NEW CONDUCTOR, IS CSX ATLANTA A BUSY TERMINAL???

My offer says Atlanta - Perimeter Circle. I tried to find info on it, Mission unsuccessful. I want to know details about , the extra board and yard work there . I will be a new Conductor. I also would like to know what a day is like there, the condoctor job seems so top secret.I Also want to know is there a lot of money to be made there as a new condoctor. Thank You so much guys!

Atlanta is a 'high velocity' terminal - you will work until you don't want to work, and then you will get called again!

mmi16 wrote:Atlanta is a 'high velocity' terminal - you will work until you don't want to work, and then you will get called again!

Thanks, Do you have any details, as far as pay goes. Like can I make 60k my first year?

Spent 10 years there. You will probably get furloughed. There's so much seniority there and little chance to move up as engineer. If I had stayed there, I would prob be in the top 33%, and thats taking into consideration I made engineer there back in '98. Too many young folks so if you get on, be prepared to stay at the bottom a long time.

Well you worked there along time ago, guys that have been working there since 98 and beyond, are not far off from retiring, and there say 2015 outlook is so great , furlough may not happen. That's why they hired so many people. I'm just go off of what I have heard.

Qmoney1986 wrote:Well you worked there along time ago, guys that have been working there since 98 and beyond, are not far off from retiring, and there say 2015 outlook is so great , furlough may not happen. That's why they hired so many people. I'm just go off of what I have heard.

It's at least 30 years service and 60 years old for retirement. It takes a minimum of 360 months paying into Railroad Retirement System. Anyone who has been furloughed falls behind on credit months towards retirement. I'd say the average railroader puts in around 36 years before retiring.

Bigger terminals have their advantages & disadvantages. When business is booming lots of work. When it slows down it could take 3-5 years seniority to work year round if part of the business is seasonal. I started out in a big terminal in the '70s. From March to December it was non-stop work during the winter it slowed down. Still made a decent living just had to put some money aside for when I got furloughed for 3-4 months. The advice is don't make any big purchases for at least 3-5 years. Make sure you can hold a job year round. You'll be hiring out of one place but you'll hold seniority elsewhere under a consolidated seniority roster. You'll learn that on the job.

Qmoney1986 wrote:That's why they hired so many people. I'm just go off of what I have heard.

That's not true at all. That's what you should worry about. BIg hire boom, furlough because they have too many people, very few guys come back when business picks up causing a big hiring boom, which leads to a furlough, which leads to....so on so forth. Do you see the pattern? It's how the railroad works. The only expect about 25% of new hires to actually stay. Happened to my boom class in 2010 and 2011, and the boom in 07 and 08 before us.

Not trying to worry you too much, but don't drink the Koolaid. They have been hiring like crazy for over a year now. If you get furloughed, move to a diferent terminal or come back when they call.

Very interesting, I guess I wouldn't mind getting furloughed as long as I am making good money and I can save . It's almost like vacation time, being that when you are working, you have no time for yourself or others. They have me my weekly pay. Do we get paid weekly or bi weekly?

Pay is bi-weekly. You have the right idea, while marked up your time belongs to the railroad it's not your own anymore. It can get hectic. Go home get the allotted rest and then the phone starts ringing off the wall with the railroad looking for someone to fill a job. The first 6 months after retiring I keep checking my phones thinking they weren't working seeing it wasn't ringing all the time. lol

Since we're on the topic of CSX terminals, how busy is the terminal in Cleveland (Collinwood)? The manager at the hiring session told me he hasn't had to furlough anyone in years and that business right now is really busy because it's the busiest route on the CSX system. Was that all crap they tell the new hires or is business really doing well now? I know the economy is starting to get going again so it's possible that there's a lot of work.

gobucks90 wrote:Since we're on the topic of CSX terminals, how busy is the terminal in Cleveland (Collinwood)? The manager at the hiring session told me he hasn't had to furlough anyone in years and that business right now is really busy because it's the busiest route on the CSX system. Was that all crap they tell the new hires or is business really doing well now? I know the economy is starting to get going again so it's possible that there's a lot of work.

Only problem at present with Collingwood is that it connects to Buffalo and Selkirk and they have been weather impacted for the past month.

Hello I am new to this site. I applied and interviewed with CSX for freight conductor in ATL terminal in February 2015. I was given a conditional offer and passed all my background and physical tests. I was told in the interview that the next class would be March 30th but til this day I never received a call. My status online has been the same since February 26th as pre-employment screening completed. I was wondering if anyone knew what was going on with this or could point me in the right direction to find out. I have tried to call and email Hollie with HR but they never return calls or emails. Thank you.

marine34 wrote:Hello I am new to this site. I applied and interviewed with CSX for freight conductor in ATL terminal in February 2015. I was given a conditional offer and passed all my background and physical tests. I was told in the interview that the next class would be March 30th but til this day I never received a call. My status online has been the same since February 26th as pre-employment screening completed. I was wondering if anyone knew what was going on with this or could point me in the right direction to find out. I have tried to call and email Hollie with HR but they never return calls or emails. Thank you.

They have been moving a lot of schedules here lately. My start date was supposed to be Feb 23rd but got moved to May 25th. Another gentleman I was reading his post got his date moved from Feb to Sep 4th....ouch. There are so many factors into what causes them to change the dates nobody but HR can give you an answer and even the one you get from HR will be vague and leave you wondering. Like they say, no news is good news. I like to say id rather stab myself than have to deal with that feeling of anticipation. It took me from Jan 10th(completion of physical) to Apr 28th to have my status officially moved to "Hired".

Philly117 wrote:

marine34 wrote:Hello I am new to this site. I applied and interviewed with CSX for freight conductor in ATL terminal in February 2015. I was given a conditional offer and passed all my background and physical tests. I was told in the interview that the next class would be March 30th but til this day I never received a call. My status online has been the same since February 26th as pre-employment screening completed. I was wondering if anyone knew what was going on with this or could point me in the right direction to find out. I have tried to call and email Hollie with HR but they never return calls or emails. Thank you.

They have been moving a lot of schedules here lately. My start date was supposed to be Feb 23rd but got moved to May 25th. Another gentleman I was reading his post got his date moved from Feb to Sep 4th....ouch. There are so many factors into what causes them to change the dates nobody but HR can give you an answer and even the one you get from HR will be vague and leave you wondering. Like they say, no news is good news. I like to say id rather stab myself than have to deal with that feeling of anticipation. It took me from Jan 10th(completion of physical) to Apr 28th to have my status officially moved to "Hired".

Thank you Philly. My buddy started in February and he told me the same thing but I'm like you, I hate the anticipation. LOL. The other gentleman you were talking about, did they tell him that his date is in September and is he applying for the ATL terminal? I just wish they would let me know something lol. Thanks again Philly. Good luck in come May 25th.

marine34 wrote:

Philly117 wrote:

marine34 wrote:Hello I am new to this site. I applied and interviewed with CSX for freight conductor in ATL terminal in February 2015. I was given a conditional offer and passed all my background and physical tests. I was told in the interview that the next class would be March 30th but til this day I never received a call. My status online has been the same since February 26th as pre-employment screening completed. I was wondering if anyone knew what was going on with this or could point me in the right direction to find out. I have tried to call and email Hollie with HR but they never return calls or emails. Thank you.

They have been moving a lot of schedules here lately. My start date was supposed to be Feb 23rd but got moved to May 25th. Another gentleman I was reading his post got his date moved from Feb to Sep 4th....ouch. There are so many factors into what causes them to change the dates nobody but HR can give you an answer and even the one you get from HR will be vague and leave you wondering. Like they say, no news is good news. I like to say id rather stab myself than have to deal with that feeling of anticipation. It took me from Jan 10th(completion of physical) to Apr 28th to have my status officially moved to "Hired".

Thank you Philly. My buddy started in February and he told me the same thing but I'm like you, I hate the anticipation. LOL. The other gentleman you were talking about, did they tell him that his date is in September and is he applying for the ATL terminal? I just wish they would let me know something lol. Thanks again Philly. Good luck in come May 25th.

Ya know, I don't know what terminal he was hired out of...Not a clue. Im out of Jacksonville... I am still trying to find some people that were in my hiring pool so I can find out if we all have been in the same delay boat. From what I have been reading it seems to be all over the east coast since the beginning of the year. I would suspect all the changes they made just need time to catch up and everything should smooth out just fine. Important note, when HR called they told me that the classes at REDI are now scheduled for 5 weeks instead of 6. Im not sure what to make of this but it seemed to be in line at the same time the delays started.