Problems With Colors - Is This a Disqualification?

I am interested in applying for an Assistant Signalman (Construction) position with CSX. I have problems with colors and cannot pass those Ishihara test even though I don't have any problems distinguishing the red/green lights on traffic signals. Am I going to be automatically disqualified for all signal installation positions?

That's a toughie. You knowing the stoplights, is it, perhaps, because, stop lights are always on top (red), caution is always in the middle, and green on the bottom. Are you reading the position rather than the color because the lights are always in the same place? That is not always the case with railroad signals. In some cases, the lights will appear as ONE color on one stand, and another color over or under another. In such a case, you MUST be able to distinquish the COLOR rather than the position of the aspect (light). This makes it critical to be able to tell whether the signal is red, yellow, or green, or a combination of several. It could also mean that having multiple colors very CLOSE to the other (as in some round signals) could be a problem, depending on your color difficulty. I'm not going to say you CAN'T pass the color test, but with the information presented, I would say no. It is VERY important to be able to distinguish colors. Sorry if this is a deal killer for you.

Gadfly

By the way, hope is not ALL lost because there are jobs that do not require qualification on signals or Rules. If you can't pass the Rules (color, etc) exams and physicals, try for one of the shop positions such as machinist, welder, mechanic, or laborer. There was a time when everybody had to be color-qualified, but such is not the case now. All is not lost!

GF

Thanks for the feedback.

As for seeing the colors on the traffic lights, they don't look anything alike. I don't read them by by their position. If that were the case, I wouldn't be able to tell the difference when coming to a low-traffic intersection that has only either a single blinking red light (to signal a stop) or a single blinking yellow light (to signal a yield)...but I have no problem telling which is which. The red brake lights on cars are obviously red too.

Really, the only real issue with traffic lights is the green light. The green light is often both very pale and very bright and comes across as off-white. That being said, it would never be confused with either red or yellow.

As for the Ishihara tests, I can pass them with corrective lenses...just like I have to use corrective lenses to see anything. Take my glasses away, and the world turns into a blurred smear. I'm so near-sighted that I certainly couldn't read anything lower than the big "E" on the letter charts the eye doctor has you read. I don't even bother. Maybe I'll get laser surgery one day.

Anyway...if I get selected and pass the test, I guess I'll take the job. If I can't pass the test...I guess I'll look for something else. I would be lying if I said I wouldn't be disappointed though. I prefer to work outside and be moving around, so most of the trade-related jobs (pipefitter, carman, etc) wouldn't really be what I would be looking for. Also, I'm a very health-conscious person and all the research coming out right not in regards to sleep is screaming that working midnight shifts for any significant period of time (more than 3 months) has serious negative health effects in regards to becoming insulin resistant and developing metabolic syndrome (heart disease, hypertension, diabetes). So while I don't care about being on-call...I have serious reservations about working 10+ years on a midnight shift because that just happens to be the way it's always been done.

(One a side note: You just wait and see. I predict that about the time I retire it will be all over the news that companies are going to be getting sued just like they did about the asbestos thing because the research is out now on this and everyone in a position of power who should know DOES know that working for years at night is setting people up for heart attacks, strokes, and diabetes and nobody is doing anything about it because they don't want to face the reality of changing the entire world so that the 3rd shift is eliminated for everyone except for 1st responders and emergency room staff. They've even developed a term for some of the negative effects: Shift Work Disorder...and of course they've even developed a drug for it called NUVIGIL....the side effects of which should steer anyone away from ever taking it)

Anyway...if I don't pass the test, I'll probably look to work as a track laborer...but the pay difference is almost 25%....and that's before overtime is factored in. It also doesn't seem like the type of job that is mentally challenging....and as someone with two degrees, I have a bad feeling about long-term job satisfaction on that career path. Working in signals, though, seems to have all of the things I'm looking for. Work outside, blend of manual work which physically stimulates the body and promotes long-term health and electrical-type work which is mentally challenging, a fair amount of overtime, and great pay. Here's to hoping for the best.

As signal maintainer could you reliably tell colors on multi conductor cables and be 100 % sure your right, no one wants to find out afterwards a signal system is mis-wired.

(One a side note: You just wait and see. I predict that about the time I retire it will be all over the news that companies are going to be getting sued just like they did about the asbestos thing because the research is out now on this and everyone in a position of power who should know DOES know that working for years at night is setting people up for heart attacks, strokes, and diabetes and nobody is doing anything about it because they don't want to face the reality of changing the entire world so that the 3rd shift is eliminated for everyone except for 1st responders and emergency room staff. They've even developed a term for some of the negative effects: Shift Work Disorder...and of course they've even developed a drug for it called NUVIGIL....the side effects of which should steer anyone away from ever taking it)

Ummm....ok?

I'd rather work nights than first shift. That morning crap is for the birds.

But seriously, if you don't want to work nights, I'd suggest another field. Even signal guys and track laborers have to work nights at times, too...

I'm not opposed to working nights. I've worked night shift jobs plenty of time in the past. It makes sense that everyone has to work odd hours at times. Doesn't matter the profession. What I'm trying to steer clear of is working in a position where one can plan on working the night shift continuously......for years.

BrianMI wrote:I'm not opposed to working nights. I've worked night shift jobs plenty of time in the past. It makes sense that everyone has to work odd hours at times. Doesn't matter the profession. What I'm trying to steer clear of is working in a position where one can plan on working the night shift continuously......for years.

You'd probably have to do that until you gained enough seniority for a first trick/day shift.

That's what I'm saying. Indoor skilled trades positions like carman, boilermaker, pipefitter, etc seem to have that type of situation going on. Not so with other areas of work.

My friend works as part of a track laborer team. He's been there 5 years and is now a foreman but will bid into different jobs (like machine operator) when they goes out with a team. The track maintainence/installation teams do not typically work during the night from what he tells me. Sure, there are times when he's called in at night to take care of something that needs to be fixed N-O-W....like a few weeks ago when there was a derailment in the evening at his home yard....but this is the exception to the rule. Same goes for signal construction crews. Work is primarily completed during the daylight hours. There is no "third shift" for people with lower seniority to get pigeon-holed into. The signal maintainers are often called in the middle of the night to fix stuff...but both track laborer and signal construction positions seem to be daylight hour jobs right out of the gate.

Of course...I could be wrong about this. It also might be the case that different companies or even different regions within the same company differ on how this type of thing plays out.

The only time I ever called out track people, as a maintainer, was when I had trouble and a track condition was the cause of it. Broke rail or bad insulated joint, stuff along those lines.

Freddy wrote:The only time I ever called out track people, as a maintainer, was when I had trouble and a track condition was the cause of it. Broke rail or bad insulated joint, stuff along those lines.

Even with broken rails ect...it's usually daylight before they got to do repairs. I spent many hours on trains as a locomotive engineer sitting waiting on track repairs. MOW usually assigns in rotation people who will be on call for weekends ect...for emergencies.

Would you be able to distinguish this signal?

jr145 wrote:Would you be able to distinguish this signal?

It looks green to me. Gotta be green.

BrianMI wrote:

jr145 wrote:Would you be able to distinguish this signal?

It looks green to me. Gotta be green.

No matter. If they use Ishahari, and you have already said you cannot pass it, then you are done. However, there are a *few* jobs on the railroad that don't deal with colors that I *think* you could qualify for. It used to be you had to pass a extensive physical that applied to ALL employees. You couldn't even wear glasses, or even hint you had glasses (the requirement was 20/20 or BETTER!). The railroads required the "cream of the crop" with physical standards that equaled anything the military had! Then along came the "Americans with Disabilities Act", and they had to tone it down a bit. However, there are *some* standards that are set in stone still, and the Operating Department is not going to risk an employee that runs a board because he mis-read a signal. They say, on the railroad, "Rules are written in someone's blood", and to a large extent, I agree that such risks cannot be taken to accomodate one individual's wishes.
Whatever happens, I wish you luck, and I say that there are some jobs on the railroad that don't require visual/color accuracy. The Operating/Signals Department is just not one of them.

GF

Well...here's some good news. Apparently I was wrong about not being able to pass the Ishihara test. I went to the eye doctor yesterday and was able to pass it. So that's good.

My last color vision screening was when I took my entrance physical for the Marine Corps. They said that I didn't pass the test then and then they gave me an alternative "lantern test" where they black out the room and have a little machine that shines red, green, and white dots at you. I passed that one.

After doing a little bit of googling, it seems that the Ishihara books can start to wreck up over time. This applies double if you have a lot of people actually touching the paper with their fingers or if the optometrist leaves the things exposed to the light a lot. It might happen that part of the number 4 may fade and give the impression of being a 1 instead. If you read the number as 21 instead of 24 then you get a strike against you. If this happens more than twice then you fail.

So hopefully, this won't be an issue.