NS Track Supervisor

Could any experienced railroaders tell me more about the Track Supervisor's role at NS. What they do, how many miles of track they cover, do they generally have to work at night, do they have a NS truck, etc. Does track work ever get boring and rhythmic? How is the pay? Thanks for the information.

I'll say this, one of my best friends was the roadmaster/track supervisor for CSX in Jacksonville Fl. The last time I saw him he was the production supervisor for a tie gang that was working thru my territory. We had a few talks about new and old times and I ask him why he left the job. He told me that in the 4 years he worked it there was only one night, in all those years that his phone didn't ring. In answer to your question the roadmaster on my territory was based in Talladega Al. His territory stretched from just outside Birmingham Al. to La Grange Ga. He has his own hy-rail truck. Every time I got called on a track light there was a 75 percent chance he'd be out there also, especially during cold nights, because it sometimes turned out to be a broke rail. Boring? Not really. There's different types of work going on in different places every day. If you do a Google search for Railroad track supervisor it'll explain it all better than I can, but generally a track supervisor is responsible for anything having to do with the track. Inspection,record keeping,budget and project planning,Federal compliance with rules and standards etc.etc. Basically if it's track then the buck stops with him first.

Freddy,

I don't think there ARE any "easy" jobs on the railroad! So much of it requires lots of time away from home, you're never far from a phone call. COEN77 has said (as you and all of us railroaders know) its not a "job", but a lifestyle. If someone is looking for a 9-5 job with weekends off like a banker, railroading isn't likely it. Oh.....you might get a excepted job at some HQ or Division point---accounting, assets management, or something like that---but dirty fingernails-types like me, yer gonna spend a lot of time in the rain, the cold, on dark spooky nights in some yard or stretch of track where there might be bears or SNAKES.

We know that railroading is like no other work one can do and people see it as 'romantic" and wonderful---the brave Casey Jones at the throttle. it has, after all, been so romanticized in books and stories, folks get this picture of trains that only move from 9-5, and weekends with family just like THEY are accustomed to.

OH! I forgot to mention that there ARE a very few agreement jobs that have a regular shift: the shops. These have regular shifts (usually). Some only have one or two shifts; others, three. Track Supervisor is one of those that is, well.........."Saint Peter doncha call me 'cuz I 'cain't' go..........I owe my soul to the (fill in the blank) railroad." LOL!