Conductor Trainee Final Exam

i've been studying my signals and memorizing what rules i need to but does anyone have anymore advice for me?

Calm down and take a deep breath.

You'll be fine.

ok so i just finished up my first class session and some of this stuff doesn't make sense. i was horrible in school growing up so do you think my OJT will make sense of what we covered in class?

Relax.. It will start to make sense when you get out in the yard or do some local runs.
The first weeks in classroom, much is thrown at you and you think your head will explode.
When you can actually see the practical application of what the instructors talk about in class
it will start to make sense. Just get your hand signs and radio communication down. Take your time
and DON'T rush.. it will start to click. Just ask questions if in doubt.

That's the problem with classroom training. You learn 50,000 rules, but don't truly understand why and how. For example, performing a class-1 airtest on paper looks impossible with 56,000 steps, but after you do about 500 of them - it is second nature. Or you end up working road jobs where you may never do them except for very rare instances(and in those cases you just review your handy dandy rulebook).

A bit of advice given to me which I found to be true: it will take from 1-2 years on the job before you start getting comfortable with the work. Seems like a lot now, but you'll learn it. Thousands before you have, and very few of them were great rocket scientists.

i'm definately gonna remember that advice. i started my first day of ojt today and it was a short day but it was excellent. its so much different than what i was expecting. everyone was laid back and all about being safe. they told me to take my time and ask questions. i hated the classwork especially the air brake tests. i just hope i can understand this job well enough so i can pass the big exam. i didnt do to well when i took a practice test last week.

gp80mac wrote:Final exams?

When I marked up it was "you feel ready? Ok, get some rest - you'll be on the list tomorrow!"

Lol, I was on the list 8 hrs after my final exam!

Nick,

Where did you hire out?

I'm on my third day of in class training. I passed my safety test but not because I understood it, just because it was multiple choice. I only got 1 wrong. I have to go home and do about 3 hours of homework every night so far and i don't remember half of it the next day. It doesn't seem like difficult stuff because its all just a lot of memorization really but its so much info that it's not easy to retain. Also, it doesn't help that before I study I have to make an attempt to update my GCOR with info from my SSI and from my GO as well. I'm sure some of this stuff will make sense when I begin OJT. At least I hope so because I feel overwhelmed with info one minute and I forget it the next. I wish someone would pat me on my back and tell me everything was going to be Ok !

i hired out of l.a. i'm getting the hang of it so far.

Nick wrote:i hired out of l.a. i'm getting the hang of it so far.

Los Angeles? That is where I work!

Which Railroad

so does anyone have the conductor promotion exam for sale? or at least a good practice exam that's similar and just as difficult? I've found some but they are almost too easy and not going to be as difficult as the actual test

kevinmoorebb wrote:so does anyone have the conductor promotion exam for sale? or at least a good practice exam that's similar and just as difficult? I've found some but they are almost too easy and not going to be as difficult as the actual test

You can't be serious. It's not that hard. Just do the homework and pay attention during OJT. Ask questions. Ask to get involved in the work during OJT.

Watch the crew work and see what rules they follow and what rules they break. You'll probably hear, "don't do this" more than once, so pay attention and don't do it. Try to figure out which rule they are violating when they do it.

Understand what a blue flag means and how to react. Understand Restricted Speed and where it applies. Understand protecting the shove. Understand the difference between a Form A and a Form B. Learn how to arm a FRED. If you can get that down, you can do the job.

kevinmoorebb wrote:so does anyone have the conductor promotion exam for sale? or at least a good practice exam that's similar and just as difficult? I've found some but they are almost too easy and not going to be as difficult as the actual test

Not a smart question to ask. The railroads monitor rail sites. They're very big on rules compliance. There are rules that even cover off-duty behavior seldom used but I've seen it happen "behavior unbecoming of a railroad employee". This would definitely fit in that catagory.