but you can make out the glow of the headlight and neither you nor the engineer have any idea of the distance between you.You will have to change a broken knuckle toward the rear of a 6700' stack train,carrying the knuckle and the wrench all the way from the loco. You will have to set out and chain a car to the rail,in a siding, because you had to dismantle the brake rigging due to a broken part that triggered a detector. You will have several near misses when you are on the ground working on the main line and a train overtakes your position and you must get between cars or jump back up on the locomotive to avoid being struck.That is why you must be doubly careful while working on a curve and hope that your engineer is awake to give you a warning of the approaching train. If you work passenger and/or commuter trains,you will be insulted,berated,threatened by the passengers. You will be involved in more than one fight and you may even be struck by a passenger. Several METRA trainmen have been killed or seriously wounded by "bad guys" on Chicago area commuter trains. Hyperbole? not hardly! All that and a lot more happened to me during my rather brief RR career except I was fortunate enough not to be shot or killed or seriously injured. There is NO "romance" in railroading. That is a myth. It is like getting drunk and going to bed with "J.Lo' and waking up to find Medusa! The money is OK but in the highlight of close scrutiny,railroad pay is about in the middle of the "blue collar" wage scale. Be an electrician or plumber or carpenter. They are still somewhat dangerous jobs, but you go home to your family at night,have weekends and holidays off and you are still doing something constructive and creative with your hands. Don't get me wrong, I dont regret have been a railroader, I was able to raise my family's standard of living by the wages I made and those of my wife(a retired school administrator-Catholic school). I lost my naivete quite quickly and learned how to play the game to my advantage. Still wanna hear more about railroading? CT Copyright 2008 Jerry DeBene
Being a railroader is definetely hardest on your home life. It takes a special woman or now a days we have to say men too I suppose. We at Amtrak are seeing more and more women working so I'll just say spouse. but you can not have any kind of routine because of not knowing when you will be at home or timeoff. I was lucky and found the most wonderful woman in the world who understands and trusts and supports me in my profession. Railroader spouses have to learn to handle the rigors of taking care of everything because of the rail being gone so much. Todays railroad work is so much different from when I started 28 years ago. Back then it was fun to come to work and the railroad was run by railroaders. Today the railroad is run by accountants and lawyers and managers who have never spent a minute actually working on the railroad. There are so many safety rules written by lawyers that it is a wonder any switching gets done at all. The addition of remote control operation has brought productivity down by over 50% but the railroads don't care because a bean counter says it helped cut 4 jobs from 8. More later I got a day off I have to use it. Copyright 2008 Jerry DeBene
I think Jerry has a pretty good description of life as a person who works in train service. However, there are many choices when it comes to working for the railroad. Everyone first thinks of being a road engineer or conductor. There are many other jobs with the railroad. You DON'T have to be on call. You CAN sleep in your own bed every night. IF you do choose to be on call, it DOES demand a FAMILY understanding (I wouldn't refer to this option as "insignificant"). The job is just like any other job. It is what you make of it. You can whine and complain all day and night long. What does that accomplish? Or, you can show up for work and do the best job that you can. The whiners and complainer seldom do anything to make changes for the better. They seem to think that it is their job to complain and someone else's job to fix the problems. Will things go wrong? Yes, but things will go wrong ANYWHERE you decide to work. Nobody forced you to accept a position with any of them. Are some more dangerous than others? Yes, but there are MANY jobs that come with inherent danger. In particular, death. I know of quite a number of "railroaders" who have NEVER had to deal with death while at work. You can either be "gloom and doom" or "glamourous". I suspect there is a happy medium in between for almost everyone. It is what you make of it. Copyright 2008 Jerry DeBene
Hey, It can be the best job you ever had :thumbs_up: . It could be the worst job you ever had :thumbs_down: . I've experienced both. Copyright 2008 Jerry DeBene
Something I must add to my missive above,and that is that railroading was my third major career. I have worked in other industries and I was also in the U.S.Army when I was younger. I am a Vietnam Era vet. At my prior occupations, there were many times when I went to work tired and came home absolutely exhausted. I once was so tired coming home from work,on the "L" train,that I fell asleep standing up! It's embarassing,there you are being awakened by falling to the floor when your muscles relax! A previous poster related some of the other jobs in railroading,and is correct that not all jobs are in the operating department and you CAN find one that has a degree of stability and security. At least that is what most of the machinists and mechanics at the W.Burlington(IA)shops of the BNSF thought a few years back. That is until they went home on Friday night and came back on Monday AM and were told to clean out their lockers and given their walking papers. Not even so much as a rumor about the shop closing down! To reiterate, once you learn how the "game" is played, you can play it to your advantage. I always was able to get the time off I wanted. If I was sick, I would lay off. A lot of guys wont lay off cuz they are too greedy, that's when accidents happen. Sure the railroads have their "attendance guidelines" but in reality, if you don't abuse it,you dont have to worry about it. If you have a genuine medical condition, you can get "Family Medical Leave" so that you can take the time off to do therapy or see your doctor or do whatever is necessary to treat your condition. I know of only one guy who was fired for excess absenteeism and he is now a hogger with another RR. I know another conductor who should have been fired for absenteeism,missed calls, no-show etc but wasnt! He is still working as a conductor. The biggest whiners/complainers I knew on the railroad were the ones who never held a job other than the railroad. Work in another industry and you will know where the grass is greener! I never liked working an extra board,but I knew it came with the job. As soon as I had the "whiskers" to start holding regular scheduled jobs, I did so. They weren't always the best jobs, but the hours were regular and there were scheduled rest days. My last commuter train job I held for over two years,then I was "set up" as an engineer just prior to my retiring. I was on the passenger engineers extra board, however I had already made my plans to retire,but the RR didn't know that. As others have said,you get out of it what you put into it. Give it your best shot, follow the rules,work safely,follow instructions and you will make big money and have a rewarding career. Best of luck to ya! CT Copyright 2008 Jerry DeBene
Hey, Truer words were never spoken.They are also the ones on top giving away good stuff at the table.This way they make out when they retire & we're left holding the bag.Then it take years to get that stuff back,only to have the next bunch give it back,again. As far as the extra board goes,it sucks !!!!!!!!! I was on it for only 2 1/2 weeks. I've picked regular jobs since. Copyright 2008 Jerry DeBene
All the railroads have changed in the last few years in trying to stop all the laying off and calling in sick for time off. All the RR's now have attendance policys that limit the number of days off a person is allowed before dicipline is invoked. The RR's are trying to get by with the fewest workers as possible. The attack on time off for employees is causing more hiring acct of so many being fired for missing time off. The only way to counter this by employees now is to get signed up for the family leave act which the RR's are supposed to not have any choice but to allow them off but some RR's have countered this by making them burn vacation first so it's all a battle of half witts. In a major class 1's hump yard in the midwest where my brother is a switch foreman the RR last Friday handed out 19 investigation notices for attendance failure. The Supt was instructed by RR HQ to increase hiring by 25% to acct for up coming firings. Amtrak is doing like wise has several letters out to some of my coworkers. Copyright 2008 Jerry DeBene
this is a point of view and information from a railfan Being an engineer on the SRT has its deal of problem. One stand out in my mind Due to design of the loco SRT uses, there's *no* buffer zone for crew protection. Many engineer/fireman has lost their lives in the line of duty(heads bow low, hat in hand ) So SRT doesn't allow a cab rides without permission/waiver. Not even SRT's own employee On the side note: When I railfanned at Ayuttaya Station, I saw Loco No. 4535. She was involved in a grade crossing incident with a big rig. The guys and gals at Makkasan Shop poured a lot of TLC into her, but she has a scar left on her: She has a bent carbody. (the fame was OK.) Copyright 2008 Jerry DeBene
Steve, thanks for the link! You nailed it about working for the RR. I have been fond of trains for as long as I can remember. That is something I inherited from my father. Being a railfan doesn't always equate to be able to work as a railroader. I was fortunate enough to do it at a time in my life when much of my "family obligations" were over with. Both of my kids had graduated from High School and were going to college. Both have since married,one is divorced,neither has graduated from college although the oldest one has an A.A degree from a local JuCo. I am now retired and happy for having had the experience to fulfill my childhood fantasies of "running the train". I also have learned that it wasn't all that I had expected, but I was willing to put up with the crap necessary to get and hold a railroad job. I was mature enough to realize that the carrier was not out to "get me". The work environment sucks, the pay is so-so to OK,the hours are dreadful and there is little to no gratification. But it has always been that way. Still there were days when I worked out in the most pristine of spring and summer days and was able to "smell the flowers". I have worked trains through some of the loveliest of scenery and alongside one of the worlds greatest natural features(the Mississippi River). I have seen wildlife that few people ever see. I have operated machines that few people ever had the chance to operate. I have met some truly unique people and just as many stinkers. I have followed a way of life that has a 150+ year legacy. When I tell someone that I am retired from the railroad, they ask "were you an engineer"? and I can honestly answer proudly "Yes"! When the opportunity first occured to me to go railroading,I had sort of a premonition. I pictured myself as an old man, watching trains go by, and asking myself "What if"? How would I have felt if I rejected the opportunity to go railroading ? Fortunately I no longer have that doubt. My wife and family were MOST supportive of me "taking to the rails" in spite of my somewhat advanced age. I am happy and fortunate for the the opportunity! CT Copyright 2008 Jerry DeBene
CT, That's it in a nutshell. It is interesting that, invariably, when I tell someone what I do for a living they say, "That's cool!". The locomotive engineer is a profession that is one that is perceived by most as one of the "cool" professions. However, reality rears it's ugly head once you get into the craft. The only gratification you get is at the end of the run and you are pleased with how you handled the train along with the knowledge that you are as good, or better, than your peers at what you do. Passing along your knowledge to others who are starting can also be a kick. If you are expecting Kudos from the company or the the guy asleep on the other side of the cab you are going to be mightily disappointed. There is something to be said for trips where the moon is so bright that the train's shadow on the snow covered landscape follows you from one end of the line to the other or running through hills and over rivers that are inaccessable to "civilians" when the fall foliage is at it's peak. You get out of this job what you put in...and you can put in a lot. Steve Copyright 2008 Jerry DeBene
Hey, Very true statements !!!!!!!!!! I'm an example of your statements. Sorry to say,the 1st one hits home, hard. Your passing your knowledge to me,made me a better engineer,THANKS:thumbs_up: :shade: Copyright 2008 Jerry DeBene
Mike, As a student you were better than most. You understood that learning to run trains was more than an eight hour day. You learned the physical characteristics quickly and most importantly, you listened and applied your new knowledge. They should have all been like you. Steve Copyright 2008 Jerry DeBene
Never was an engineer long enough or experienced enough to have had a student. As a trainman/conductor, I had lots of students and enjoyed the experience. So many of them had come to suburban service training with "horror stories" given to them by some of the yard flunkies who were mostly incapable of working ANY road jobs,let alone the commuter trains. A lot of them changed their opinion instantly once they met our crew and found out about passenger railroading, but just as many were convinced that they didn't want to work a public contact job. Being a passenger engineer is just a much a public contact job as the trainman on the coaches. The engineer has to run the train "on time" and with as little discomfort to the passengers as possible.Be late or jerky with the stops and starts and the riders start asking the trainman "What the hell is wrong with the engineer"? As you say guys, you get out of it what you put into it. I DO miss those days when I could see flocks of wild turkeys grazing in the corn stubble or watching eagles fishing on the Mississippi!!!!! Charlie Copyright 2008 Jerry DeBene