MBCR trackmen jobs

I am interested in getting a maintenance of way job because of the fact that it is not on call and working 24/7 like a conductor/engineer but it still has the benefits(decent pay,retirement,health insurance,etc). I currently work for GMX, which is a non union part of Guilford Rail System. I saw an opening on the MBCR website for trackmen however I have heard that you can be laid off once winter comes for quite a while until you gain some seniority. Is this true with every rr? Is it true with the MBCR? I also saw an opening for an asst. signal person. Do they get laid off as well once the cold weather comes? Any responses from a MBCR employee or anyone familiar with MOW jobs would be appreciated.

slotcanyoneer wrote: I saw an opening on the MBCR website for trackmen however I have heard that you can be laid off once winter comes for quite a while until you gain some seniority. Is this true with every rr? Is it true with the MBCR?

I'm not sure how it works with the maintenance of way, however, on BNSF young conductors get laid off every year during the slow season (winter). I was laid off my first 2 winters with the railroad. You can collect unemployment through RR Retirement Board during that time.

jz441 wrote:

slotcanyoneer wrote: I saw an opening on the MBCR website for trackmen however I have heard that you can be laid off once winter comes for quite a while until you gain some seniority. Is this true with every rr? Is it true with the MBCR?

I'm not sure how it works with the maintenance of way, however, on BNSF young conductors get laid off every year during the slow season (winter). I was laid off my first 2 winters with the railroad. You can collect unemployment through RR Retirement Board during that time.

Let us post accurate info here. You can collect r.r. unemployment, IF, you have paid in the required amount in previous quarters! A new-hire with no previous railroad experience, read $'s paid into r.r. retirement, IS NOT eligible from the get-go. I would suggest contacting your local r.r. retirement board for specifics.

jg greenwood wrote: Let us post accurate info here. You can collect r.r. unemployment, IF, you have paid in the required amount in previous quarters! A new-hire with no previous railroad experience, read $'s paid into r.r. retirement, IS NOT eligible from the get-go. I would suggest contacting your local r.r. retirement board for specifics.

That is correct! I assume that "slotcanyoneer" is paying in to RR retirement with GMX.

Slotcanyoneer, I do not know about the lay-offs during winter, but I do know that the track-dogs are often used to do clean-out duty during the winter months when they can't do track work due to snow. This includes stocking supplies at station platforms, (i.e. rock salt.) shoveling out switches not equipped with heaters and sometimes shoveling platforms. As for 24/7 operations, the MBCR engineers & conductors don't really live that life as there are very few overnight shifts, which are in the yards and go very high seniority-wise. The down side of MBCR train & engine service is the long days, sometimes 16 hours...uggh.

As for the signal dept, I have spoken with a few maintainers that I used to see almost everyday on a local I worked before, and they told me that theie territory is pretty spread-out.......perhaps the company is looking to hire a few more people to reduce the territory each base has to cover.

In general, the current set up MBCR has with the MBTA does not result in seasonal layoffs. MBCR manages and operates the MBTA's commuter rail system and sometimes is awarded some capital improvement work. However, the bulk to the capital jobs are farmed out to private contractors, currently those in favor with the Republican administration in Massachusetts. Most of the capital projects are financed primarily with Federal funds. The strings attached to the Federal funds are that if there are laid off railroad people, contractors can't work. This has come to be interpreted that if there are laid off commuter operator workers, contractors working on the commuter property have to leave the property even though they are dealing with the MBTA directly, not MBCR.
On the Boston and Maine and Guilford, when they had MBTA contracts, they only laid people off the freight part of the railroad which was not a recipient of Federal funding. High seniority freight people bumped into the passenger service when work wound down usually late November or early December. However, Mass. Bay Commuter Railroad's domain doesn't have allow such a scenario (and Amtrak's didn't either). So you should be safe.
Give it a try. You'll get a good starting pay, you'll get training. If a winter is severe, you'll get snow duty and as a trackman, no hours of service rules apply, you can be on continuous time. If a winter is mild, you'll distribute materials, clean up the shops and make sure the trucks are all shined up. Within a year or two, try out for foreman. You'll be rules qualified and when classes open up, you'll be in a good spot to enter a conductors' class. Or move through the Engineering Department (M of W). You can learn to become a truck driver, welder or a variety of other occupations.
I started with the Boston and Maine on 8/25/1968, worked the B & M into the Guilford years, went over to Amtrak in 1987 and Mass. Bay Commuter Railroad in 2003 and retired from there on 2/28/2005. I had an NHL job (No Heavy Lifting) in the office. But it was very rewarding. You'll probably like it too.

Thanks for the info Eddie Behr. Doesn't sound too bad if the info that you gave is correct. JZ I currently don't pay into RR retirement. My company that I work for is sort of like a sister company to Guilford Rail System called Guilford Motor Express. We sort of get screwed if you ask me though I'm not trying to bite the hand that feeds me currently. We all have to do what we have to do to pay the bills. Well I may try to apply for this position and if I get selected for the testing and the interview process try to take it further. I really don't have any heavy equipment experience but I do operate forklifts and clamp trucks(forklifts equipped with clamps to pick up paper rolls) so maybe that wil help me out a little. And I do work in quite cold weather out on the dock so I am used to the elements so maybe I will try. I guess the point is I am trying to find a job with some sort of pension plan to prepare for he future when I retire. Currently at Guilford Motor Express all we have is a 401(k) plan which is a bit more risky than RR retirement is my opinion. Our company is not union and does not pay inot rr retirement. Thanks for the info all. [/code]

MBCR Track & Signal Depts. have not had any layoffs since they took over. That is no guarantee that it won't happen in the future. But since a lot of guys will be retiring in the next five years or so, you should move up the roster more rapidly than normal.

One thing: as the low man on the roster you would be required to go to anywhere on the system from Newburyport to Fitchburg to Franklin to Plymouth or almost any place in between. And if you go Track, you could get stuck for a while as a crossing tender which could require working second trick on weekends. Most new guys serve their time there for a while.

Hope this helps.

DAW

slotcanyoneer wrote:Thanks for the info Eddie Behr. Doesn't sound too bad if the info that you gave is correct. JZ I currently don't pay into RR retirement. My company that I work for is sort of like a sister company to Guilford Rail System called Guilford Motor Express. We sort of get screwed if you ask me though I'm not trying to bite the hand that feeds me currently. We all have to do what we have to do to pay the bills. Well I may try to apply for this position and if I get selected for the testing and the interview process try to take it further. I really don't have any heavy equipment experience but I do operate forklifts and clamp trucks(forklifts equipped with clamps to pick up paper rolls) so maybe that wil help me out a little. And I do work in quite cold weather out on the dock so I am used to the elements so maybe I will try. I guess the point is I am trying to find a job with some sort of pension plan to prepare for he future when I retire. Currently at Guilford Motor Express all we have is a 401(k) plan which is a bit more risky than RR retirement is my opinion. Our company is not union and does not pay inot rr retirement. Thanks for the info all. [/code]