my son is one lucky kid


blackz28

blackz28

Well-Known Member
he gets to help "train with the brakeman/ engineers , he has had more chance at such a young age i told him as soon as he graduates put in papers for the road , they already told him he will have a job waiting:cool:
 
Wow that is really really cool. I'm envious, never had the chance to ride in the cab of a steam or diesel engine before.
 
blackz28 said:
he gets to help "train with the brakeman/ engineers , he has had more chance at such a young age i told him as soon as he graduates put in papers for the road , they already told him he will have a job waiting:cool:
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The railroads are constantly hiring. Just be aware it is a hard life especially at first when one is on the extra board. No fixed hours, no guaranteed hours, working graves and weekends that no one with seniority wants. Many don't make it past the first 2 years.
 
Iron Horseman said:
The railroads are constantly hiring. Just be aware it is a hard life especially at first when one is on the extra board. No fixed hours, no guaranteed hours, working graves and weekends that no one with seniority wants. Many don't make it past the first 2 years.
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/\/\/\/\ Agreed /\/\/\
 
ohh he is well aware of the life , the division forman told him to ''BUY YOUR EXWIFE A HOUSE NOW TO GET IT OUTTA THE WAY" LOL he has worked @ 2 other tourist railroads , he has worked with Matt Baum the extreme trains guy lol , they call him hollywood @ pan am lol, but unlike 90% of his class he knows what he wants to do
 
blackz28 said:
ohh he is well aware of the life , the division forman told him to ''BUY YOUR EXWIFE A HOUSE NOW TO GET IT OUTTA THE WAY" LOL he has worked @ 2 other tourist railroads , he has worked with Matt Baum the extreme trains guy lol , they call him hollywood @ pan am lol, but unlike 90% of his class he knows what he wants to do
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That is not a joke. A saying around the railroad people is that BNSF means Better Not Start a Family. Then all the new requirements for trainmen these days esp. engineers. Is he considering going to NARS at Johnson County Community College? I was planning on going, then I heard about BNSF Traffic training program. Unfortunately I neglected to see that enrollment had a "soft" deadline. They closed the program as soon as they had enough candidates, so I missed it. Drat. BNSF would have paid for the schooling. Now if I wanted to go I would have to pay for it. Fortunately for me because of my computer and model railroading experience I got to skip all the school and landed a really good job at UP at a much higher pay grade than I would have coming fresh out of school.
 
@ pan am @ 21 they will certify. Him for engineer so not sure if hes going to johnsons
Or. Not
 
Is there actually demand for locomotive crews now? I'd have thought with the way the economy is now (and about to head) and all the engines already sitting cold that most engineers would be hard up for work, let alone that companies would be hiring.
 
Oh yea they are hiring infact , irving oil is running
So many loads they are having crew shortages
 
Iron Horseman said:
The railroads are constantly hiring. Just be aware it is a hard life especially at first when one is on the extra board. No fixed hours, no guaranteed hours, working graves and weekends that no one with seniority wants. Many don't make it past the first 2 years.
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Depends on the yard you're at.

At least where I work, some guys with high seniority sit on the Switchman's Board just because it pays "enough" and they prefer only working ~3 days a week at most, even if it pays a bit less than working a scheduled 5 day a week job. There's a couple of 2nd shift, Monday -> Friday jobs that are pretty much worked by bottom seniority guys because, well... they suck. Same for 3rd shift, though a couple of those are Sunday -> Thursday. High-seniority guys pretty much stick to the Freight Pool (2 turns on it, lol), Brakeman's Board or the pig train.
 
Iron Horseman said:
That is not a joke. A saying around the railroad people is that BNSF means Better Not Start a Family. Then all the new requirements for trainmen these days esp. engineers. Is he considering going to NARS at Johnson County Community College? I was planning on going, then I heard about BNSF Traffic training program. Unfortunately I neglected to see that enrollment had a "soft" deadline. They closed the program as soon as they had enough candidates, so I missed it. Drat. BNSF would have paid for the schooling. Now if I wanted to go I would have to pay for it. Fortunately for me because of my computer and model railroading experience I got to skip all the school and landed a really good job at UP at a much higher pay grade than I would have coming fresh out of school.
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Does BNSF not have their own school? With CSX you get hired then they send you down to Atlanta for 6 weeks at their "REDI" (Railroad Education and Development Institute) and then you go off to your terminal for howevermany weeks of on-the-job training. Was 9 weeks for me, but I heard guys going to Chicago, Montgomery, etc was like 29 weeks.
 
Dameon said:
Is there actually demand for locomotive crews now? I'd have thought with the way the economy is now (and about to head) and all the engines already sitting cold that most engineers would be hard up for work, let alone that companies would be hiring.
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Yes. We're in a period of very high retirements right now. There's a HUGE glut of trainmen at / reaching retirement age.

The only exception to this is coal country... the whole damn world is furloughed up there right now.
 
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