Conductor - Lincoln area various questions

Just got a conditional offer for a conductor position at Lincoln, NE and got an email saying I passed the medical requirements after having my eye, hearing, drug and strength tests done. Anyone know how busy the Lincoln area is and what areas i'll get to go to as a conductor?

I'm pretty excited about the opportunity. Only thing is i'm a single Dad who has his son every other week. Luckily, i'm able to make arrangements to have him go to his grandparents for those middle of the night calls i'll be sure to get. Any idea on how many hours i'll be working a week? I'm not really worried about it but I just wanted to have an idea of how often i'll be getting to see my son. I heard it varies around 60-70hrs/wk but I guess that also ties in to how busy the Lincoln area is? I hear conflicting reports that i'll work a bunch of days in a row and then have 2-3 days off. If anyone can fill me in on the rules on this stuff I would appreciate it.

Last question, would I be paid by the hour, mile, or something else? At the orientation they said we'd be making between 40-60k the first year I just didn't know how that was broken down.

Thanks for all the help!

What railroad?

jz441 wrote:What railroad?

No idea yet. Just know its for BNSF right now.

Answer: I dont know everything but have been married to a railroader for 7 yrs. Dont let some of these other people on this site scare you this is a good job. The Lincoln area has its ups and downs. Spring thru fall is pretty busy and winter can be pretty dead, especailly for someone without much seniority. Lincoln trains go to Ravenna, McCook, Creston Iowa, Souix City, and Kansas City. As far as how many hours you will work a week well....it all depends.
Usually when my husband gets a call he is gone for about 36 hrs: 12 on train, 12 at destination, 12 on train home. Of course sometimes you can be on a train for 5-14 hrs or more depending on how fast trains are getting in. You could also "go dead" on the train, be on the train for 12hrs, and wait a long time for them to replace you with a relief crew. There have also been times when you will be held away from home at a hotel for longer then 12hrs. Thats why there is a variation in how many hrs you might get a week.
Day off. Ok, if you work i think its 6 days in a row you have to take 72 hrs off, dont confuse that with getting 3 days off, if you work 5 days in a row you have to take 48 hrs off. You will also have days you can "lay off" those are like sick days and you can lay off fatigued. It gets sort of complicated but thats the railroad way.
You will get paid by the mile and by the hour. The destination of the train depends on how much you make. The farther away the more you make but, it also takes longer before you start to get overtime. Example: going to Ravenna makes about $250 up and $250 back(I maybe wrong on the exact amount you make going to Ravenna). That is what you would get paid if you make the trip in the 8hrs they think it should take. If it takes you longer then that you start to make an overtime hourly wage until you "tie up" at the terminal.
Yes, it is sort of confussing but as you get to know the system its not so bad. Everyone I know seems to be able to go to family functions and is home more then you think they would be. Dont let people freak you out with the " your never home and you'll never see your kids." Sometimes I see my husband more then when he had a regular job. Good Luck.

Thanks for the feedback! Especially on how long I would be gone. Alot of people do make it seem like you're gone all the time, it's good to hear from a family member that's actually in the area to shed the light on the reality. I heard training (atleast in the beginning phase) is 8-5pm m/f... any truth to that?

Thanks for the feedback... another question I had was in regards to the slow winter months. Does BNSF carry any kind of guarantee during these months in terms of how much work/money i'll be getting during these down months?

I can add to some of the particulars mentioned by nthoms. The day off after so many days refers to the new hours of service law. If you get a start (the day your run starts, since it may cover 2 calendar days) on six consecutive days, then you get 48 hrs. off. If you are out of town on the 6th day, then you can work the seventh to get to your home terminal, but get 72 hrs. off. Sometimes the company plays games with this. Say you are on your 6th. day, and the train is showing for 2300 hrs., they may delay marking it until 0001, so you don't get 6 starts. This is because you would not have had a start on that day, even though you finished a previous trip on that date.

It can be hard to judge if you will be off, but sometimes you can sharp shoot your way into having a day off. You may want to see if the ex could adjust things to fit the days you have off. A yard job may be your ticket. With 0 seniority, you will likely have a night job, with weekdays off. This could be ok. Grandma can watch the kid at night. You could sleep in the evening. There isn't as much money in the yard though.

Furloughs are part of the job. I have seen many young guys get the first big check and proceed to buy a big truck, motorcycle.......Save up. Be like a camel saving water until the next oasis. With the system seniority, you could always follow your seniority. Head east on US 34 to to Galesburg, which is also a large terminal, or keep going on 34 to Aurora or Chicago.

The pay was pretty well explained. It is mileage based.

Im gonna give you the cold hard facts. As an engineer working out of Lincoln i will give you the skinny. While you are in training you are payed a trainee rate which i believe is about $145.00 a day. Your first week will be classroom training consisting of basic info so you dont go out and kill yourself right off the bat. Generally the instructor will set bankers hours during that week but in reality he can set whatever hours he wants. The next 12 weeks will be on the job training your classroom instructor will provide you a schedule that is non-negotiable. There will be weekends and nights on that schedule. If the train crew you are with works 16 hours that day, guess what. You work 16 hours too at $145.00 per day.

During your training, Listen and ask questions. If you are a foamer (railfan) keep that quiet and dont act or think you know shit about railroading because you dont. railroaders like to talk so if theres something you do funny like pushups while rolling by a train, you will be remembered lol. Railroad employees pay union dues. Attend your union meetings and support your fellow brothers and sisters. trainmasters may act like your friend but will hang your ass in 2 seconds if they can. And never ever pass blame or rat someone out. You go down as a crew and thats that. you are not the hall monitor, let the trainmasters catch you breaking rules dont turn yourself in.

I do believe there will be some cuts during the winter. but if you are in training during that time you wont have to worry about that. December - March are usually the slow months. If you have over a year in during the slow months you should be ok. otherwise unemployment pays $1200.00 a month.

When you promote to a conductor, you will be on the conductor or switchmans extra board. you will not hold a pool job or a 9 to 5 job monday - friday. i have 7 years in and i think i may get weekends off in another 10 years or so. you will be working every weekend, days, nights and all holidays (i myself never worked during xmas or the 4th of july. i called in sick). The average conductor works about 200- 230 hours a month the average 9-5 American works 160 hours a month.

If business is normal you can expect $3500 -$4000 every 2 weeks gross. after medical, union dues, 401k and taxes expect 1800 -2200 net every 2 weeks. Dont buy that new truck until you have saved some cash because shit will happen.

If you decide to work for the railroad, you better realize you have sold your soul to the railroad. They dont care about whats going on in your life. As far as they are concerned 10 hours off is too much time off. you spend more time at the away from home terminal (hotel) then you do at home.

As bad as it sounds there are good stuff too. It is the easiest job you have ever worked. It is way more mental then physical. No cubicals. Mostly friendly people to work with. Not really any deadline pressure or anything like that.