A day in the life of a freight conductor?

Ho all! This is my first post on the forum and I was led here in my search for knowledge about the industry. What I'm wanting to know is: what is a day in life of a (newb) freight conductor? I applied for a job last week as a conductor with CSX in PA. The posting was supposed to expire last Monday but was extended out to 11:59pm today; which tells me they didn't get as big an applicant pool as they were hoping for; which could be good news for me.

Now I've read up on the job description and lurked in this and other forums about the job. I understand the 24/7/365 on call and the six weeks training; but what I can't seem to find much of is: what's it really like day to day? Other than a few promotional videos made by the railroads themselves I can't find much; and even those don't have much in the way of substance.

Now I'm NOT looking for the "scare the newb" comments. Seen enough of the "they work ya 127 hours straight and ya get to your car and they call ya back" or "I been on the railroad so much my wife left me cause I was never home and my dog starved to death cause I was never home to feed it neither!" I know almost nothing about the railroad but I know more than a thing or two about being "married" to your job. I'm a funeral director you see.

My fam owns a small family funeral home that I have pretty much been responsible for running for the last 5 years. That means having a cell with you at all times (in the shower, at the Christmas dinner table, during marital... well you get the picture). I have missed plenty of holiday meals and worked many nights. Some nights its been as simple as answering the phone and making another call or two to get things handled. Other nights its been me getting up and dressing in a tie and going to a family's home to do a removal; then go into the normal workday of 10-5 (usually staying till 8) and then having a few 14-16 hour days until things quiet down. Once I went 55 days without a day off. That sucked. The reason I'm looking for other employment is the family business is selling and the probable buyer has pretty much said he won't be able to keep me working there. That's fine; I've had my fill of that industry. Too much liability, unpredictability, and things I can't unsee. So why the railroad? Well my grandad retired as a yardmaster for Chessie and my Uncle retired from CSX in some kind of office position. After all these years in coat and tie I'm ready and eager to do what my wife calls "man's work." My Uncle seems to thing with me resume i would be a "very attractive candidate." Hope so.

So what's it really like; and from what I said about me; what do you think it might be like for me? Think I could adapt? I have no delusions about how fun it must be to work on the choo-choo's and all. I understand its a big deal and I am looking to make this a new career. I have a wife and a son to take care of. I don't want to be away from them but if the money is there; I'm willing to do what I have to.

It sounds like you have already had to put up with a lot of the features of train crew service. I have to admit, I could not do what you are doing now. The part I think I wouldn't be able to take would be working with grieving families every week. That would get to me pretty quick.

Anyway, to help answer your question. You would either be assigned to pool service, extra board, or a regular assignment with fixed start times. You probably would need some considerable seniority to hold the latter.

Pool service or extra board crews are usually called on 1 1/2 notice. You are required to be rested when called. This is pretty difficult when some days you don't get called at all. Pool crews are usually called to forward trains on arrival. Extra Board crews provide fill-in people when a regularly assigned person has a day off, or when traffic levels are high.

The actual procedure at work depends on the size of the railroad and how many support people they have. All money on a railroad is made by the Transportation Department. The other departments exist to support the Transportation Department.

As a conductor, you will be responsible for the operation of the train as a whole, and share responsibility for the safety of the train with the engineer. You carry more responsibility than the engineer, although you won't be paid as much. You may also have one or two brakemen you will supervise to help you.

When you show up for work, you will get a job briefing from your supervisor, if there is one on duty. You will hold a job briefing with the crew before starting, and before doing any major change in evolution. There will also be a safety meeting before beginning.

There will orders for your train, containing directives giving permission to occupy the main line and also track bulletins from the Engineering Dept.
These need to be read and understood, and repeated back to the Dispatcher.

There will also be a list of work to be done, along with any pertinent documents. You will need to have documentation for hazmat cars and materials, and you must know at all times where they are located in your train. You will need to make a list of your train and plan your switching moves. You also have to maintain the proper type of cover cars for any hazmat cars.

You will be the bookkeeper for your train while on the road. You will also be responsible for making sure all crew members are in a fit shape to work.
While riding with the engineer on signaled track, you will be required to call signals back and forth with the engineer.

You will also be responsible for making air tests and inspecting the cars. Your brakeman can help you with that. You will also be responsible for making sure equipment is secured while doing work enroute. You will need to know the distribution of cars in your train, the length of the train, and its weight.

When you arrive at your destination, you will be responsible for proper yarding of the train, and for paperwork, including how all time was spent.

A lot of this job is taking on responsibility. You will be responsible (along with the engineer) for several lives and often many millions of dollars worth of equipment and cargo.

God luck.

Les

Everything Desertdweller said is correct. But there is more still to it all.

The job also depends on WHERE in the country you work, as well as for which railroad. Not all railroads are run the same, and as I found out a few months ago, not all railroads adhere to the same rulebook.

Even among a single railroad, for example BNSF, things are run differently if you work in Arizona versus up here in North Dakota. And to add further confusion, it differs from Division to Division up here. Minot West is in the Montana Division. Minot East is in the Twin Cities Division. 2 different contracts, pay scales, and a host of other differences.

You wouldn't need to know all the differences but many of the conductors and engineers up here, collectively, do know them.

Here in Minot the BNSF has hired so many people that we have guys in my class that completed training on June 27th, 2014 that were able to mark up and hold positions in the yard. There are still yard positions open too.

After several months, I've finally managed to get and hold a position on the Conductors Extra Board. It's almost a guarantee that when one marks up to this board, it's quite easy to make lots of coin. Me? I've managed twice in the past 3 pay periods (halves) to gross over $5K in a single pay period. Pay periods up here run from the 1st to the 15th, and the 16th to the 30th or 31st.

As for operating a train, I never tell the engineer how to do it. For one, I don't know bupkis about it. That is HIS job. All I generally want to know is does he have it under control and can he stop at the signal that indicates STOP? Obviously, that's not all a conductor worries about. We have slow orders (Form A's) that advise us of speed restrictions. The engineer knows where these are just as much as I do, but we still communicate it back and forth so that we both know that are on the same page.

We also have work gangs on or around the tracks. These are indicated by Form B's and it is the conductors responsibility to contact the foreman for that gang and get a clearance and instructions to pass through the limits. If the clearance is NOT obtained by the time the train reaches the beginning of the limit, the engineer must have the train stopped prior to entering the limit.

There is much much more to operating a train that just sitting up there watching the landscape go by.

But it's worth it.

Wow gents thanks for the info! Desertdweller, I have a lot of research to do to understand what you just said. Lol. NO Experience with the lingo. But that's great; I want to learn. I would be working for CSX out of New Castle PA on the New Castle subdivision. Seems like a pretty steady and busy line for these parts. On one foamer site I found some info saying its not unusual for 39 cars to go out from there a day. Seems lime a lot to me. They are hiring 10 positions. The job posting says average first year pay is a about 45k a year. Any further thoughts?

Just be prepared for the unpredictable. When you are new, you have ZERO seniority and chances are that you will get bumped off of jobs by others with more seniority than you. That's the nature of the job and it's nothing personal. Don't expect to work out of the place you hired for right away. Most RR's ( I can't speak for CSX) work on a hub system. So you may hire for New Castle, PA but you may not work there for a long time if you lack the seniority to hold a job there. Instead you may work somewhere else in PA or even bounce around from place to place to find work within your particular hub. That's how it is.

Be very careful about holding the Extra Board. Yes the money is great, you'll be making somewhere close to $100K just to sit by your phone and wait for that call. But the trick is, you are made available to work many different jobs in a certain area. You must be knowledgeable of these jobs and the territories on which they run. A lot of new guys get fired because they make mistakes due to lack of experience in certain areas that they are required to work while on the extra board. They chase the money and end up in a situation that they weren't prepared to handle and mistakes are made. I'm not saying that happens a lot or that it would happen to you but just keep that in mind. Most Extra Boards aren't just easy money, you WILL be working your ass off on a lot of them. Also, while on the extra board, you may get called to work a job that's 50+ miles away. Be aware of that.

Follow the rules, be safe, don't get into a hurry, get along with the guys you work with, ask questions, and have fun. It's a great job.

13ronin,

Whether 39 cars are a lot depends on the context. If on a local train with 25 or 30 industries to serve, that would be a lot. Remember that many industries require getting more than one car at a time. How many places you have to switch is more important than how many cars. Some places have to receive cars in a certain order. Others may have cars to spot or pull in places among other cars that do not get pulled. You may find places where cars have to be moved from one track to another. You will need to keep track of all that, as the railroad can charge for each move. You will also need to show how the cars are arranged when you leave.

On the other hand, you may be responsible for a train with 100 cars or more. You might work a unit train where all cars just go to the same place, or operate as overhead traffic where the whole thing is handed off to another crew.

45K for the first year sounds realistic. You have to figure pay differential (you will be paid a percentage of normal full rate), and the fact that you may not be able to work steadily because of lack of seniority. Both will improve with time.

Les

I took 39 cars as a misprint. lol. 39 trains would be a some what busy terminal. Not familiar with New Castle, Pa.

Check out the new castle yard on Google maps. Just type in CSX New Castle PA and it will take you to it. The subdivision runs starts at New Castle on the east end and runs west into Ohio to (I believe) Akron, Cincinnati, and to Cleveland areas where it changes hands to another yard which runs toward St Louis and Chicago areas.

Did someone really just say a Conductor has more responsibility than an Engineer? They really dole out that kool aid by the gallons in training don't they. There is a joint responsibility, but let's be real here.

Yes. It is true.

The Engineer and the Conductor share joint responsibility for the safety of the train. The Engineer is responsible for the safe and proper operation of the locomotive(s). The Conductor is responsible for, in addition to train safety, the proper care and delivery of all cars in the train, and proper make-up of the train, and for maintaining records of both. That is quite a lot more things to be responsible for.

I have worked both positions (mainly engineer), but enough of both to know this is true.

Les

PS: Lay off the Kool-Aide jokes. It is a Nebraska invention and product, and we are rather proud of it.

Oh yes, a monumental amount of responsibility levels above that of the Engineer. Do you listen to yourself? Comparing a position which involves just sitting there, asleep or conscious, and once in a while performing a redundant task, to one which is the brain of the operation, making the whole thing move. Besides, those additional responsibilities you mentioned the Engineer is responsible for as well, especially if a rules violation is involved. Anything the Conductor does, the Engineer can, but not the other way around. Why do you think way back in the day the Conductor was tasked with all the extra odds and ends? Because the Engineer was too busy setting up his engine. Lay off the Kool Aid.

EM2000,

Reading your reply, I get the distinct impression that you do not know what you are talking about.
Have you ever held either position? If so, for how long?
If your impression of the job of a conductor is someone who sits in the left-hand seat and sleeps, I don't suppose that would have worked out very well.

You should not come here to denigrate the work of railroaders. Maybe you should actually try it first.

I also think you are full of something besides Kool-Aide.

Les

Funny, I was thinking the same of you. I am an Engineer, also a Conductor by default. I don't have a lot of time, but I'm not new either, so please spare me the bravado BS of the Conductor position. We all know the deal in reality.

Hey now ... my thread, my rules. No flame wars. Come on. Any one know anything about the CSX New Castle subdivision? Don't make me mad over my bowl of cereal...

Along similar line, how long does it usually take for all this to unfold? I applied the very end of August for the slot and the application period closed on the 2nd. Here it is the 12th and my application still says "application pending review." I'm checking the status like 5 times a day and jumping for my phone every time I get an email notification. But alas, no word either way. I can understand why it takes so long to go through this process between the number of applications they receive and the style of the interview process; but what has been your all's experience? How long did it take for you to get called to an interview?