School teaches life on the rails

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. - Robert Wagner still wears his hair in a tight military cut, but he recently retired from the Air Force to pursue a new career: railroading.

So Wagner, 38, from Clovis, N.M., paid his way here to the National Academy of Railroad Sciences. It is one of the few schools in the nation dedicated to teaching life on the rails. The academy, part of a community college in this suburb just west of Kansas City, offers courses for conductors, signalmen, welders, even an associate's degree in railroading.

Wagner wants to be a conductor - the No. 2 person on a locomotive, the one who handles the paperwork and unhooks boxcars. A father of two, he was attracted by a starting salary that can top $60,000 a year.

The job might seem like a relic from a different era, back when railroads were shaping the American West and transforming dusty spots on the Prairie into boomtowns. But railroads such as BNSF and CSX have been hiring at a frenzied pace. The industry estimates it needs to fill 80,000 railway jobs - mostly conductors - in the next few years due to growth in freight hauling and recently relaxed retirement rules.

Yet finding new hires, even for these good-paying, blue-collar jobs, hasn't been easy. Perhaps the biggest obstacle is people's perception of the railroad.

"People think of Amtrak. And they hear Amtrak is going out of business," said Jeffrey Abbott, director of training services at the academy. "They don't think (of) the railroad as being an industry that's a viable career."...

St Louis Post-Dispatch

David Telesha wrote:I thought the conductor was the #1 person on the train..?

Us engineers let them think that they are #1....

The conductor is the Boss on any crew. Alot of new engineers seem to think its the other way, its not.

He might be the "boss", but the train doesn't move without me. I can easily move without him, though, so who's really the "boss"? Also, no class can teach "life on the rails". You might get the tiniest of glimpses, into the tiniest little aspect of the job, but never a look at the lifestyle of the career. The ONLY way to learn about life on the rails is to LIVE it. No amount of railfanning, video watching or book reading will ever teach you anything, about life on the rails. You might get a buffs view, on how a single train looked, going past a single spot, on a single day. Hardly "railroading", though..........

Man ...... Ha.. you shocked me again there buddy. When im at work, i feel my job is take signals, the conductor calls the shots. LOL Your really not supposed move without his approval to do so. He cant do anything without you, but you cant eather without his permission. Ive never saw any good engineer tell the crew how things were gonna be. I dont know...

GOLDEN-ARM wrote:He might be the "boss", but the train doesn't move without me. I can easily move without him, though, so who's really the "boss"?

That's right! We can get the train over the road without a conductor, but train does not move without an engineer.

This reminds me of a thing that happend here in Los Angeles last year:
A crew was stoped at a red signal, so conductor decided to go get something to eat at a near by hamburger joint. While he was gone, engineer got a green signal, and since he could'n stand the "know it all" conductor he was working with, engineer took off without him and made it all the way to the yard where he was relieaved by a yard crew.
When they asked the engineer why he left his conductor behind, he answered: "I had enough of his crap".

Things usually go alot smoother when everyone does what they are supposed to, the engineer is in charge of the power, the conductor is in charge of the whole train. I take that to heart. If he says it's not ok to go there is no go. His job is to pull up paperwork, and ya aint going anywhere with it. You wont find me doing his job of pulling it up. Another thing he does is tell you that your done, and its ok to tie up and head for the house. I guess you could find out on your own, but then once again, your doing his job. Those are some pretty big job he has.. still think the hogs the boss? lol

Hey, UPRR, the sad but true fact is, some roads are now running through freights, that make no set-outs, or pick-ups, with an engineer only. I have made many a run, solo, myself. I know how many times I have had to take a Warrant, because I didn't want to wake up "dummy", who started sleeping as soon as we got on board, and I'm sure you have seen these guys too. It's a "one man show", when you gotta carry some load, like that, every trip. Half of these kids today can't call a signal, by name, and if they do accidentally get it right, cant tell you what it means. Hardly the person to tell me what to do. He might be in charge, when making hitches, cuts, etc., but I am the boss, on a moving train. Some of these "gems" are promoted to conductor with only weeks on the job, and not a clue in their heads. You can place your life, and career in the hands of these guys, if you want, but not me. Gimme a grouchy old head, any day of the week. Most of these old timers have forgotten more than these kids today, will ever even learn. Just my opinion though, your results may vary.......

(laughs) I think you would have a hard time finding any manager.... with the way things are set up to run on the railroad, What we get paid to do, the conductor is the boss. The engineer might be the boss his head, but its not set up that way. Just because your conductor is younger and sucks, and doesnt do his job, doesnt mean your in charge. Some hogs take up the slack, i just do what i get paid to do, take signals.

A one man hoghead job? Your not the boss of anyone then.... lol.

Kinda taking us to the place we were at about talking about running backwards arent we buddy.

Better read that rule book. I am certainly in charge, equally with him. If he fails to work correctly, or safely, I am in charge. The BKMN takes orders from the Engr and Cndr. I do my own tie-up, as do you. IF the Con was in charge, he would tie you up, and you would have no need for your computer tie-up, at the end of the day.You have two sets of bulletins, train consists and track warrants. If HE was the boss, you wouldn't need them, either. Keep on believing you are second fiddle. I will be content knowing I am the "king of the cab"

Your suppost to mentor younger employees, which is the conductor in most cases, lol, not take over. Most of the time guys younger than me learn something on a trip and leaving being a better employee. Im pretty blunt when i tell someone they suck, and then give them some pointers.

Here on the Old UP things are still the same as they were along time ago, hes the boss, good or bad. There are a few engineers that try and do put the crown on when they work with certain crews. Those hogs that are like that here... suck.

A HOG TELLING THE BRAKEMAN WHAT TO DO??? Where do you get the idea thats part of the engineers job?

(good talk buddy... incase your getting upset. Wish someone else would step in and tell you your wrong)

Lets pick this up under RR Ops, Whos the boss.

Read your rulebook. The brakeman takes instruction from the engineer, and conductor. It's written right there, for you to read. How can you possibly mentor someone, who "knows it all", with four weeks on the railroad. (I graduated from AMDG, you don't have to tell me nothin') is a commonly heard remark, nowadays. Why would I be getting upset? If you don't know you are wrong, that's not gonna upset me. READ your rulebook, then make a response. YOU ARE responsible for instructing the brakeman. Instead of telling a guy "he sucks", why not mentor him, as you suggested? You don't mentor by insulting. I just ignore the new 30/30 employees. (30 days on the property/acting like they have 30 years of experience) I will assist the willing, watch the new ones, and avoid the dangerous ones. I can always tell a "new" guy, with less than 5 years on the property. They all feel the managers are like gods, and believe everything the carrier is dishing. The pro carrier/anti union sentiment is heard and felt, in most new guys today. A far cry, from the "iron men, and wooden horses", of years gone by. I feel fortunate to have studied at the feet of the last of the true railroaders, not the sorry imitations the properties are flooded with today. As far as "putting on the crown", I don't tell the ground guys how to work, unless I see someone doing something that will harm, or kill one of us. (or get us fired) I rarely hear a signal called, get a two mile warning, for a slow order, or the end of limits. I do these things myself. Dummy is too busy reading his emails, playing with gameboy, or chatting on the cell phone, while I am busy working. I don't have time to babysit, and I am not the companies' "spy". These FNG's will get caught, eventually, and I will still be there, doing my job, same as I have been, for the last 24 years now. If you don't understand this, you might fit into the latter category, instead of the former. Regards

as a conductor, technically i'm the boss...the train doesn't move without my say so...in the real world though i like to think of myself and the engineer as working together, a team..both striving to do a good job and not get anyone killed or fired... i'm usually younger than the engineer's i work with and i like to let them know i am open to suggestions on the best way to do things...but at nut cutting time, i make the final decisions and take responsiblity for those decisions...if i do get an engineer who starts trying to take over my job i let him know real quick what the pecking order is...that is a rare occurance thankfully...my two cents anyway

Look up Rule 1.47 and be sure to check your SSI.