16 yr old train buff looking for summer job

[Anonymous]

Hey everyone, I am a 16 year old who is looking for a summer job. Natrually, as a avid train buff, and subscriber to Trains magazine, I thought it would be neat to see if I could land one on a working railroad (like as a switchman or something) if anyone knows of any openings around the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, or if this is even possible, please reply, Thanks

[Anonymous]

Hi Chris,
I work for the UP out of Chicago and I hired out when I was 18 years old back in 1979. I have heard about other workers who started for the railroad when they were 17 years old, because back 50 or 60 years ago all you had to do is say you were 18 and the RR never check and probably did not care. However in 2002 the UP railroad will not hire you unless you are 21 years old and with the computer age we live in now it is easy for the RR to check out all of your information and so on. I wanted to work for the RR since I was 12 years old and if you really like trains I hope in a few years you do get a railroad job. So, to answer your question I would say, being 16 years old it would be impossible for you to work on any Railroad.

[Anonymous]

oh well, thanks anyway.

[Anonymous]

oh well, thanks anyway.

[Anonymous]

Chris,
Have you ever heard of "The Tarantula Train"? They operate steam powered excursions between Ft. Worth and Grapevine, TX. Most tourist railroads will be able to offer you some sort of involvement in railroading, but you won't be able to really "get your hands dirty" until you're at least 18. Sorry, thems the breaks. Go to their website to find out more info. Let us know if you make any progress!
http://tarantulatrain.com/

[Anonymous]

thanks, i forgot about it. i have sent them an email and am waiting for a reply :-)

[john7470]

Chris, Michael is onto something. I think your only opportunities will be with tourist railroads/museums. I don't know what your options are in DFW. I landed my first railroad job when I was 15, banging spikes on a tourist railroad (working as a volunteer as I was not old enough to be on the payroll legally).

20+ years later, my career continues in management for a class 1, thanks in large part to the contacts I made and knowledge I gained during those high school and college years.

Best of luck!

[Anonymous]

My experiance is similar to John's, although I'm much younger. I started working for a tourist railroad in New Jersey when I was 16. I worked my way up to student conductor and assistant passenger director within a year. Unfortunately because of company politics, my boss and I were fired for no reason last fall. (I'm 18 now). In the past couple of months I've taken my experiance with the railroad and the education I'm getting at college (Rider University) and landed a job as THE Marketing Representative for a major railroad video company. The point is that there are a lot of careers and jobs our there for someone with a passion for railroading, and they aren't all on a railroad.

One last IMPORTANT point. Chris: beware of management. Politics in and around shortline railroads can be the worst. There are BIG egos that you will have to contend with, even though you only want to help make a difference. On the other hand, if you CAN work around them, your experiance with a shortline tourist railroad can be very rewarding. Good luck! Let us know what happens!

[Anonymous]

thanks everyone, i now have a response from my email i sent to The Tarantula Train and they will be HIRING teenagers for the summer! so we will see how this turns out.