New to Railroading...

WMT,

Interesting to note that the officer had no specifics. The range of information in regards to a specific incident can be misleading, especially if the information is out of state, and dated 8-10 years ago. An arrest can be made, and the case never prosecuted or a plea of nolo proseqi recorded or the disposition of the case is unknown due to poor recordkeeping prior to 1990. You can write to the FBI and ask for a copy of your criminal record which should provide dates of arrests and the disposition of said arrest/charges, as long as the local/state/federal agency provided complete and accurate information. I am sure the the NS LEO utilized a background check such as NCIC to retrieve this information. You may have a name and dob which is similar to another individual who has a record, and that may be why the NS LEO is questioning you until clarification of such information is obtained. Did the NS LEO ask you to authenticate personal information such as your name, prior names, aka, dob, ssn, prior address, etc? If not, then it may indeed be a bluff, however, I would tend to think that he has so much on his plate that to call a probationary employee into his office or make a visit to you in person would take up far too much of his time to play games.

The two things I would do is approach the LEO and ask for specifics in regards to the matter. You career is far too important to allow misinformation to play a role in determining if you stay on board or not. This will give you an idea of where this is headed. Next, visit the link below and request an FBI criminal record check on yourself asap. Although most of the information in the FBI database is correct, it is updated and compiled by humans, and we do make mistakes.

I hope this helps and gets you headed in the right direction.

All the best,

http://www.fbi.gov/hq/cjisd/fprequest.htm

wmt wrote:If anyone has experienced anything similar, or if you know about the police background checks please help me understand.

Hey wmt...Sorry for the trouble. Really, I wouldn't worry about it. I'm sure they told you at the hiring session that the NS police don't fool around. As long as you were honest, you have nothing to fear. Maybe the name change threw up some kind of red flag?

Hang in there!

-r

Slchub, thanks for the info. I'll keep the FBI stuff in mind, but for now I think I'll go with what Razor said and just hang in there, I really don't have anything to worry about, there really is nothing.

The thought of the name change being a red flag was something my son brought up too. Maybe that's all it is.

Guess you just hear about so many idenity theft situations that give people all sorts of problems, I got a little over charged.

And as I said the waiting and the fact that this is very important to me any little delay from being given a start date tends to throw you.

Nice to have this place to come to, just to sort of let it out and get some reassurance while you wait.
Thanks for being here....
wmt

wmt wrote:the hardest part is the waiting....

Don't wait for him to 'get back to you'.

Harass the sh!t out of him until he gets you an answer.

I hope everything turns out good for you with this wmt. I know how hard the waiting can be. We are all still here cheering you on though. Best of luck...

Chrisjz, thanks for the encouragement, and how are things going with you in phase IIII? Does it seem hard to apply all you've learned? And tell me in phase IIII are you still with a Conductor? I got the impression that you shadowed a Conductor until you were finished training, is that correct?

Are you getting lots of time learning the area where you need to be marked up? What I mean is that being called in for yard work doesn't help to get you marked up, right? Do you have a spot on the extra board already or does that only happen after training is complete?

I think I'll try to approach my situation somewhere in the middle, I hear what CSX Conductor is saying about not waiting for him to get back to me, but I need to be fair and give him some time to investigate it. We talked on Aug.5th, so I'll give him till the Aug.11th since there was a weekend in there. I don't really want to piss the guy off. So far he seems fair minded and helpful, I'd like to keep it that way.
I'll keep you posted, bye!
wmt

wmt,

Things are going pretty well in phase IIII, I don't have much longer before I qualify and mark up. Throughout my training (phase II and now IIII) I have been with a different conductor every week, and sometimes everyday if it's an extra job or someone is on vacation. I won't shadow a conductor until I'm ready to hit the coal and stone trains that work solely off the extra board, although it may be different at other terminals.

I haven't found it difficult at all to apply what I've learned, in fact it's been fairly simple. Most of what is done in my opinion is just common sense and paying attention. If you do that than most of the battle is already won. The hardest part for me is learning the different jobs, but that will come with time and repetition, just like anything else.

So far I have seen quite a bit of the territory I will be working on but there is still a lot left. I have not been into South Jersey yet or Delaware but it's coming. Then there are also parts of Amtrak I still need to see as well. I'm told that Amtrak is the hardest to qualify on as far as testing goes.

I have worked several yard jobs already and there are a few more left to work. You basically have to go through every job your terminal has before you mark up, which includes all of the yard jobs. You typically get a whole week on a job to learn it which is all you really need. If you do need more time, you can get it but you need to talk to your Trainmaster about that.

At this point, I do not have a spot on the extra board. I will not receive that until I mark up and even then, the list will probably be cut in winter so then it's off to another terminal for the winter months. I will be able to come back to my home terminal in the spring and summer months since coal and stone traffic gets much heavier then.

From what I have seen, I don't think you have anything to worry about with the NS police thing. Your approach seems to be logical and probably the best way to go. I will definitely keep my fingers crossed for you and hope for the best. Stay positive and I'm sure everything will be just fine. Got to go, talk to you again soon.

Chrisjz,
Glad to hear all is still going well for you , getting these updates while you're still going through your phases, is very helpful.
And as always thanks for the encouragement.
I'm not as freaked out about it as I was initally, I guess at first it just sort of shocked me. Now it's more, I'm sure he'll do the research and find out there was a mistake or just the name change and all will be well.
The most recent delay was a call telling me they didn't do the drug test at the physical, which I questioned them about at the time then again later when I talked with NS people but everyone said the one piss test I had done was all there was but I knew there had to be more to it than just the screening at the office. Sure enough I got the call this week, so I was up there within an hour and took care of that. At least I know they are still noticing my name and my paperwork.
Well, things you really want take a effort and patience.
Till next time.......wmt

wmt, we haven't heard from you in a while. How is everything going? Any progress? Just was interested in how it was going for you.

Chrisjz Hi,

Hey thanks for askin', but I'm afraid I don't have much to tell.
(I figured, why get on here just to whine about it)
I did call the NS Officer about two weeks ago and was told that everything was cleared up and all my paper work is in, but I still haven't gotten the call about a start date yet.
This is week six since I had the interview and job offer. I'm not sure what to think now. I'm not even sure who to call. And now with the devastation of the hurricane I think it may be a little longer yet.
I'm still ready to go when ever they call.

But, lets hear from you; how's the job going??? Are you getting enough hours? Do you get a good mix of yard jobs and locals?
Does NS give you a latern and other supplies like that?

Hey, get some sleep and be safe,
wmt

I'm glad to hear everything was cleared up and since your paperwork is in then it shouldn't be much longer. Hang in there and I'm sure it will turn out great!

The job is going well. I'm almost finished my regular assignments, only 2 more to go and then I shadow someone on the extra board for the coal and stone trains. Overall my phase IIII training is just about complete. I have learned a lot and I'm thankful I have had great crews to work with!

Currently I have been working a steady 4 days on, 2 days off routine but most of it has been 10 hour plus jobs and at night and you don't get paid for the overtime. I don't mind the night jobs, I actually prefer them over daylight. There definitely is no shortage of work either.

So far I have only been on yard or transfer jobs, no road yet but that will change when I hit the coal and stone. I'm glad the road jobs are coming because I really want to see the rest of the territory so I can begin qualifying.

The supplies I received and you usually get from NS include a lantern and battery, radio with speaker-mic and charger, safety glasses, reflective belt or vest (depending on which one your terminal uses) and all the ear plugs you can stand. You will also get a rule book and signal study material. You will have to get your own gloves and boots since NS does not supply those. I would recommend getting 2 pair of gloves because they wear out fast!

Anyway, I have to run and get a few things done before work tonight. Keep in touch and I'll talk to you again soon. Have a great day and stay positive...

wmt wrote:This is week six since I had the interview and job offer. I'm not sure what to think now. I'm not even sure who to call. And now with the devastation of the hurricane I think it may be a little longer yet.
I'm still ready to go when ever they call.

Hey..hang in there! We need you out there BAD! We had 9 conductors mark up last week - every single one of them was assigned a job already. Trainmaster asked if they wanted the yard or road, then assigned them all accordingly. They never had to work a day on the extra board! That's huge!

I think the delay in getting you strated is becuase the NS has hired a new firm to get the conductor trainee program under control. I have some involvment with the training program and talked at length with the district assistant super and a consultant a couple of days ago. They are revamping things to make it easier on the trainess.

There will soon be a conductor trainee extra board, which will make it a lot easier to keep track of everyone. Conductor trainees will also be assigned to one conductor for various amounts of time to learn a specific job. It's a lot better than working with new people everytime you go out.

Anyhow...hang in there! They'll call ya' soon!

-r

chrisjz,
Are you working the Jersey side? Or down the Port Road?

-r

Razor, Chrisjz,

I GOT THE CALL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I start class on Sept. 19th !

They called me yesterday, just after a very frustrating day at the job I currently hold.......the call couldn't have been sweeter.
It also gives me one last holiday off paid so a nice three day weekend to really enjoy some family time, and spread the good news!

I knew the extra board was suppose to be part of the job and I won't mind if I have to work it, but it is promising to hear that other new hires have not had to work it, gives a little hope, I'll just go with the flow and take what comes.
So Razor I should probably see you sometime in Oct. if you're doing a lot of the training.
Chrisjz, you mentioned your phase IIII is almost complete, will that mean you are then eligiable for the overtime pay? With gas prices the way they are I'm thinking of getting a motorcycle again to ride to work. I live about 50miles from the yards where I'll work. I was hoping that by Dec. when winter is getting worse, I could then use my car and with overtime pay be able to afford the gas. Didn't you start around the end of June/the beginning of July?
Gas is going to be mad expensive for that trip to GA, glad they pay at least a little something for milage.

Thanks, Thanks and Thanks again for all the posts of encouragement and support through this whole process. Razor to you for the advise about the testing and just all the "hang in there" comments. Everything really helped, I know others have said it but it's true, it's hard to wait when you're eager to make this change in your life.

By the way....I'm not a railfan, in fact, I've never really thought much about trains. I've taken a couple to NY in the past but that's about it.
I just really think I'm going to love this job, it has the responsibilities and committment I'm looking for, I believe.
Do I need to get all jazzed up about trains now? I know people say don't mention if you are a railfan, but it seems that everyone is, so should I try to be?? Just wondering
Gotta run...
wmt

Just being jazzed up about a new career should carry you through. And while you're on probation, just make sure you do what they tell you to do and don't be late. Good luck!