Busy terminals

I have my mind set on working for the railroad, I have been like that for awhile now. I'm almost done with school and I eventually want to become a passenger engineer, but for now I want to hire out as a freight conductor for the experience obviously. I know what the job entails, you guys have already answered some of my questions. I'm based in the north east right now but I want to move down south and get hired with NS or even CSX.

I know furloughs are common and expected, and I know the extraboard can be hell, but what are some of the busier freight terminals to work out of on the east coast? That's a big factor for me. Thanks

Its hard to say which terminals are busy. The more traffic they deal with the more they hire. The less traffic they have the less they hire. That being said I am with CSX in Greenwood, SC. We are pretty busy here but they hired too many people in anticipation of retirements. I spent 2 months on furlough before I started working regularly, and will probably get furloughed during the winter for a few years. The terminal I have heard was a good place to go was Manchester, GA. They have a ton of work, they go on the road to like 4 different terminals. It is the best place for young guys with no seniority because they come down, work, make money, make engineer, get some seniority, and 10 years down the road once they have the seniority to stand for decent work at the terminal they came from they go back. Their roster moves up fast. Your best bet is watch the applications and see how many they are hiring. If its less than 10 people I would ask some serious questions about that terminal. If its more than 10 they probably are either short on people or have a lot of retirements coming around the corner. Every terminal is busy, just depends on if you have the seniority to work or not.

Just a suggestion. Don't limit yourself to one geographic area. Consider another region of the country entirely.

BNSF is hiring like crazy up here in Minot, ND.

Layoffs and furloughs? Not up here. They've got mercenaries from other areas working here because they're so short of crews. The class I'm in has 15 students in it but when we complete our training and mark up next week (6-27-14), it won't matter. They (the Grand Poobahs in charge) are sending 12 conductors to the engine program.

You want to be an engineer? You can very likely get it within 1 year of hiring on if you moved up here.

Thanks for the advice guys, I'll definitely look into the North western area of the US too.

Look at the seniority district as a whole. If your terminal is dependent on one source, then if that industry is in a slump, you will get cut. If the district is large, you can bump into a place which may be busy. BNSF has two seniorities. When I was there, I was on ex CB&Q, but could bump C&S, Frisco, and Santa Fe terminals.

Again, don't tie yourself down too much. Live simply, until you grow some whiskers. This way you can pick up and move if need be. I had to do that. I first hired out, but soon they closed a yard, and scabbed out some branch lines. This forced me to move. My new terminal gave me many more options, it was cheaper to live, and I ran around guys in the old terminal by being able to get in engineer school sooner.

Just ask what your seniority covers.

I pretty much chased business within my seniority district most of my carreer. I moved to other locations a few times only gave up seniority once it didn't matter at that point starting over having only been with the railroad a little over 3 years. It was a smart move. In a perfect setting it would be nice to hire on to a location with plenty of secure work but the railroad is captive to the shippers needs.