Furloughed Conductor - Is it smart to leave?

Hey Everyone,

Looking for a few words of advice from some old heads or anyone with railroading experience. Here is a little background on my career thus far:

Two years ago I was a Conductor/Engineer on the Walt Disney World Railroad in Florida. I wanted to get into railroading for real so I applied and was offered a position in Wyoming as a Conductor on a Class I. There was a ton of hiring going on so I thought everything was going to be great. After I graduated and received my Conductor Card I was offered the option to furlough or transfer to another terminal. I broke my lease and moved to Arizona where I worked for 5 months in the yard and was offered the same option again. I then went to Los Angeles, CA for a month, then San Bernandino for three days, then Gallup, NM for a month.

After this I decided to give up and furlough in Arizona. I applied for a Fireman job at a Passenger Railway. I am currently still working there and have worked my way up to earning a second Conductor Certificate, this time a Passenger Card. The pay and lack of benefits make this an infeasible career.

The freight industry isn't looking that great and it's not showing any signs of improvement.

Would it be a good move to apply/take a job on another railroad or wait it out on the Class I?

One railroad of interest is Brightline back in Florida, but they haven't posted any positions yet. As a general note, I don't regret moving out here one bit; I've received so much experience from my railroading career thus far and hopefully two Conductor Certifications will help me on the path of of switching, if that's what I choose. Thank you all for any input!

You need to do what is right for you and family. At least you have seniority on the class 1. You never know when the recall will happen. Guys retire, leave, or get fired all the time.

One time I got to be about 8 from the bottom, with guys bidding in from everywhere. Another time I bumped out to Buffalo, only to get cut again. Once this happened, I was totally cut off. Unfortunately, a guy had a massive heart attack at work, and died. This brought me back.

My point is to suck it up and just hang on. You may unexpectedly get called back. The election has so many things up in the air. Some companies go into low production, until they know how the political climate will be. Just make sure that you keep your contact information up to date.

Stick to the big railroad unless something really big comes along. Just keep in mind that some contracts say that someone who has less than a certain number of years service, will be terminated if not recalled by a certain time.

Engineer Spike wrote:Stick to the big railroad unless something really big comes along. Just keep in mind that some contracts say that someone who has less than a certain number of years service, will be terminated if not recalled by a certain time.

Ouch! That's good to know! Maybe i'll put in a letter of increase and head up to the BN for a few months to reset the clock! Thanks for the info!

As a now retired railroader (NS) I can certainly relate to your situation! My advice would be to stick it out with the Class 1's. I have been in exactly the same fix. I hired to Southern in the 70's in a rail yard (laborer). I was an "Extra Laborer", only working when others were on vacation. One guy tended to violate Rule G on a a regular basis, and so was out a lot. Dunno why they tolerated it like they did. Then the news came that my job was being abolished and the rail/frog shop was moving to Alabama. I was oh so depressed. I thought my rail career was over! Two weeks later, I was called and asked if I would like to work as an "Extra Clerk" in the Material Management office. So, I got BACK. It seems they noticed that I was conscientious, hard worker, and said they didn't want to lose me. Made me feel pretty good. Then, the Chief Clerk Yard called and said I would be sent to school in Georgia to learn Agency work. Then THAT's when things changed! The job was good when I marked up.......................BUT! I was furloughed every year! You could just about count on it! Low seniority, EXTRA board, bad hours, rare weekends, working holidays (sound familiar Engineer Spike?? . I wondered if I would EVER have a stable job? Didn't SEEM like it, I was so far down the list! And, like you, I questioned whether this was the right thing. I mean...I LIKED the work, loved the challenge, HATED the railroad enviroment, LOVED the machinery, and even the hectic pace. And then I was presented with a choice. Thru retirements and quits, there was a bulletin to bid back at the Roadway Shops. I had senority enough to get one of them. Lesseeeee................Work 7-3:30 Mon-Fri, rest days Sat-Sun. it didn't take long to decide to go back. I WANTED to stay in Agency/LIne of Road, but the rough hours, the furloughs, uncertainty made for a scratchy home life, so I chose my family and went back to the Shops. After 10+ years and NO further furloughs, I was Number 2 on THAT senority roster, and they would've had to CLOSE the shop down completely to get "AT" ME! And thus, I retired after a long career with Norfolk Southern. What if I had given up and sought another job? I can truly say, I am glad I stuck it out. It was ROUGH, I kid you not. But it is the best decision I ever made.

It will, no doubt, be tough on you, too. The railroad life IS just that way. Stick it out! You'll have tough times, furloughs, bad trainmasters, runs you dont want to do, but when those RRB check start coming, and you look back on those memories, hard tho they were, you'll be glad you did!

I'm proud to BE a railroader. My family will look at pictures of me when I'm gone, photos of me on steam locomotives (excursion trains), sitting at the Operator's Desk, my little girl posing in the door of a Tamper, pics of my Train Order board (now obsolete) & the signals set to "Yellow", and say, "My Daddy worked on the Railroad" and remember ole Dad. Try for the Class I. Sure glad I stayed with it!

MattAPaul wrote:

Engineer Spike wrote:Stick to the big railroad unless something really big comes along. Just keep in mind that some contracts say that someone who has less than a certain number of years service, will be terminated if not recalled by a certain time.

Ouch! That's good to know! Maybe i'll put in a letter of increase and head up to the BN for a few months to reset the clock! Thanks for the info!

When I retired from CSX it was one year to secure a permanent slot on a seniority roster if on a long term furlough. The other issue is to maintain a current address and phone number with the railroad. Not sure of requirements these days on reporting back from a furlough. Some places gave 30 days others I worked on it was 15 days to mark up. I've known people that were furloughed 7-10 years before being recalled. This was back in the '70s & '80s. Furloughs are a part of railroading. Only a handful of railroaders that I've ever known were lucky enough to never get furloughed. Even CSX is catching up to other railroads by establishing system wide seniority rosters.