A day in the life of a conductor?

Ok so I just received the awaited e-mail to start the physicals and background checks. I know this is still the early stages but the closer it gets and the more information I provide the more questions the wife is starting to ask. I have posted before that being a former Police officer I know of shift work and long hours but I would like to know if anyone can help me out with what it is like to be a conductor. I know starting off I will be working nights/weekends/holidays and have no problem with that but would like to find out information on the following. How many overnights can you expect to do during a work week? What do the hours usually consist of? Thanks again for any information you can give me and if you want to PM me to give me more info then great. The more info I get the easier it is on the wife. Thanks again for everyone help.

Hard question to answer. Very few jobs if any on the road have regular calling times. Those that do it takes seniority to hold. It's being on call 24/7/365. The bigger question is how long will someone be at home in between runs under FRA manditory rest it's a minimum of 10 hours. Everything depends on location and business. Working an extra board one could get out on their rest frequently. On CSX it seems people are spending more time in lodging than at home.

jphill wrote:Ok so I just received the awaited e-mail to start the physicals and background checks. I know this is still the early stages but the closer it gets and the more information I provide the more questions the wife is starting to ask. I have posted before that being a former Police officer I know of shift work and long hours but I would like to know if anyone can help me out with what it is like to be a conductor. I know starting off I will be working nights/weekends/holidays and have no problem with that but would like to find out information on the following. How many overnights can you expect to do during a work week? What do the hours usually consist of? Thanks again for any information you can give me and if you want to PM me to give me more info then great. The more info I get the easier it is on the wife. Thanks again for everyone help.

Are we talking psgr or freight?

I agree with COEN 77. It's not really "shift" work. It can be really erratic., I don't know about "call times" anymore or if they still go by that: it would be hard to do it depending on business, how long it takes to build a train in the yard, and when the train itself is called to go. People who are expecting a "shift" are going to be surprised (disappointed?) because they "ain't n'arn"! A train can be called at anytime, and YOU can be called at anytime (within 2 hours) to protect the job off the Extra Board. Railroad work and its "culture" is like nothing you ever did before! You'll either love it or hate it, or fall somewhere inbetween with a love for the work and a hatred of the Alpha Hotels bosses. It ain't the work that's so bad: its the militaristic, parternalistic treatment of employees that sucks!

GF

AEM - Sorry should have been more specific but it is for freight.

Thanks everyone for the post. My big question is how many overnights should I expect being new? Is every trip an overnight and if so how many days does it usually consist of.

Before I hired out, I had done the shift work thing all my life. I worked jobs where I was sometimes on the clock for 20 hours. And I have worked extremely physically demanding jobs. However none of my previous jobs demanded so much dedication as the railroad. During the hiring process, you are told you will be on call 24/7/365, but you have no idea what it is like until you actually start doing it. Every trip I have made on the road has been overnight, and I have missed many precious moments with my young children. Dont get me wrong, being a conductor brings great pay, and great benefits. However it comes with a tradeoff, and that is your quality of life. If you have a family think it over really hard before accepting that final offer.

jphill wrote:My big question is how many overnights should I expect being new? Is every trip an overnight and if so how many days does it usually consist of.

There is no answer once you get called it's anyones guess. I've had round trips that were 10 hrs (rare) these were usually when you taxi home on a deadhead to trips that were over 72+ hrs and everything in between. Once a person walks out the door no telling when they'll be home. To many variables to consider the milage of the run, crews already in lodging waiting their turn, there could be a broken rail or derailment that could add time in lodging ect...A person if their on a short milage run could end up working 12-15 trains every two weeks. Longer milage less trips but hours are longer and time away from home is longer. To work on the railroad one must forget about a normal life. Going to a childs school play, family events, socializing with friends, church ect...forget about it. It takes that kind of dedication on the railroad if a person doesn't have it they'll never survive. It's not a job it's a lifestyle.

jphill wrote:
Thanks everyone for the post. My big question is how many overnights should I expect being new? Is every trip an overnight and if so how many days does it usually consist of.

If you are on the road, you will average 3 round trips/week. In the yard, you go home every day/night upon completion of your shift.

Lots of great info from the board and I think I have most of the answers I need. So I am guessing when you get the call to work you have two hours to get there but not sure how long the trip could be untill you get to the yard? And you could have anything from a couple hour trip to an overnighter or longer? Am I getting the gist of this.

jphill wrote:Lots of great info from the board and I think I have most of the answers I need. So I am guessing when you get the call to work you have two hours to get there but not sure how long the trip could be untill you get to the yard? And you could have anything from a couple hour trip to an overnighter or longer? Am I getting the gist of this.

Yes. Two hours. I doubt you would have ONLY a two hour trip unless the train got annulled for some reason before departure. They don't CARE how far you must drive to get to the yard; you just protect the assignment by the time indicated or be considered "out of place" or "did not protect" at which time you would get taken out of service (fired) Trips depend on the length of the Division and the time of day. If called early AM it is possible you could run a trip north and catch another run back south, for example, the same day. OR you could run north (or whatever direction) and lay over and go back the next day. OR catch some local run that would put you back in the outlying terminal that evening, laying over again the next day. All subject to the "hog law". These are simply examples.

The railroad is NOT a "regular" job. Each assignment is different, each job has its own requirements. No one can TELL you what it will be like, except generally. The newbie is looking for (hoping for?) reenforcement of his existing lifestyle and jobs he is used to in the non-railroad life. IF you EVER get a regular assignment, you will be darn lucky, and it will take YEARS for it to happen. IF it DOES happen, consider yourself extremely fortunate and thank your lucky stars!!! Expect the worst and be thankful for the best.

Being a railroader requires a commitment that many people cannot do. If you really think this is for you, go for it. IF not, go into some other kind of work; you won't last otherwise. It is not for the faint of heart or the "9 to 5 type".

Thanks Gadfly, that is what I was looking for. A straight forward answer or as close as you can give from your experiences. I have read so much as to how bad working for the railroad is but yet there are so many people employed with them.I am not sure if it is people that are stuck with how it used to be or just people getting into something that they did know how it would be but stay for the money they make. I am heading to the REDI on July 3rd and am looking forward to a long lasting job with the railroad.

A day in the life of a conductor:
Setting the scene - You've been awake for 14 hours awaiting a phone call, first out on the extra board.

- Phone call at 1130pm - be at work at 1am to take a road switcher as far as you can before going dead and cab to the hotel.
- Depending on how far you live from work, maybe squeeze in a nap... doubtful
- Pack overnight bag, maybe food (if you're single, that probability of packing food seriously decreases)
- If without food, grab coffee and some sort of unhealthy eating at a local gas station or if you have time drop into an all night restaurant
- Arrive at work, work 12 hours, wait an hour and a half for the Renzenberger (cab) driver to find you, get into the hotel after being awake for 28 hours
- Maybe try to grab something to eat, usually you can stay awake long enough for your belly to begin to fill up before you start falling asleep in your breakfast
- Sleep 10 or so hours, wake up no phone call. You're second to be called for a road train heading back home. Famous crew caller phrase "It's [the train] almost here".
- Stay up for 7 hours during the night waiting. Now that your sleep schedule is nice and skewed you get called at 5am for 7am

-REPEAT^


Now thats a little bit harsh - but not at all rare.

Then there's:

You're at home, and just slept 8-9-12 hours. Phone rings. You are being "deadheaded for rest". That means you show up at your terminal in 2 hours, then get in a van to be driven to a hotel *to go to bed*. So you've been up 3-4 hours, and now you have to force yourself to catch any sleep you can, since your butt will be on a train in 10 hours. And the more tired you are, the longer you will be on duty.

jphill wrote:Thanks Gadfly, that is what I was looking for. A straight forward answer or as close as you can give from your experiences. I have read so much as to how bad working for the railroad is but yet there are so many people employed with them.I am not sure if it is people that are stuck with how it used to be or just people getting into something that they did know how it would be but stay for the money they make. I am heading to the REDI on July 3rd and am looking forward to a long lasting job with the railroad.

Well, try not to pass too much judgement on other railroaders until you get a little time out here. Your opinion will change. All of our opinions have changed. Many quit, some stick with it. Kind of like an addiction, I guess.

gp80mac wrote:Then there's:

You're at home, and just slept 8-9-12 hours. Phone rings. You are being "deadheaded for rest". That means you show up at your terminal in 2 hours, then get in a van to be driven to a hotel *to go to bed*. So you've been up 3-4 hours, and now you have to force yourself to catch any sleep you can, since your butt will be on a train in 10 hours. And the more tired you are, the longer you will be on duty.

That's my favorite one. Especially when you get to the lodging and there are 4 crews already in it with only one rested. Wait your turn. I've had it where we deadheaded up to get rest spent 24+ hours then they deadheaded us back because now there wasn't any crews at the home terminal. Of course by the time we got back there was 5 crews back in terminal none rested so they ended up calling make up pools off the extra board.