Hostler a qualified engineer?

Is a Hostler who moves the locomotives around in the service area/shops a qualified engineer?
Or is it a different craft and more pay for doing that job?
Just curious about how it works.

Hostlers are not qualified train service engineers where they can operate a locomotive with cars on the mainline. Rather they are considered Locomotive Servicing Engineers. Generally, they do not move engines outside of the enginehouse area.
Amtrak hostlers are considered Heavy Equipment Movers and are restricted to movement within the the enginehouse.
NJT (FWIK) has hostlers that are allowed to operate on the mainline between Hoboken and the MMC but only with light or multiple light engines.
Amtrak hostlers are not in the BLET or UTU, rather they are part of the Machinists union, while I believe NJT Hostlers are
BLET members.

amtrakhogger wrote:Hostlers are not qualified train service engineers where they can operate a locomotive with cars on the mainline. Rather they are considered Locomotive Servicing Engineers. Generally, they do not move engines outside of the enginehouse area.
Amtrak hostlers are considered Heavy Equipment Movers and are restricted to movement within the the enginehouse.
NJT (FWIK) has hostlers that are allowed to operate on the mainline between Hoboken and the MMC but only with light or multiple light engines.
Amtrak hostlers are not in the BLET or UTU, rather they are part of the Machinists union, while I believe NJT Hostlers are
BLET members.

Indeed, NJT's hostlers are "loco servicing engineers" as well, and can operate out on the main, inbetween NJTs main shops at the MMC in Kearny, NJ, and Hoboken Terminal (about 3 or so miles) - they cannot operate a train or move cars, however, they can use cars as spacer cars to get into the shops if necessary. They can couple up to trains, for example, taking locos for fuel and returing them to their train.

NJT's are BLET members, however, they have their own seperate part of the contract and are paid less than a "train service" engineer.

An engineer can be a hostler (and often are called for those jobs, off the on call list), but a hostler cannot be an engineer, unless they go back to ChooChooU for the rest of class to be a train service engineer.

It used to be that a hostler was a step up the ladder toward engineer. First, engine wiper, then maybe hostler, fireman, engineer. That was under the old apprenticechip/union rules of learning the business from the ground upl I'm not sure how it is structured today.

It still sort of is, at least at NJT -

The hostlers only go through half the ChooChooU. All student engineers work as hostlers for a period of time (usually the first kind of actual work done with live equipment by the student). During this period, they also work with yard crews, but mostly stay with the hostlers. After a few weeks, then they go back to class for a little longer and start to learn the ins and outs of passenger cars, trainhandling, etc etc etc.

at this point in time, a Student Engineer could be called (or given the option) to work as a hostler if they were short or whatever, because they are qualified to be hostlers, and would just need to be given the blessing of a road foreman and a new certificate.

On BN, there used to be permanent hostlers. In my time, they came out of the trainmen ranks. I trained at Clyde Roundhouse, in Cicero. They mostly fueled and made up consists. they did have an outside hostler. I trained on this job once, and got a tour of Chicago. We went to the IC, ATSF, and BRC, to exchange power. I remember that or leader was a old switcher. We also had some old Alco.