Ever head of this? Railroad Job Guide

Has anybody heard of "RAILROAD JOB GUIDE"by "Sean Martin a Conductor on a Class 1 railroad"
Is this a good book to pick up? And does the information in it really work?

I am sure that most of the "pros" in this forum can and have covered any questions/ideas/hints/kinks that may be posed in the book in regards to being hired by a RR. I am sure that 99% of us got hired be it on a Class I, II or III RR without the book. So spend some time here, read some of the discussions, and ask away. Someone has an answer for you.

Good luck.

Not to pick on anyones means of getting paid, but if you bought the book, titled "the railroad, what it is, and what it does", and carefully read through these threads, you would probably have as much insight, as that guy selling HIS view, on railroading. There are enough places to get info, on this career, from non biased sources, that you can easily find, with a little effort. Grab a current rule book, if you can find one, from the area you are interested in. A good source for your "real" railroad needs, is:
www.transalert.com or http://www.transalert.com/bookstore/Rail/

Regards

I did spend the money on the How to get a railroad job also wrote by Sean Martin and I believe it came with the other you mentioned. Not to discuss or release anything from the book, as to violate copyright laws and such, It discusses good points, but like they have said, most of them are covered here, which I found out later. The questions have been asked here and the answers posted for nearly every question asked.

I too spent the money and like you all said this site covers all of the essentials. Also alot of what is discussed is common sense, like being on time for your interview. Not a bad read but the internet is more informative.

I'm glad I asked, I just saved myself $40.00. Thanks all. I have an interview on the 14th in SF be nice if I get it, and that's to this site I now know what to expect and what the interviewer excepts.

For the most part, go into the interview with a positive attitute, understand that you are on-call, no set schedule, are willing to work outdoors in any weather, walk to the end of your 8000 foot long train to put your air hoses back together on the last car of train, teamwork, teamwork, teamwork and of utmost importance, safety, safety, safety. Good Luck!

It sounds like everthing bad always happens at the end of the train.

Not always. But most of the time when you have to do it, it is in the rear portion for some reason. That is the reason I became a Hogger. UPRR engineer knows the area I'm going to talk about. It was a cold winter night in December at about 2:00 a.m. when our (I think it was this long) 8000 foot auto train came to a halt just west of a place called Carter, Wy. 6 inches of snow on the ground, blowing about 20 mph and probably 10 degrees outside not counting the windchill. The area has a couple of s-curves in it and the terrain undulates which caused the air hoses to un-couple on about the 5th car from the rear. As I began my trek outside of the cab, my Hogger put his feet up on the control stand and said as nicely as possible, enjoy the walk. I had a great time for 2 hours let me tell you.

Most of the time though on thru-freight runs, you as the Conductor just pull your paperwork for your train as you begin your shift, call out signals with the Engineer and keep a log-book of signals displaying anything other than a clear/green color, and make any set-outs/pick-ups along the way (which may only happen 1 or 2 times a month) depending upon what type of train you have. And if for some reason you don't make it to point b before you run out of time (12 hours) you have to "tie" the train down, meaning put enough hand brakes on the train to prevent it from rolling away when you guys get off of it. Now if you work in the yard or a local job taking cars to and from business, you'll be up and down, here and there, and on your feet most of the shift.