What kind of pay to expect from a yard with short runs/trips

I just got hired on as a conductor with Norfolk Southern. I start training in Georgia in two weeks. One large concern I have is how much money I will be pulling in once I reach top rate. I'll be working out of Abram's Yard, which is in King of Prussia, PA, just outside of Philadelphia. And FYI if it comes up, Abrams does have a weekly extra board guarantee. No clue what it is though.

During my Q&A with the trainmaster prior to me being hired, he said that there shouldn't be any overnight stays in hotels since the furthest run we have from that yard is to Harrisburg. King of Prussia to Harrisburg is approximately 90 miles. My concern is if I'm only doing daily runs of 90 miles (or less), will that significantly impact my earning potential as a conductor working out of this rail yard? I like that I will be home every day, but the possible lower pay has me a little worried. Does anyone have any experience with lots of short runs and the pay that comes from them on a Class 1 railroad, preferably NS?

Thanks for reading.

phillyrail wrote:I just got hired on as a conductor with Norfolk Southern. I start training in Georgia in two weeks. One large concern I have is how much money I will be pulling in once I reach top rate. I'll be working out of Abram's Yard, which is in King of Prussia, PA, just outside of Philadelphia. And FYI if it comes up, Abrams does have a weekly extra board guarantee. No clue what it is though.

During my Q&A with the trainmaster prior to me being hired, he said that there shouldn't be any overnight stays in hotels since the furthest run we have from that yard is to Harrisburg. King of Prussia to Harrisburg is approximately 90 miles. My concern is if I'm only doing daily runs of 90 miles (or less), will that significantly impact my earning potential as a conductor working out of this rail yard? I like that I will be home every day, but the possible lower pay has me a little worried. Does anyone have any experience with lots of short runs and the pay that comes from them on a Class 1 railroad, preferably NS?

Thanks for reading.

I wouldn't count on having these "short runs" for TOO long. Unless I am mistaken, the kinds of runs you will get are determined by seniority. *Usually* the short runs are preferred by the higher seniority guys. YOU will go to the BOTTOM of the Division Senority list, or on whatever " board" you are assigned. Likely, there will be people from other yards on the SAME list. That means that it is possible, tho not necessarily likely, you may get "rolled" by someone whose job has been cut (abolished) at another yard. If you get "furloughed", that means (unless things have changed) that you are laid off and you have NO "guarantee". You have to be occupying an actual Extra Board position in order to maintain any such guarantee. The way senior guys make their money on short runs is...regularity! IOW, regular runs with somewhat regular hours and regular rest days tho they may not be weekends. The "Extra" guys fill in when regulars (senior employees) mark off, observe holidays where their train is not annulled, and on THEIR rest days. And, of course, vacation.

You may have a special situation there, but that would be unusual according to MY own experience. I can't see, based on that experience, how one could HOLD a "regular run" for long because the other guys see the same job bulletins YOU do, and when they see there's a "better" run than they have now, they'll grab it by rolling you off that assignment. That's why they call it "The Extra Board"!

That doesn't mean you won't make a decent living! You WILL. But you have to be ready for lay-offs (furloughs), rolls, bumps, transfers in and out--all as you build seniority. There's be times when you envy "that other guy with 20 years of service" because he's got that daylight job with nice rest days, but then one day YOU will be HIM. It passes pretty quickly!

Good luck!

Thanks for the reply. That's some good information for sure. I was just hoping to get a lot of overtime/overmiles in order to make more money, but if the longest run we have from my yard is only 90 miles.

Isn't the pay calculated with some formula that takes in account number of hours worked and number of miles traveled?

I'm on the CSX side in Philly, we too have a short run (to North Jersey, 112 miles) that we don't stay over at the away. 90 Miles one way is a 180 mile day, you will be getting paid on the dead head home.

Best of luck

phillyrail wrote:Thanks for the reply. That's some good information for sure. I was just hoping to get a lot of overtime/overmiles in order to make more money, but if the longest run we have from my yard is only 90 miles.

Isn't the pay calculated with some formula that takes in account number of hours worked and number of miles traveled?

From what I remember from NS when I was a call clerk, *some* of these jobs paid by the mile, some by the hour--it just depends on the bulletin.

GF