looks fun dont it
#21
03-11-2008, 09:54 PM
Originally Posted by Mackman
Originally Posted by enobeenob
The railroad has a high turnover rate also, that's why they are always hiring.
If you think your DM or dispatcher are idiots, try your luck with RR management. Also, no laptops, cell phones, radios, I-Pods, or any type of distraction is allowed on board or to be used during your shift. If you are tired, only one crewmember is allowed to nap, but only when the train is stopped. The other crewmember must be awake. Can't stop and park at the local fast food joint to eat, you must bring your own meal or starve. If you are off before your 12 hour shift is over and are happily on your way home to rest, you better pray your cell phone doesn't ring and they suddenly need you again. They have a right to call you back to work to finish the rest of your shift. You are going to have to walk the whole train (pre-trip), sometimes the train could be up to 1 and 1/2 miles long, in all types of weather and terrain. If a coupler knuckle breaks mid-train you have to grab a spare knuckle(weighs 80lbs) off the rear of the locomotive and carry it to the break and replace it, have you ever tried to walk on track ballast without carrying anything? Kinda difficult?, now imagine carrying a 80lb knuckle and walking on ballast for up to a mile or more. You'll be thinking "Sure wish I stayed driving a truck". Let's say your kid is having their Birthday party and you are home sipping some brews, your cell phone rings, it's the RR calling you, Sorry, you can't tell them you're busy throwing a party for your 5 year old kid, You have 90 min. from the time they call you to get your butt to the yard, and you better not be late or call off. Oh, at the Birthday party you better not drink just in case you have to be at work and God forbid they call you, and later you get in a accident and guess what? You get to do a pee test. You got Alki in you, Bye Bye job. Oh yeah, for you smokers out there, the RR has a Zero Tolerance on smoking, You know what that means? No Smoking, anytime, anywhere. You want weekends, holidays, or birthdays off, No can do, unless you have 15-25 plus years senority (wow, sounds alot like trucking). Those are just some examples of working for the railroad as a train crew member. Not so fun now eh? Sounds like a alot of BS to put up with. But how much $$$$ do they make to put up with that BS. I am guessing alot more then Truckers. 
#22
03-12-2008, 01:16 AM
Originally Posted by enobeenob
The railroad has a high turnover rate also, that's why they are always hiring.
If you think your DM or dispatcher are idiots, try your luck with RR management. Also, no laptops, cell phones, radios, I-Pods, or any type of distraction is allowed on board a locomotive or to be used anytime during your shift. If you are tired, only one crewmember is allowed to nap, but only when the train is stopped. The other crewmember must be awake. Can't stop and park at the local fast food joint to eat, you must bring your own meal or starve. If you are off before your 12 hour shift is over and are happily on your way home to rest, you better pray your cell phone doesn't ring and they suddenly need you again. They have a right to call you back to work to finish the rest of your shift. You are going to have to walk the whole train (pre-trip), sometimes the train could be up to 1 and 1/2 miles long, in all types of weather and terrain. If a coupler knuckle breaks mid-train you have to grab a spare knuckle(weighs 80lbs) off the rear of the locomotive and carry it to the break and replace it, have you ever tried to walk on track ballast without carrying anything? Kinda difficult?, now imagine carrying a 80lb knuckle and walking on ballast for up to a mile or more. You'll be thinking "Sure wish I stayed driving a truck". Let's say your kid is having their Birthday party and you are home sipping some brews, your cell phone rings, it's the RR calling you, Sorry, you can't tell them you're busy throwing a party for your 5 year old kid, You have 90 min. from the time they call you to get your butt to the yard, and you better not be late or call off. Oh, at the Birthday party you better not drink just in case you have to be at work and God forbid they call you, and later you get in a accident and guess what? You get to do a pee test. You got alki in you, Bye Bye job. Oh yeah, for you smokers out there, the RR has a Zero Tolerance on smoking, You know what that means? No Smoking, anytime, anywhere. You want weekends, holidays, or birthdays off, No can do, unless you have 15-30 plus years senority (wow, sounds alot like trucking). Even when you are on the road the have spies (management) hiding in the bushes watching your every move, ready to write you up for any rules violation. Oh, you have to carry a rulebook the size of a telephone book, and know every rule in there. Those are just some examples of working for the railroad as a train crew member. Not so fun now eh? The reason turnover rate has to do with the retirement of the baby boomer. The second reason is the number of people that fail the drug test as a condition of pre-hire. I know when my son-in-law was hired their was about 75 people reported and after the first break there were about 15 left. Just last week my daughter call him on his cellphone to tell him I was having a heart attack just as he was getting on the train and the engineer sent him to the hospital. While he was driving to the hospital the engineer and three other guy on other trains call him to find out how I was. Even after he got to the hospital several guys call asking my condition. About 2 week ago they were setting on a siding with another train and knew they were going to be down for about an hour so they went over to Bass Pro Shop and did some shopping. Son-in-law said they don't do pre-trip the yard does the pre-trip. Conductors do walk the train and checks the couplers are make and the air is connected. In respect to knuckle. They do replace the knuckle but what they do is get off the train and the the engineer pulls the train forward to where the repair is needed. After the repair is made the engineer backs the train back to the cab and the Son-in-law get on. About having a brew. He says if you have had a brew they by law you have to call off and can not be call for 12 hours. The Son-in-law said once you end your trip they can not call you for at least 10 hours. If for any reason they should call then your 10 hour break starts all over again. About smoking. The only rule BNSF has is you can not smoke in the cab. You can step outside and smoke. About weekends, holidays, or birthdays off. The son-in-law has worked as a conductor for a little over 3 years and he gets weekend off. He also takes of most of the holidays. However, he starting to take the holidays due to the extra pay. He also take time off when every something like a B'day happens. In respect to the other examples you gave he pretty much agreed with you. Other than the time after you have been call. He says he is allowed 2 hours after he is called. Assuming he is allowed to work (HOS) etc. kc0iv
#23
03-13-2008, 03:03 PM
Just last week my daughter call him on his cellphone to tell him I was having a heart attack just as he was getting on the train and the engineer sent him to the hospital. While he was driving to the hospital the engineer and three other guy on other trains call him to find out how I was. Even after he got to the hospital several guys call asking my condition.
__________________
Remember... friends are few and far between. TRUCKIN' AIN'T FOR WUSSES!!! "I am willing to admit that I was wrong." The Rev.
#24
03-13-2008, 04:14 PM
Originally Posted by ICS
ohhh how hard could it be? it's not like you can take a wrong turn. lol
www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2jUYNimDnE
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John:10-10
#25
03-13-2008, 04:32 PM
Originally Posted by golfhobo
Just last week my daughter call him on his cellphone to tell him I was having a heart attack just as he was getting on the train and the engineer sent him to the hospital. While he was driving to the hospital the engineer and three other guy on other trains call him to find out how I was. Even after he got to the hospital several guys call asking my condition.
I had to have another heart attack seeing a few weeks ago I had another light stroke. So it is only reasonable I had to have another attack to balance thing out. Seriously, as the old say goes had I known back in my 20's what I know now I sure would have lived a different lifestyle. I think the bible says -- You reap what you sow. kc0iv
#26
03-13-2008, 05:58 PM
Originally Posted by kc0iv
Originally Posted by golfhobo
Just last week my daughter call him on his cellphone to tell him I was having a heart attack just as he was getting on the train and the engineer sent him to the hospital. While he was driving to the hospital the engineer and three other guy on other trains call him to find out how I was. Even after he got to the hospital several guys call asking my condition.
I had to have another heart attack seeing a few weeks ago I had another light stroke. So it is only reasonable I had to have another attack to balance thing out. Seriously, as the old say goes had I known back in my 20's what I know now I sure would have lived a different lifestyle. I think the bible says -- You reap what you sow. kc0iv We ALL should have done better when we were younger..... but it's never too late! My 78 yr old dad has joined the YMCA! Of course, he can out WALK me on the golf course any day of the week! :lol: Anyway.... my point is..... take CARE of yourself, dude! I would miss your banal arguments, and misinterpretations of law on here!! :lol: :lol: Just kidding of course! Seriously.... what caused the stroke and attack? Cholesterol?? Poor circulation? Sedentary lifestyle? Are you doing ALL you can to stick around? They tell me a heart attack feels like doing a swan dive off a 4 story building onto a FIRE PLUG!! Is that true?? Man..... I don't want no part of THAT! :shock: Anyway..... take CARE of yourself, KayCee!! You have friends on here who would miss you! Not MANY, of course..... but SOME! :lol: :lol: :lol:
__________________
Remember... friends are few and far between. TRUCKIN' AIN'T FOR WUSSES!!! "I am willing to admit that I was wrong." The Rev.
#27
03-13-2008, 10:51 PM
Originally Posted by golfhobo
Yeah.... but it ALSO says some stuff about living life ANEW!! And remember, Abraham sired a chld at 90 something! :lol:
We ALL should have done better when we were younger..... but it's never too late! My 78 yr old dad has joined the YMCA! Of course, he can out WALK me on the golf course any day of the week! :lol: Anyway.... my point is..... take CARE of yourself, dude! I would miss your banal arguments, and misinterpretations of law on here!! :lol: :lol: Just kidding of course! Seriously.... what caused the stroke and attack? Cholesterol?? Poor circulation? Sedentary lifestyle? Are you doing ALL you can to stick around? They tell me a heart attack feels like doing a swan dive off a 4 story building onto a FIRE PLUG!! Is that true?? Man..... I don't want no part of THAT! :shock: Anyway..... take CARE of yourself, KayCee!! You have friends on here who would miss you! Not MANY, of course..... but SOME! :lol: :lol: :lol: What caused my strokes? I think most of it was caused by the food I ate (I was a fried food nut) and the lack of exercise. In addition I'm about 100 lbs over weight. So far I have had at least 4 strokes. Lucky for me they have all been minimal in damage. Biggest loss was reading and math skills. I had to re-teach myself to read. And believe it or not I used the internet to re-learn reading. The math skill has not been as easy. Best I can do now is at about a third grade level. That is something I really miss. As to the heart attack and how it feels. Well I didn't have any of the common signs. All I felt was I was tired, had a toothache, clammy feeling, and I had a bad headache. My wife said she thought I should go to ER since it was 4:00 in the morning. That is when I found out I was having a heart attack. Then I had another one on the table when the were doing the Coronary catheterization. The end results was they put two Stent in. The last one I had just the other day felt like a heavy weight was on my chest. I now have to take 9 pills everyday and will do so for the rest of my life. If you want to read some of the story of my first stroke my daughter put most of the story on her web page at: http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fu...ogID=351461050 I'm not planning on going anywhere soon. You won't get off that easy. kc0iv
#28
03-14-2008, 03:13 AM
Okay, the FIRST thing is to stop eating fatty foods! But, you KNOW that!
Then... drop that hundred pounds! But.... you KNOW that! Joining the "Y" at "our" age can be liberating! Even my "mother" is enjoying it! :lol: If you do these 3 things.... you increase your lifespan by 30 years!! I expect my parents to outlive me, and I would wish NO LESS for YOU! And, I expect the angel Gabriel to have a REAL TOUGH time taking ME out of this world! So..... you better "man up!" You've got alot of years left to live! :lol:
__________________
Remember... friends are few and far between. TRUCKIN' AIN'T FOR WUSSES!!! "I am willing to admit that I was wrong." The Rev.
#29
03-17-2008, 07:24 AM
just my two cents...
I almost did the train thing... 1) do not walk down to the UP or BNSF and ask for a job. They'll put you in the yard if you are lucky. More likely you'll be a dancer. Sure, you can promote up, but all that time in the sun and rain? no thanks. Go to one of the schools that train engineers (and conductors). It's about $6k, but when you come out, you don't have to deal with being a dancer. Sure, you may (and probably will) end up being a yard switcher.. but that's better than playing in the muck. This one: http://modocrailroadacademy.com/ has a good reputation. Line haul - from point A to point B - goes to the more senior engineers, as a general rule. 2) Do not have any form of color blindness. I have a red-green issue, so red lights at a distance (3-4 miles) are colorless. Automatic disqualification for each and every one of the class 1 railroads out there. Also a bad thing for most of the class 2 and 3 roads. 3) Yes, it's hard to drive off the road, but you do have to ensure your switches are set right. Nasty accident a few years ago my sister investigated (for the NTSB) happened because the switch was wrong. Furthermore, you have to pay attention to the grade.. in a truck, you flick on the cruise control and you more or less go the same speed. Doesn't happen in a locomotive. Dragging thousands of tons up a 1% grade - and back down the other side - is not a fire-and-forget mission (for a graphic example, go ride a roller coaster. Sit in the very front car... then in the very back. Now, multiply that by lots and lots and more than you EVER want to think about. 4) In a truck, you have the option of not hauling haz. Not so if you drive a train. 5) RR companies can move you at the drop of a hat. My brother in law was engineer for years. In one 18 month stretch, the RR moved hiim from NC to Buffalo, then to TX, and then to WI. "Permanent" moves. Changes of duty station. Pack up the house, May, we're heading out! 6) one good thing, if some *jerk* cuts you off, you only have to worry if he's driving another locomotive. Anything else is just a bump in the road. |
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