A friend of mine, rather a "boomer" in the truest RR sense of the term, worked part time for a shortline in order to keep his RR retirement current. His "real" job had enough slack in it that he could essentially do 5 days work in 4, the go spend a day on the RR.
He's now a full-time railroader, having left the other full-time employment.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
Oh, a short line will be more flexible, all right...when they don't need you as an engineer, they'll probably have you out doing a little work on the tracks, sweeping the office, or wherever else they need you.
Carl
Railroader Emeritus (practiced railroading for 46 years--and in 2010 I finally got it right!)
CAACSCOCOM--I don't want to behave improperly, so I just won't behave at all. (SM)
I am not a 'cost accountant'. Up to a point, it is much cheaper for a carrier to pay overtime rather than hire another employee. On today's carriers, extra board personnel are guaranteed their earnings and are full time employees. While short lines may not be bound by union work rules, there extra needs will be at their need, not yours. As I said before, railroading is a life style, not just a job.
dragenrider Thanks for your reply. Do not railroads still use "extra board" personnel? It would make more economic sense to use part time personnel for fill in on a short line than to pay overtime wages. I realize that class 1 railroads are more set in their ways, but I figured a short line would be more flexible.
Thanks for your reply. Do not railroads still use "extra board" personnel? It would make more economic sense to use part time personnel for fill in on a short line than to pay overtime wages. I realize that class 1 railroads are more set in their ways, but I figured a short line would be more flexible.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
It all depends on the shortline. There a too many of them to count, and they are all unique. Most places want full time people to meet the demands. With class 1's there is no such thing as part time, you have to be ready to work.
The Cedar Branch & Western--The Hillbilly Line!
Railroad, be it with a Class 1 or a Short Line is a career....not a part time job. The customers all these carriers serve are in business to make money and the carriers are a vital part of their logistics pipelines for both raw materials and finished products. If you can find a part time business concern that is the only customer of a short line then there might be part time opportunities, as part time is as full time as it gets.
Hi, folks,
I work one day a week part time as a relief engineer for a full scale tourist railroad. Someone at my regular job asked me the other day if I was planning on changing careers. While not interested in actually changing careers, I would like to move up to part time for a shortline railroad. How likely would it be that I'd get picked for such a position with my limited tourist RR experience?
My pluses include a fairly flexible schedule and I can make eggshell couplings with a passenger car loaded with tourists!
Thanks for your input!
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.