Back at the end of 1982, I was faced with a choice, which railroad do I
want to continue working for.
I was working for Conrail as an engineer at that time and as of Jan. 1,
1983, Conrail was no longer going to be in the passenger business and
would no longer furnish engine (nor train crews either) for commuter rail
service nor for Amtrak. Metro-North was starting up and they were going
to hire their own crews and Amtrak had to take over their own crews at
the same time too.
I was given three choices, stay with Conrail and work freight and yard
jobs throughout the system, go with Amtrak in the NEC and work between
New Haven, New York, Boston, Springfield or possible other places in that
area or go with Metro-North and work commuter trains in and out of New
York based in New York City, Westchester, Putnam or Dutchess Counties
in New York or Fairfield or New Haven counties in Connecticut.
I looked at it this way, Conrail was starting to come back but the future
with them was quite uncertain and the work in the New York area was
plentiful but not great work and not great working conditions at that time
either for that matter. Amtrak had decent conditions and work but they
also faced an uncertain future and I did not fancy running back and forth
between New Haven and Boston on F-40's one man five days a week.
This left Metro-North which had the highest pay and the most certain
future of the three. More work involved in the daily jobs than with Amtrak
but by far the best pay.
Seniority wise, going with Metro-North provided me with a leave of
absence from Conrail and gave me a one shot back to Conrail twice each
year if I really wanted to make a change, relocate or for some other
reason did not want to remain in commuter passenger service.
I chose to go with Metro-North as of January, 1983 and stayed with them
for four years still living in New York City which I did not like.
I finally got so fed up with New York City that I started looking around for
something in White Plains, Brewster, Croton, Stamford or New Haven but
the cost of property in every one of those areas was rising very rapidly
and I could not find anything that I liked at a price that I felt I could afford.
I finally contacted a local chairman friend who was working in Selkirk for
Conrail and asked him how my seniority would stand for me in Selkirk
and it was determined that I would be one of the top engineers in Selkirk
if was was working there and there would be lots of security for me there
too. I then made some trips up to the Albany area to look around for
living places and found that I could do better than anywhere around the
Metro-North system.
One thing led to another and I finally chose to return to Conrail and
exercise my freight seniority in Selkirk in November, 1987.
Unfortunately, one hiring out today does not have an opportunity like that
nor do they have the opportunity to cross bid from one type of service to
another like I had prior to the end of 1982.
For all around job security there is nothing better than Metro-North or the
Long Island Rail Road. Having said that, I also have to say that there is
likely more tasks on a daily basis with Metro-North or the LIRR than there
likely is with Amtrak and you would probably be on your feet more.
I know it took me a long time to say this but if I were starting out today
and knowing what I do know, I would hire out with the Long Island Rail
Road or Metro-North Railroad before I would consider anything else.
I don't think money is quite the big issue that it could be as you have to
figure living in the New York City metropolitan area, your living expenses
are probably the highest in the nation so the higher earnings that you
would earn on either LIRR or MN will be eaten up in a much higher cost of
living than elsewhere whether on Amtrak or a freight railroad. I know
when I relocated from New York City to Albany, yes, I made less but I had
a much lower cost of living in Albany than in the New York City area.
Another consideration that one has to think of is whether you already have
a place to live in the New York City area or not, if not, you might want to
think twice about whether you wanted to live in that area or not.
There is much to think about when making a choice of this nature.
I hope what I put here is helpful.
Noel Weaver