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I work for the Union Pacific Railroad. I can answer most of your questions about todays current engines if you have any. But anything older than sd40's are going to be pretty vague at best for me to give you any information.
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Mar 14, 2011 00:34
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drat, It sucks being tired. I should say I am freight engineer that is a set back to conductor. I will try to answer questions the best I can. Sorry I have been up since 2 am. I will say that I would much rather have an EMD than a GE any day. The ACe's are ugly as sin, but they load much better than a GE ES-44 (evolution series, 4400 hp). Its all about throttle input. The only thing I don't like of the current crop of SD70's are the cabs are very noisy, but now the UP finally ponied up for some of the whisper cabs.
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Mar 14, 2011 01:18
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Geoj posted:I've always wondered - how does one go about becoming an engineer? Do you go to school for it or is it more of a trade that you learn on the job? All OJT my friend. Advice for people who are looking to get a job in the railway industry.... do NOT waste your money on schools. The RR's will want you to run their trains the way they want it done.
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Mar 14, 2011 03:54
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ctishman posted:Heya, I'm headed in for a hiring session for Brakeperson/Switchperson at PD1 at the end of this month. I'm wondering if you might be able to tell me a little bit about the day-to-day life of a complete newbie, so I have a better idea of what I'd be getting into. Possible? Drop me a PM, or reply. Tried to send you one, but I can't Don't have PM yet... I need to do that as well. I am sure other goons would be interested in day to day life, and some really care less. This applies to a Class 1 railroad, so short lines and class 2's are some what different, but similar. Anyways, if you live a life on the Extraboard, you will have no life. It will be consumed by getting called to work every 10 hours to fill in for vacancies around the terminal. The money is freaking amazing but it does get old over time. The goal in life is to get a regular job, and have set hours and know when you go to work. I hope you have a good phone because it will ring.. ALOT. Most of the time you report for duty, get your paper work, and jump on a train take it to the next terminal, and then get off go to the hotel, get your rest, wait for a while then get called and head back home. Rinse, repeat. For more about working for the railroad, visit https://www.yardlimits.com There is a wealth of knowledge there, just please use the search function... Its really irritating when some one asks the same questions over and over and over.
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Mar 16, 2011 14:16
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Here are some rail acronyms from a railroader UP = Unlimited Parking UP= Cant spell stupid with out UP BNSF= Big Now Still hosed CSX= Chicken poo poo Express NS= Norforking poo poo BN= Big Nothing GN= Great Nothing CHTT (Chicago Heights Terminal Transfer) = poo poo! WSOR= We Scare Other Railroads CN= Cartoon Network If I remember anymore I will post them. BrokenKnucklez fucked around with this message at 01:53 on Mar 17, 2011 |
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Mar 17, 2011 01:49
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Geoj posted:So I gather the prevailing opinion within the rail industry is everyone is poo poo...? Its just like cars Ford - Fix or Repair Daily FIAT - Fix it again tony Really though rail roads are a very brutal employer and think monkeys would make better employees than humans. They treat you as a liability rather than well, a human.
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Mar 17, 2011 02:59
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aswert1223 posted:Although I had not considered running the train backward  Per the GCOR (General Consolidated Operating Rules) rule book, you can make a reverse movement at a maximum authorized speed for a freight train is 20MPH, a passenger train has an authorized maximum speed of 30MPH. Trust me, riding a car moving backwards at 20MPH feels like a dare devil move. Also, locomotives can run just as fast forward as they can in reverse.
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Mar 21, 2011 02:40
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, I still choose to think it was a daredevil pilot 
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BonzoESC posted:That forward/reverse is from the perspective of the crew, right? The local commuter rail doesn't turn around at either end, just the engineer moves. Commuter rail generally operates on Push/Pull where the engineer moves to a cab car, set up like a locomotive with the same controls. I am actually talking about riding the side of a box car.
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Mar 21, 2011 04:03
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Advent Horizon posted:What kind of car are you thinking of? Everything I've ever been in has felt just fine both ways. Some you really can't even tell which way is forward other than the label. This. http://i.ytimg.com/vi/OO4vxh6tPi8/0.jpg Theres not much to hang onto. And you are required to ride those dinky ladders. Add in some driving rear end cold rain and being about 35 degrees out, makes for some seriously crappy conditions.
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Mar 21, 2011 14:06
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When I first hired out, I was lucky enough to be on the 3985 to go north to St Paul. By union agreements there has to be a local crew on board to guide the train crew running the steam engine. Its quite the machine with quite a few modern electronics on board.
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Mar 31, 2011 02:31
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This is why N scale rules http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wt0FNtOxM5I My train at a show in Omaha NE. I didn't even put the whole train out with more engines. I usually do about 60ish cars with 3 units. It looks bad rear end with mountain scenery. Also, bonus in cab shot from earlier today. What an awesome day, great weather, good trip home!  I tried the artsy aspect with the black and white, I am still fine tuning my droid's picture taking capability.
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May 5, 2011 04:38
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Rabid Anti-Dentite! posted:I have a question for our fellow Railroad Goons I can help you a little but I am in transportation so I am not perfectly familiar with the agreements plus I work for UP. Agreements though are pretty similar. You will have system wide seniority, AKA western United States. You can be "bumped" from your home terminal, but usually your pretty good. Track guys start around 16-18 bucks an hour, over time after 8 hours. We get paid for the over time worked for the day, not for a 40 hour week. So you can bust rear end and work 12 hours 1 day, make 4 hours over time that day and the next day work 7 hours and get paid for 8. Track work is hard work, but those guys maybe do real work for 4 hours a day because trains need moved, some thing is in the way and what not. To make money you can "bid" into a system gang, travel for the summer and make some dough. Generally this is 8 days on and 7 days off. Its pretty lucrative in the track department, last guy I talked to was a track welder, he made close to 70K last year. Plus the health care is extremely good (my children births will cost me only 50 bucks per kid. yes you just read that correctly), theres plenty to see, and there should be pray the economy holds, plenty of work. The downside to any Railroad job.... Furloughs. I spent 1.5 years on the street, but again transportation takes more of a hit than track guys. I think some guys take the winter furlough option in track too, usually off from Nov-Feb. if you saved your pennies you can have a nice vacation.
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May 5, 2011 21:27
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Here is a word to advice for any one looking at the Railroad. We work slow. We move slow. Every thing is slow. Because... Every thing out here can kill you instantly. An empty freight car weights in around 25-30 tons, a loaded one is around 143 tons, a locomotive is 200 tons, a typical coal train is around 18,000 tons. It doesn't take much to look the wrong way and get smacked by a moving train. Yes, you can work 8 hours and get called back for more. You do get 8 hours rest in between shifts. Rarely do these guys get called back to work. Track work (engineering - what ever makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside) is the bottom rung of the rail road. The next level up is Signal department, mechanical (car repair, locomotive repair, etc) then train crew is considered the highest paying and the least amount of work on the railroad.
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May 6, 2011 00:55
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Rabid Anti-Dentite! posted:Thank you for that advice, now would you recommend going into this industry. Are you glad you did or would you rather work in an office or similar environment? I can't stand being a cube drone dweller. I like what I do, theres days it sucks when its cold and rainy and then theres days that are awesome. This job is not for every one. How ever, if you can follow rules, do your job, and go home safe every night, its the best job in the world. But again, this job is not for every one. If you like dick and fart jokes, this job is perfect. For instance, I like to enjoy going into the yard masters office and dropping a large fart of some kind, then shutting the door and getting the hell out of there as fast as I can. Yes, we play jokes on each other but nothing malicious. It really is a "man" environment, and the few women that do work there are usually pretty cool. I recommend thick skin, don't take anything personal. Again this job is not for every one. I know I am repeating myself on this job is not for every one. But as I tell people, if your making only 12-13 bucks an hour, what do you have to lose in taking the job? Oh I wanted to mention the retirement plan. This is a HUGE reason why I am there besides the health care. The money is a bonus for me. Railroad employees do not pay social security. We pay into Rail Road Retirement, AKA RRB. The formula is 30 years of service and 60 years old to with draw full pension benefits. Or 10 years in and 60 years old to get darn near full benefits. For every year of service you get a 100 bucks per month. Plus your souse receives half of what ever you receive when she is retired. We have 401k's but honestly they are pretty pathetic, invest money on your own. Oh and Rail Road Retirement is fully funded for the next 70 some years, and can NOT be touched. Oh and an added bonus, when you kick the bucket, your wife loses her half and gains your full pension. There has been rumored about of making it 30 & 58.... we will see on that one. Here is what I will be getting (roughly) I will have 36 years of service in when I retire. My check = 3600 bucks Wife's check = 1800 bucks Combined = 5400 Not a bad way to make a living to live out your golden years if you ask me.
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May 6, 2011 01:34
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Really there is no specific age, I have seen them hire 50 year old guys and then turn around and hire a 18 year old. Your pay and benefits are union negotiated, so keep that in mind as well. But don't knock it until you try it. What kind of work do you do?
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May 6, 2011 02:29
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Geoj posted:Is it like some union jobs where you need to know someone on the inside/with connections to get in or is the washout rate so high at the bottom rung that they're basically always hiring? Knowing some one helps but not really. I hired off the streets didn't know a single insider. The railroads have been in hiring mode for quite some time now.... I know there has been a crap load of retirements and theres still guys that linger around, but finally get out of here and retire. Yes we have one guy that is 74 years old and still works a train in his home terminal. He's in the best shape for a 74 year old guy and has about 42 years in. He keeps saying 1 more year, I am not sure if he is broke or just enjoys what he does. Some people can't deal with the life style the railroad, and causes them to quit. Though I think the track department gets weekends off if you work 5 days a week. But plan on working weekends, working some odd hours but at least its normal 7/3/11 shift start times. I know that UP/BNSF guys stay in hotels, the Norfolk Southern guys have to stay in camp cars... AKA trailers on trains. It is what you make of it.
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May 6, 2011 03:24
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You guys use SD40's for switch power? Lucky bastards. We are stuck with crap rear end MP-15's and GP's with a bad cough. Our last GP38-2, UP 715, sounded like a John Deere 2 cylinder. You guys out west have it pretty easy. Mostly full power or full dyno's. Come to Iowa, we have some crappy territory to learn. There are spots where the rear of the train is coming downhill the middle is coming up and hitting a small hog back and your head end is going downhill, coming up to a 20MPH speed restriction. Oh and its mostly a sloppy manifest with a bunch of long cushion draw bar cars. As a conductor, I have replaced enough knuckles right there.
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May 18, 2011 01:53
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Pushing in the hole should be something we are used to as railway labor. Its like getting fingered from management. I am not bitter or cynical what so ever.  We had one of the FXE engines as a leader... every thing was in Spanish, but easy to switch back to English. But as a way to piss off the dispatcher....  FXE 1234, we have a problem north dispatcher North dispatcher, what is your problem? Every thing is in Spanish... ..... (seriously this was a good 3 minute wait) Do you need a translator? I think so, but we might figure it out. Well, I don't know them foreign languages, and I just asked the entire dispatching office and no one here knows how to speak it so your on your own. Oh ok, I guess we will figure it out.My engineer and myself didn't stop laughing about it for a good 3 hours. Oh and the alerter, if you actually hold down the button, most engines will take your air (put the brakes on). So yeah theres no winning with the alerter. The territory B4Ctom1 is talking about is actually CCS (coded cab signals), he can go flying past all "slow down" signals doing 70. My territory has ATC (automatic train control), which makes you slow down when you pass a signal that requires it. BrokenKnucklez fucked around with this message at 00:47 on May 26, 2011 |
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May 26, 2011 00:41
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"Shampoo posted:Rail Use for "flashing blue light"? Yes its called "blue flag protection" Basically it is so no one moves while the specific mechanical force is working on train. During the day its actually a metal sign that says "Safety First". Also out carmen (repairs freight cars) have now implemented a tag that sticks to the throttle on the engine that says "My life is in your hands". I really like these tags because it really does reinforce that some one is depending on you.
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May 26, 2011 15:36
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Guy Axlerod posted:We do something similar where I work, but we call it Lock-Out Tag-Out. We take a padlock, and lock the power switch for the equipment in the off position. There is a tag attached to the lock, and it says "Joe Blow locked this out. Call him at 555-1234" Depends on the territory.... Out in Nebraska, yes. After a while you get to know the people you work with and pass the time pretty easily. I keep a few puzzle books with me, some cross words (shh... we are not supposed to have those out while on duty). I keep a deck of cards in my locker when I work yard jobs (You don't go any where, just stay with in a certain area). Usually a game of Pitch or Cribbage will come out during lunch break.
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May 27, 2011 00:45
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9axle posted:One more week here in Atlanta, then back home for OJT. I have so much stuff crammed in my skull that I really need to start using for it to make any sense. I see signal aspects in my sleep, and walk through grocery stores arguing with myself about the difference between class 1 and 1a air-brake tests. I take it your an NS guy now. Welcome to the club. You will find that Dash-9's are the best for comfort followed by SD40s. Kicking cars is about the only thing fun we get to do here any more though with all the rule changes. In our yard we are limited to kicking 6 cars at a time. For a flat yard though we can usually bust out about 400 cars a night if the remotes work like they are supposed to and the conventional job guys are not complete retards. FYI - I have done the slow roll through a red light when I was really really tired at 4 AM. Cop pulled me over and said do you know why I just pulled you over? I told him I don't understand I just rolled through at restricted speed. He was like wow are you ok? I explained I worked for the railroad, and we can slow roll through red signals with number plates. I double started 3 days in a row (yes I went to work 6 times in 3 days) and needed to get home for some rest. He let me off with a warning and told me to remember which road I am on. Thank god he was cool. Please be careful out here. There are days where you do not know if you just saw yourself walk out the door. Mark off when you need to, there has been to many deaths and serious injuries this past few months, and the money isn't worth it.
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May 30, 2011 17:55
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The last generation of Diesels (pre SD70, AC4400CW) are relatively simple beasts. No seriously, the engine bay is laughable at how few moving parts there are. The most complicated parts are usually the computer control systems and even then, are relatively simple. Pretty sweet for something to have 3000+ horsepower. The GP38-2's and the same era are retarded simple. When I spent some time in Chicago, I poked around the diesel shop while waiting for a train. Just simple moving parts and mostly every thing can be bludgeoned into place. All of AI needs to see one of these shops, it is really great place for gear heads.
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Jun 1, 2011 01:20
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The worst kind of collision http://youtu.be/pTeDAst3KA0 Quick narration.. 0:00 Train has signal to pull into siding (double yellow - approach diverging - means pulling into the next switch) 0:10 Setting air to bring train to a slow to be at the correct speed for the turn out. 0:37 Signal is Red over Green - Means siding is clear, maximum speed through siding. (green arrow in car terms) 0:38 Signal goes Red over Red - OH poo poo 0:42 Look to the left of the head on engine you can see a guy jump
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Jun 2, 2011 21:04
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They are always creating scare tactics with these phones. Sadly they never work. I still work with guys that like to text about where they are at... usually they are on facebook talking away. I usually look at them like they just ran over my dog, wife, my e39, and my mom at the same time and then pooped on every thing they just hit. I tell them to put it away, But hey if they want to get slapped with a huge fine, lose a really good paying job, fine with me!
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Jun 3, 2011 21:32
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Ika posted:I was driving south from tacoma WA a while back, and along the interstate there appeared to be many miles worth of abandened SP doublestacks. Is there any story behind that, it seems pretty wasteful to not sell/reuse those cars. Storage. Nothing is ever really abandoned... just put away for a while
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Jun 4, 2011 02:19
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ijustam posted:Also, why do diesel locomotives only have 8 throttle notches? Why not 10? 16? Why even have notches and not just a back and forth lever between idle and loud? That is a big "it has been this way since diesel locomotives came out and to bad deal" type of situation. Pretty much most stuff thats out here has been done for a 160 years the same way. No one has figured out a better way and so far I think thats the way it will stay. Railroaders do not like change at all.
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Jun 4, 2011 21:08
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Sponge! posted:Wrong! What about the DC units then?
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Jun 4, 2011 21:26
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Arse Porn Cage posted:MOW truck They are Brandt trucks. They are so MOW doesn't have to have a train crew with an engine run around dumping ballast for them. Sucks for us though, eliminates jobs. Anyways, rail cars are not very hard to move around. I have personally got a car to roll into a track by just using a little elbow into it. Steel wheels on steel rails are very easy to roll. Why do you think 12000 HP can move 20,000+ easily? The turbines are long gone. To bad, would have been neat to see those thunder along.
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Jun 7, 2011 01:49
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InterceptorV8 posted:Wait, are they saying that the eye witnesses saw green, but they are all wrong? WRONG! Neon green then brown.
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Jun 8, 2011 21:18
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Here is my set of wonderful units. I have some flooding pictures I will pass along soon.
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Jun 16, 2011 02:15
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Boomerjinks posted:Goddamn, that sounds like such a cool job. What's the job market like in Colorado (NOT Wyoming)for train drivers? What's the process you went through that landed you such a job offer? BNSF is hiring in Denver. Best thing to do is apply online, when you get an invitation, PM me, I will help you every way I can. Do not rule out being in the signal department or car repairer (carman). This is one of the few blue collar jobs out there that makes a nice living. Sure you won't break the bank, but you will make a nice pay check with some great benefits.
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Jun 17, 2011 20:05
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ExplodingSims posted:Speaking of railroad employment opportunities, I'm looking to change jobs, and was wondering if anyone knew if any of the railroads were hiring in the central Florida area. CSX and Norfolk Southern are you big boys down there. I think the FEC is running around there but they had some major furloughs. Advice to every one regarding to rail jobs. Class 1 are the big boys were you make the big bucks. Class 2 railroads are smaller and generally more family friendly. Class 3 and Short lines.... please don't bother, they really are a shamble outfit and your safety is at risk, plus they pay very poorly. Class 2's are starting to pay decently but still low compared to class 1's. The best paying railroad is the Canadian National. 33/hr, over time after 10 hours. So basically its 330 dollars to show up to work. With 12 hours that makes it 429 a day. A couple friends of mine work for them and last year they cleared around 130,000 give or take. But you are working for it, keep that in mind. Oh and the locations are terrible. Who the hell wants to work in north Wisconsin.
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Jun 19, 2011 09:01
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Geoj posted:So do railroads share engines as well as rolling stock? Here in Ohio I've been seeing BNSF units pulling trains on CSX/NS lines, and according to the system map on BNSF's website they don't go any further east than Chicago. Yes, we can and do! The rail road calls it "horse power hours" Basically when one railroad has a shortage of power and another says hey we have some extra engines you can use, but you owe us some power in the future. There is also lease units, which works like a rental car agreement. And usually, if you see a solid block of units it means that its a "run through" train. Basically the railroads agree that its easier to leave the units on a train instead of swapping engines around. The UP/CSX has a train that runs from North Platte Ne, to Selkirk, NY (around Albany) in about 3 days.
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Jul 13, 2011 20:15
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For what its worth, there has been 2 derailments... in the same spot in Denison, IA http://www.ktiv.com/story/15182792/denison-ia-derailment-spills-coal-closes-crossing I work on this line. I don't know what happened exactly, but either way  . For what its worth, this is the double main that connects pretty much the west coast to the east. Before the recession, we would regularly move about 80 some trains a day.... Now its a little slower at roughly 65ish.http://youtu.be/GtDbsBNBlio This will give you just a small peak of how many trains we move.
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Aug 9, 2011 17:17
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InterceptorV8 posted:Why a single freight engine was moving the whole Amtrak train, I dunno, but it was lead engine. I guess that's a railroader's roadside service? Usually if Amtrak has engine issues the GE Genesis can only put out so much power for head end power and traction motors. If you lose a leader, then its pretty much done especially if the others are facing backwards. Easier to just get another leader. Plus freight engines do not need to share power for the coaches so the full amount of horse power is available. Probably an old GP40-2... those things pull like an ox.
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Aug 16, 2011 04:55
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9axle posted:They don't, they are brought in for maintenance and inspection on a rigid schedule. At my terminal, all the power is inspected and minor repairs done daily, and when major stuff is required, they are sent west to a bigger shop. You don't spend millions on a locomotive and not change the oil or check the water. Some of our yard engines are almost 40 years old, and run well. They get used hard every day, 3 shifts and its rare to see one out-of-service. Unless you work in a terminal that is the "red headed" step child.. then you get junk power. Seriously, the old SD40-2's are from the 1970's and they are still working in revenue service. Heck even in my terminal it was pretty usual to see 3 SD40s running regular service. The use has been cut down lately because of fuel consumption. Though for entertainment, we had an engine blow an oil cooling line. That was pretty bad rear end, minus the oil every were. It was a relatively new engine, GE Evolution Series, and it dumped about 60 gallons of oil. Which is the equivalent of loosing a couple of quarts in your engine. Most of the newer road engines contain roughly 450-500 gallons of lubricating oil.
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Sep 5, 2011 06:37
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Rabid Anti-Dentite! posted:dropping in a newly made bridge panel (160 feet long) Where are you guys based out of? Looks like out west, Arizonaish? Anyways, MofW guys are awesome. I have made friends with quite a few of the guys in my terminal. A couple cases of beer goes a long way to fix a run through switch.....
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Sep 7, 2011 16:34
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Rabid Anti-Dentite! posted:I am in the California division, I have been traveling all over lately, Barstow, Redlands, Pico Rivera, Bakersfield, Needles. Kind of taking the tour of California right now lol. Where are you stationed, the TY@E guys I have meant are real cool. We were joking around today about getting some favors in return for fixing bent switch points and what not. I work for a different RR... But based in the Midwest, but I am also currently on tour chasing some money... Yeah there are some really chill people out here... you do get your douche bag or two but mostly every one here is cool as hell. For content GE Dash-9 4 stroke diesel. http://youtu.be/jQOl3Nlj6RI EMD SD-40-2 2 stroke diesel. http://youtu.be/CYxXpTtIl-g The sounds of a 2 stroke just sound way better than 4, which sounds like a big box of marbles. But if any of you can remember the old 2 stroke Detroit diesels, those sounded quite sweet as well... The world needs more 2 stroke engines dammit 
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Sep 28, 2011 20:00
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ijustam posted:I guess time isn't a factor? Fact: Coal is a low priority move. Spipedog: I wanted to tell you these new JEM radios and the new kenwood narrowbands really suck. I still cling to my old Motorola dt2000 like the grim death! Can you fix screens? Mine has bit the weenie and I its a pain to take the battery out to remember what channels the dial sets to.
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Jan 24, 2012 15:39
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spipedong posted:Making me sad about my Motorola. Anyways- Just for any one who cares, Coal is a pretty low priority move. Its mostly the "Piggy Backs" or "Z Trains" that are the hot shots and all trains usually give way to them. Ranked order from highest priority to lowest: 1. Piggy Back 2. Amtrak 3. Standard Inter-modal (just double stacked cars) 4. Mixed Freight (box cars, tank cars, hoppers, you know the mixed up trains) 5. Grain 6. Coal
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Jan 25, 2012 04:48
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