Got sleep?

I asked this question on another forum but didn't get a response, so I 'll throw it out here. Have you ever overslept, and if so what's the penalty? Is it a "one & you're done" policy....or "don't let it happen too often"...or what?


BTW, I'm posting this in the employment forum, b/c it is the only issue that has made me really think hard about going for a career change. From what I heard at the hiring session and have read on this board, I'm excited about making a career change, but I'm a little bit hesitant to switch to a job where I'd get fired if I ever overslept. Between the varying schedules & the amount of hours you guys work, it seemes like its bound to happen at some point.



Thanks, DBD

[quote="daybyday"]I asked this question on another forum but didn't get a response, so I 'll throw it out here. Have you ever overslept, and if so what's the penalty? Is it a "one & you're done" policy....or "don't let it happen too often"...or what?


BTW, I'm posting this in the employment forum, b/c it is the only issue that has made me really think hard about going for a career change. From what I heard at the hiring session and have read on this board, I'm excited about making a career change, but I'm a little bit hesitant to switch to a job where I'd get fired if I ever overslept. Between the varying schedules & the amount of hours you guys work, it seemes like its bound to happen at some point.

Sure it happens. I would think the only way you would be terminated for a first offense would be while on probation. If/when it happens, immediately call the crew dispatcher and explain your situation. We're all late occasionally, don't let it become a habit though.

Out here on UP you get something called a "Missed Call" if you ever sleep through your phone call. They don't look kindly on it but you won't get hammered too badly if it only happens once in a great while. If you miss your call, you call the crew dispatcher and explain, they'll mark you back up. If you take your call but for whatever reason you're late, make sure you have a phone number for whatever terminal you're reporting to. I just call one of the yardmasters, they're usually pretty cool about it as you don't really go to work the second you get in the door. Traffic Jams, car problems are unforeseen and are treated as such. Hell, if you work a regular job and don't bother showing up, they have a category for THAT- "Layoff No-Show (LN)" I work with a few guys that haven't had any reprecussions for just bagging their shift one day.

So to summarize, it probably won't be as bad as they are making it out, but you have to try your best to make your calls. Of course, if you are still on probation ("Derail"), then all bets are off.

JG is right, it happens to all of us. That being said though there are a few things you can do to mitigate any problems.

1. Dont p - - s people off. One of my classmates missed a call shortly after we marked up. I happened to be in the crew lobby at 3:30 AM when it happened. Someone asked if I had his phone number in my cell phone, which I did and a call was placed to him and the carrier never new any different. Had it been someone else, I might not have extended the courtesy.

You are your brother's keeper. But remember, no one fights like family does.

2. Get up and stay up. Eat, shower, pack your grip if you already haven't. In short, move.

3. Watch the boards and try to get a feel for how the move in regard to the forecast time to actual call times. On BNSF we can watch the progress of a train and get an idea if it will be called on time or late. Of course there are also trains that continously fall down the line up.

4. Finally, honesty IS the best policy in a case like this. Swallow your pride, call the dispatcher, ATM or crew caller and fess up. I hear its good for the soul anyway. If you make it a policy, you will earn enough trust and good will to be given the benefit of the doubt in other matters.

good luck.

Day dude, its not really bad at all. You get trained to fly out of bed when the cell rings. I sleep really good no matter what time of day, or whats going on, really heavy sleeper. After a few months you get "trained" quick. Like Freshmeat said when you take your call get up and jump in the shower. The railroad life style grabs you quick, you'll get the hang of being on call sooner than you think. Dont quote me on this but i think it takes six months to erase a missed call here, i dont know if this carries the same with taking your call and then not showing up. If you miss a call, which they give you about 15 to 20 minutes, they give up and call another one.

I get along great with my crew callers, they get to know you quick, attitude, how much you work, if your a slacker, how much extra work you cause them. How you treat them is how they treat you. It goes both ways, i seen it right off when i hired out. I played the extra board on my off days when i first hired, i was assigned in the yard and would double back and work my rest days if there were no rested brakeman on the board, they loved it. I heard alot of crap from my co-workers because of it, they would think they werent gonna get called at night because no one was rested, and then the phone rings and there conductor or brakeman was a switchman out of the yard. I got pretty good at saying "I hired out to work". Someone was also giving me crap by saying "I bet theres a huge banner on the wall with your name on it in Omaha." Im always happy to take my calls and there always happy to hear my voice. I ran to the store a while back, Wally World in RS and left my phone at home, the day shift crew caller called me eleven times for an hour and fifteen minutes till i made it home, when i ran inside and picked it up he said "can you be there in fifteen minutes"..."I'll be there, thanks for not giving up on me".... "I knew i could count on you buddy, have a good day." If you scratch there back they will return the favor. Once you get into the swing of things, its a cake walk.

Don't worry, the phone will wake you up.
One time I was in a deep slumber when the phone rang. My wife came into the room and asked, "Are you going to answer that?"
"I'm trying", was my reply. Apparently my body had gone into motion before my brain turned on - I thought I was answering the phone, when in reality I was punching buttons on the TV! We didn't get rest days back then.

The worst trouble I ever got into for being late wasn't with the company but with a conductor I hadn't worked with before. I got a late call as it was, right in the middle of morning rush hour and I got stuck in a MAJOR backup due to construction. Not being very pleased with a cab ride from Proviso to Clinton to start with, the conductor tore me a new one half way there. After he got it out of his system, however, he lightened up and the trip wound up on a rather positive note. If you strive to be a good co-worker, and do your job well, the occasional bump in the road gets smoothed over somewhat.

Also, make friends with the callers - they still have human callers, don't they? If you're normally dependable, willing to accept jobs you're not obligated to take, and you can manage to be somewhat amiable when the phone rings in the middle of the night, believe me, it pays off in a lot of ways. I missed a call once - didn't hear my pager go off. The rules specified you had 10 minutes to respond without getting a "missed call", but I didn't call back until more than 40 minutes had gone by. Luckily the guy at the desk was a caller I had a good rapport with, and it was absolutely a non-issue.

Anyhoo, just don't make it a habit, and DON'T be late during you probationary period.

Where I work we have a 3 hr. call. I live only 2 miles from the yard office. I still keep the 3 hr. call for 2 reasons. If I am out, I can easily make it home. Second, if I get caught short on rest, I can nap for about 2 hrs. If I get called in the middle of the night, I usually set my alarm clock for a couple of hours.
One time I did mess up. I just called the yardmaster. They and the officials will cut slack if you are not late every day. They go for these guys.
One dya my conductor was late. we asked the caller for his number, just to be sure he was up, or did not get into an accident.
Once someone has proven his reliability, no one will give any problems. Like I said, the people who are always late get into trouble. This is the same policy with missed calls.

A three hour call is pretty sweet. When I was marked up it was two. It seems that the trend these days has been to actually reduce the call times, with some roads allowing for only 1.5 hours.

To answer your question, it all depends on how the manager is in your area. Every Sup, Terminal manager, yardmaster, trainmaster, station master, etc has his or her on way of handling people being late to work. If you have been on the extraboard for the last six months with it hitting and missing, and i mean having a day or two off and then the next week working on your rest, they know this and will give you some lead way, just dont make a habit of being late or they will fire you to make an example out of you. Best thing to do is to call in and give them a report of what happended, even if you tell them you fell back to sleep after taking the call..Be honest dont come up with a dragon burned down my car story, dont have 5 flat tires in a week or that many number of wrecks while driving to work..Be honest. And even if they took me to an investigation i would stick with my story of what really happended, even if it was sitting down watching tv after geting ready to leave and falling back to sleep in the chair..versus buying 5 tires from discount tire to sit them in the garage just to have proff, and still getting 30 days off...And all job insurance policies, will not pay for being late to work..read the fine print.