Grafton, WV CSX

Hey guys, last post I made everyone was very helpful.
I spoke with my recruiter today and he told me it would be best to get in where I can at this point, and had mentioned that Grafton would be a good spot. I have an application in and wanted to know a little about the yard.

I did not see it mentioned on the CSX West Virginia page which led me to believe it is not very important or busy, is this true?

Im a young single guy willing to work as much as possible since I know I wont always have this opportunity and want to know if that can happen at Grafton.

So basically, is it busy? And is it Mainly Yard or Road or work?

Even if you don't know much please leave your feedback.

Thanks

I should mention its for a conductor position*

Your recruiter is right that you should just try to get in wherever you can. Once you're in you can transfer to where you'd rather be if there's openings. Just a warning to you though: CSX over-hired conductors the past couple years and they have been furloughing a lot of conductors because of it. I don't want to paint too negative a picture for you because if you're willing to follow the work then you have a shot but it's going to be very difficult to get hired right now.

I've never worked in Grafton but I assume its like most terminals and there's a mixture of road and yard work there. You'll get trained how to do just about all the jobs and routes and when you finish training you'll try to hold whatever job you can, most likely an extra board spot.

Best of luck to you.

gobucks90 wrote: Just a warning to you though: CSX over-hired conductors the past couple years and they have been furloughing a lot of conductors because of it. I don't want to paint too negative a picture for you because if you're willing to follow the work then you have a shot but it's going to be very difficult to get hired right now.

Best of luck to you.

How bad is it ?

I was on CSX's Facebook site and several people were making comments suggesting that the furloughs were around a thousand. However, I have seen positions posted on their main site so there doesn't appear to be a hiring freeze.

gobucks90 wrote:Your recruiter is right that you should just try to get in wherever you can. Once you're in you can transfer to where you'd rather be if there's openings. Just a warning to you though: CSX over-hired conductors the past couple years and they have been furloughing a lot of conductors because of it. I don't want to paint too negative a picture for you because if you're willing to follow the work then you have a shot but it's going to be very difficult to get hired right now.

I've never worked in Grafton but I assume its like most terminals and there's a mixture of road and yard work there. You'll get trained how to do just about all the jobs and routes and when you finish training you'll try to hold whatever job you can, most likely an extra board spot.

Best of luck to you.

Thanks for your response not sure why I did not see it earlier.

He actually ended up telling me he did not think I should take it as all that runs through there is coal and that it is either feast or famine as far as getting work. He suggested being patient and waiting for one of the major places in the south (Jacksonville, Atlanta) to start hiring around the new year hopefully. I am in my early twenties so for me being somewhere I can actually get some long runs and make some money is important to me so I am taking his advice.

Marnos wrote:

gobucks90 wrote: Just a warning to you though: CSX over-hired conductors the past couple years and they have been furloughing a lot of conductors because of it. I don't want to paint too negative a picture for you because if you're willing to follow the work then you have a shot but it's going to be very difficult to get hired right now.

Best of luck to you.

How bad is it ?

I was on CSX's Facebook site and several people were making comments suggesting that the furloughs were around a thousand. However, I have seen positions posted on their main site so there doesn't appear to be a hiring freeze.

What you've been seeing on FB is right, roughly a thousand are furloughed throughout CSX. It depends on the terminal really. The ones that have seen business really slow down and/or CSX over-hired at have it pretty rough right now. The terminals that have it worse have around 30-40 furloughed currently and have been ending training for conductor trainees. Right now CSX is trying to move around the workforce through voluntary permanent transfers and until those are done CSX isn't going to be hiring. Hope that helps.

gobucks90 wrote:

Marnos wrote:

gobucks90 wrote: Just a warning to you though: CSX over-hired conductors the past couple years and they have been furloughing a lot of conductors because of it. I don't want to paint too negative a picture for you because if you're willing to follow the work then you have a shot but it's going to be very difficult to get hired right now.

Best of luck to you.

How bad is it ?

I was on CSX's Facebook site and several people were making comments suggesting that the furloughs were around a thousand. However, I have seen positions posted on their main site so there doesn't appear to be a hiring freeze.

What you've been seeing on FB is right, roughly a thousand are furloughed throughout CSX. It depends on the terminal really. The ones that have seen business really slow down and/or CSX over-hired at have it pretty rough right now. The terminals that have it worse have around 30-40 furloughed currently and have been ending training for conductor trainees. Right now CSX is trying to move around the workforce through voluntary permanent transfers and until those are done CSX isn't going to be hiring. Hope that helps.

Thanks for the response !!

I see whatyou mean. As of today, CSX has announced the closer of two facilities. My thoughts and prayers go out to those who have been impacted by this.