Sending Conductors to Engineer school

[GOLDEN-ARM]

Consider yourselves lucky. The road I am currently working for issued STUDENT CARDS to trainee brakemen, who haven't even made it over their derail yet!!!!!!! The carriers feeling is "well, they are going to have to learn to run, sometime". The sorry souls aren't fit to swing a lantern, never mind operate the equipment. (SIGH) Maybe it's time to hang up the reverser, and hire out with the NTSB..............

[CSX Conductor]

Yea i do agree with you there, it seems like the hiring of employees is last on anyones minds, but they have to realize these guys will be driving those Engines one day.

Drive?

Golden-Arm, do you mean that they are given a document in order for the engineer to allow them to run?!? Over here quite a few conductors run, but of course that's hush-hush. But to be honest you can usually see the difference when guys go through the school.......the ones who never ran as a conductor have a harder time when they are going through engine service training.

[GOLDEN-ARM]

Yep, they are handing honest to goodness "Student Engineer Operating Certificate" cards, persuant to FRA part 49 CFR 240.223. A tragic scenario, to say the very least. A guy not yet qualified to perform a Class-1 brake test, is suddenly qualified to handle a train? This is not unusual today, and the railroads will ultimately pay for this, albeit with OUR blood.

[BigMike]

Yea i do agree with you there, it seems like the hiring of employees is last on anyones minds, but they have to realize these guys will be driving those Engines one day.

Surely you're not suggesting the carriers exercise some foresight. That makes far too much sense, not gonna happen!

That gos for the Unions too!