Modoc Railroad Academy

[candace]

Hi! Here I am stumbling upon this thread 15 years later and wondering how things have changed in the industry regarding modoc/nars etc. I have always had in the back of my mind that I'd like to try working for the railroad, but I honestly don't know the first thing about it. It's more of just a gut feeling. So I'm wondering how this worked out for the OP, and also if anyone has any additional input on how things have changed since 2006. Should I look into one of these training programs? Or just try to get a job and work my way up? And where can I go to talk to people who work for different rails to find out what it's truly like and if I would even be cut out for it? Any advice is appreciated! Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Thread adjourned at long last [8D].... I hope that nothing I have said offended you RRChick, but I did want to make sure that you have all of the facts before making any major career decisions and financial commitments. I hate to see a future railroader not have their new career turn out the way they expected it to for lack of good information.

As a former Modoc guy, I can assure you that there will still be much to learn after you hire on, but at least you will have that much of a head start over your fellow job seekers. The two important things to keep in mind (as Modoc will tell you again and again) is to always keep an open mind (as your entire career will be a continual learning process as I can well attest to) and to take the time and make the effort to do things the safe way.

If you have any Modoc-specific questions during the course of your class, please feel free to e-mail me (using the e-mail link) and I'll be glad to help you to whatever extent I can. I make that offer only because I know a lot of former Modoc guys are not regular Internet users and therefore more difficult to track down and communicate with than the handful of us that are online.

We do wish you the best in training and career search. Stay safe [8D]!

[tjsmrinfo]

ladies and gentlemen these schools are setup to give BASIC TRAIN courses not the full fledged OJT by the class1's etc.

if you went to a truck driving school then hired on with a major company then you would be with a driver trainer for x number of weeks, however if that same company had a school and you attended it you would still have the basic knowledge plus still go out with a driver trainer for x number of weeks, but they also sgn a contract to work there for x number of years to pay off the classroom training.

RRchick i wish you the best of luck in your future careers.

no im not a rrd but i did drive trucks cross country, i also worked for a rr contractor, and i've worked with some guys that were very close to retirement.


tom

[traintownofcowee]

Hey, I was thinkin' of going to that place?
Become a train engineer or conductor.
I don't even think I need to go there because
if you can get a train movin' in Microsoft Train Simulator I
think you have what it takes, but simulators can be diffrent from real life.

[:)][8D][:D][^][xx(][:O][8)][|)][:P][;)][alien][X-)][%-)][(-D][swg][{(-_-)}]

[Anonymous]

Thank you arbfbe. I admire that you have been in for 37 years. Thank you for being polite. Its not very common on this forum. I have done extensive research and I don't want to be faulted by those who it intimidates. I know railroading is nothing like the jobs I have had in the past. But those jobs gave me the confidence to succeed. That is something I will never be ashamed of. Thanks again.

[arbfbe]

Railroadchick,

I would love to take you up on your offer but I am too close to first out to risk it. It is pretty obvious you have spent a lot of time working in traditional 'men's' jobs, I predict you will do well in the rail industry. It will be a little less antagonistic against women that some you may have worked in. I wish you the best of luck.

Thirty seven years ago when I hired out there were no off property training facilities. All the training was OJT. We never got paid for any of the student trips on the road or in the yard but that was part of the initiation. We also had another brakeman, a conductor and an engineer on all the crews who generally took an interest in what you were doing and they helped you all along the way. You could gain a lot of experience in a short time if you were willing to listen and do it someone else's way rather than they way that seemed best to you. It was always nice to have alternatives in the repertoire for the next time. Now you are pretty much on your own with just a radio and one other crew member to work through the situation. They may not have much more experience than you do when newly hired. Work safely and be careful first of all and don't be afraid to ask questions or admit you do not know. You have probably figured that out in your other jobs as well.

I admire you for your follow up with Modoc. You took the chance to cut through the BS and go right to the source. Many here on the forum would not have done that. Being an engineer is not all that bad and can be much drier than working on the ground.

MRL just started a new switchman's class a week or so and I do not know if another is planned later in the year. At least they pay you to learn but you will have to go through engineer's training in about 18 months after hiring out. Fill out the application at
www.montanarail.com if you are interested.

[Anonymous]

MEETING AJOURNED. BUTTOMS UP!

[Anonymous]

At NO time did I say I wanted to be an engineer. Most of the engineers that have posted on this forum have misunderstood or misinterprited what I have written. Are you so full of yourself that you don't have time to read the written word or are you just intimidated by formal training? Enough is enough. I am done with this topic. But I guess bad advice is better than none at all. But I do want to thank those who genuinly offer intelligent comments. For everyone else, may your union contract protect you.

[arbfbe]

This thread is starting to sound like a union meeting. Just like working on the railroad.

Well, that's what I think.
No, that's not the way it is.
Is so.
Is not.
I was there.
But my uncle told me that's not true
Well, you don't know what you're talking about
No, it is you who are an ignorant.....

And so on and so on until someone finally adjourns the meeting and the beer drinking gets a full head of steam.

Grant me strength for another 5 years more, please.

[coborn35]

QUOTE: Originally posted by railroadchick

THEIR LICENSES HAS ENABLED SUCESSFUL STUDENTS TO LEAP-FROG CONDUCTORS TO ENTER ENGINEER SERVICES.

NO! I honeslty want to bet you money on this. Do you seriously think that becasue you went to MODOC, you are automatically not going to have to be a conductor? NO CHANCE
The railroad usually will train you to be an engineer whe you turn 19-20 years old, but you will not be able to get any trains where you are the engineer until you get more seniroity.
Uless MODOC is selling senority, it will not make you an engineer.
If I wanted to, I could get my conductors card right now. But I would not be able to use it becuause of senority.

[Anonymous]

As for your question, I realize that railroading is a career and not just a job. I would prefer to get training ahead of applying so I may know if railroading is even for me.
Why all the talk about BNSF. From what I hear BNSF is the finest railroad to work on. However they're 5 other class 1's and hundreds of regionals and shortlines. Each governed by their own set of rules and regulations. Modoc told me they would give me a good and safe foundation to build my career. When contacting NARRS I left a message. When contacting MODOC I spoke with a person. When learning I want to feel, touch and smell. I don't want to sit in front of a simulator. During my tour of MODOC they explained to me, that if I went to a class 1or ANY railroad for that matter, I would have to go through their training also. But with MODOC's training in my pocket, the railroads training will be easier. I have been given so much food for thought, I need to step back and digest. My decision of school or no school, railroad or no railroad is yet to come. Thanks for all the advice. Stay cool and be safe.

[Rodney Beck]

Railroadchick their is no way that you will leap frog right to engine service, on BNSF we do not reconize the MODOC academy but we do have ties to the NARRS school at JCCC in Overland Park Ks. I am a certified FRA CFR-49 card carring engineer, I had almost 3 years with BNSF before I won a bid to go to locomotive engineer school in Overland Park Ks., if BNSF hires you we will still train you for 13 or 15 weeks, still have to take the conductor promotion exam pass it with a 90 or above, so why pay to get trained when you can go to the BNSF web site and fill out a application, get payed to train.

Rodney

[Anonymous]

THANK YOU RAILRAODWHATEVER FOR SETTING ME STRAIGHT. ESPECIALLY ON THE LITTLE KNOWN FACT THAT CONDUCTORS LEAPFROG INTO ENGINE SERVICE BY GRADUATING FROM MODOC (yeah that's a bunch of crap. shows right there, you know nothing of which you speak). I'M SURE THAT IF I EVER GET THE PLEASURE OF WORKING WITH YOU I WILL BE WATCHING YOUR DUST TRAIL....AS YOU TIE DOWN THE ENTIRE TRAIN PER MY ORDERS AS I WILL ALWAYS HAVE MORE SENIORITY THAN YOU. HERE ARE SOME WORDS THAT YOU WILL HEAR OFTEN IN YOUR NEW CAREER.....JUST STAND AT THE SWITCH! I HAVE WORKED WITH SOME GOOD LADIES OUT HERE, BUT WITH YOUR ATTITUDE, YOU WILL CERTAINLY BE "ONE OF THOSE," BY THAT I MEAN AN OVERCONFIDENT FEMALE THAT ACTS LIKE THEY HAVE BEEN AROUND 25 YEARS WITH ONLY 25 DAYS OF SENIORITY. UNTIL THEN GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR NEW CAREER.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by railroadchick

IRON WHAT EVER YOU HAVE MISS QUOTED ME. I NEVER SAID MODOC CERTIFIES ENGINEERS FOR ANY OTHER RAILROAD OTHER THAN MODOC RAILROAD.
THEIR LICENSES HAS ENABLED SUCESSFUL STUDENTS TO LEAP-FROG CONDUCTORS TO ENTER ENGINEER SERVICES.

PLEASE SPEAK ONLY OF WHAT YOU KNOW AND KEEP PERSONAL OPINIONS TO YOURSELF. YOU ARE CREATING FALSE ALLUSIONS.

STICK WITH WHAT YOU'RE DOING AND YOU TO MAY BECOME AN ENGINEER. AS FOR MODOC VS. NARS THEY ARE 2 SCHOOLS TEACHING RAILROADING. ONE HAS HANDS-ON ONE HAS SIMULATORS. NEITHER SCHOOL JOINTLY OR INDIVIDUALLY CAN FUFILL THE IDUSTRIES ESTIMATE OF 2000 JOBS OVER THE NEXT 5 YEARS. SO LET THEM GO ABOUT THEIR BUSINESS AND PRODUCE SAFE RAILROADERS.

Pardon me, but what is the MODOC Railroad??? I'm not aware of any such common carrier railroad existing under STB permit with authority under the FRA regulations (49 CFR 240 et seq.) to issue such licenses. As far as I'm aware Modoc is strictly a private railroad school that offers training programs. Since when do they have a railroad????!

Oh, and yes, I am not only a licensed locomotive engineer and qualified conductor, but also an attorney with significant experience representing railroads before the STB, FRA and in the State and Federal Courts.

What exactly is your source of information???

LC

[Anonymous]

Thanks Sammythebull. It seems everyone has something nasty to say. But what do you expect from a bunch of men for sooooo many years didn't have the privlege of working with women. In my opinion they are just affraid they'll be showed up. And that is something I know a lot about. I have worked in mens world's my whole life. These guys have nothing on the intimidation factor. I bet if you said boo most of them would jump. [bow] to the lady who's smoke your trailing.

[Anonymous]

RR Chick: don't let anyone give you a hard time because of your sex. We have a ton of ladies out here both in eng & ground service. All do a good job and I have no problem working w/any of them. My girlfriend goes next wk for an interview for a BNSF condr class opening soon. Best of luck to you.Hang in there.

[Anonymous]

IRON WHAT EVER YOU HAVE MISS QUOTED ME. I NEVER SAID MODOC CERTIFIES ENGINEERS FOR ANY OTHER RAILROAD OTHER THAN MODOC RAILROAD.
THEIR LICENSES HAS ENABLED SUCESSFUL STUDENTS TO LEAP-FROG CONDUCTORS TO ENTER ENGINEER SERVICES.

PLEASE SPEAK ONLY OF WHAT YOU KNOW AND KEEP PERSONAL OPINIONS TO YOURSELF. YOU ARE CREATING FALSE ALLUSIONS.

STICK WITH WHAT YOU'RE DOING AND YOU TO MAY BECOME AN ENGINEER. AS FOR MODOC VS. NARS THEY ARE 2 SCHOOLS TEACHING RAILROADING. ONE HAS HANDS-ON ONE HAS SIMULATORS. NEITHER SCHOOL JOINTLY OR INDIVIDUALLY CAN FUFILL THE IDUSTRIES ESTIMATE OF 2000 JOBS OVER THE NEXT 5 YEARS. SO LET THEM GO ABOUT THEIR BUSINESS AND PRODUCE SAFE RAILROADERS.

[Anonymous]

I do believe that they did find that place, L.C. I must say though, you are going to the outer reaches of my Rock n Roll realm when you talk about the beet'ls. I'm just a pup....32

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by ironken

Well gee. LC! you must not know what you are talking about! Cause she DID take the time to go to MODOC in person and somebody DID say that their cert is good.......so it must be so. I need to know what zip code that the FRA regs do not apply in, so I can go live there too. Life would be so much easier and I would have promoted before I ever hired out. For that matter, I would hold engine seniority before I even had a hire date.

Didn't the Beatles find that place? Seems to me I saw it in "The Yellow Submarine" they got rid of all of those blue FRA folks as I recall...

LC

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Mookie

I vaguely smell a mouse.

Aren't you the mouse elimination detail?

By all means...eliminate, erdicate, and remove...

LC

[Mookie]

I vaguely smell a mouse.

[Anonymous]

Well gee. LC! you must not know what you are talking about! Cause she DID take the time to go to MODOC in person and somebody DID say that their cert is good.......so it must be so. I need to know what zip code that the FRA regs do not apply in, so I can go live there too. Life would be so much easier and I would have promoted before I ever hired out. For that matter, I would hold engine seniority before I even had a hire date.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by railroadchick

Okay today I went to the Modoc Railroad Academy. A lot of has been said on this topic & has been proven incorrect. In fact I was also able to meet someone from BNSF that was there interviewing the current students. They did say that the engineer program certifies for their railroad. Even is someone worked for UP for many years and then went to another railroad you would still have to go through their training. I talked to the current students. They were very informative. Also something I thought was pretty cool is they gave me contact info of previous students if I had any more questions. One thing I found out is that not everyone that has gone through the school, (they wouldn't give a name) but someone had lied on their application to BNSF regarding a felony and yes they were not able to help that student. They admitted that this school is not for everyone. Not everyone can cut it. If you're a railroader you understand that this is a career not just a job. I have decided to attend. Especially after speaking with BNSF. Thanks for all the advice.

I have no idea who this BNSF person was, but they obviously don't know their Federal Regulations. Probably someone from Human Resources.

MODOC Cannot certify anyone. That is the law. Beware anyone who tells you otherwise. They are wrong and if you believe them you will pay the price ...

LC

[Anonymous]

I agree with what you say drfizz!

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by ironken

Well hell RR Chick. If the engr. program certifies a student for the BNSF, I have been wasting my time doing it the old fashioned way of bidding on eng. service when I could have simply went to MODOC and presto.....instant engr. I must have also misread the job postings on the BNSF's web that explicitly state that graduates of NARS will be given first consideration for condr. trainee spots. I must have missed the fine print stating p.s. and MODOC too. I guess when I wanna become a real rail, I will save my pennies and attend MODOC and if I want to get the real scoop on RR employment, I will talk to MODOC students instead of people that have been through the RR hiring game and HR people that I know......silly me. GO MODOC! Sheesh!

I don't want to get into an NARS vs. Modoc argument here, but I will point out that only some of BNSF's conductor trainee job postings state this requirement (maybe in practice this applies to all conductor postings and it's just not printed on some... maybe you would have more knowledge about that than outsiders). Two of my four Modoc classmates were hired on by BNSF, but I do agree that anyone specifically looking to get on with BNSF should probably consider NARS ahead of Modoc, because of that increasing hiring preference.

[Anonymous]

Well hell RR Chick. If the engr. program certifies a student for the BNSF, I have been wasting my time doing it the old fashioned way of bidding on eng. service when I could have simply went to MODOC and presto.....instant engr. I must have also misread the job postings on the BNSF's web that explicitly state that graduates of NARS will be given first consideration for condr. trainee spots. I must have missed the fine print stating p.s. and MODOC too. I guess when I wanna become a real rail, I will save my pennies and attend MODOC and if I want to get the real scoop on RR employment, I will talk to MODOC students instead of people that have been through the RR hiring game and HR people that I know......silly me. GO MODOC! Sheesh!

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by railroadchick

Okay today I went to the Modoc Railroad Academy. A lot of has been said on this topic & has been proven incorrect. In fact I was also able to meet someone from BNSF that was there interviewing the current students. They did say that the engineer program certifies for their railroad. Even is someone worked for UP for many years and then went to another railroad you would still have to go through their training. I talked to the current students. They were very informative. Also something I thought was pretty cool is they gave me contact info of previous students if I had any more questions. One thing I found out is that not everyone that has gone through the school, (they wouldn't give a name) but someone had lied on their application to BNSF regarding a felony and yes they were not able to help that student. They admitted that this school is not for everyone. Not everyone can cut it. If you're a railroader you understand that this is a career not just a job. I have decided to attend. Especially after speaking with BNSF. Thanks for all the advice.

As I understand, I believe that the guy with the felony problem actually did end up getting hired on by a shortline later on, athough he was pretty dumb for lying about it on his BNSF employment application.

So, have you decided to attend only the conductor's program or the engineer's program too? The school does "certifiy" locomotive engineers for the school's wholly owned railroad subsidiary (Modoc Railroad), but this certification is not an FRA-approved certification (although Modoc management does claim so, but I have yet to see convincing proof to support that assertion) because the Modoc Railroad has deliberately gone out of it's way to exempt itself from FRA regulation, namely by physically removing their UP main line switch, thus making thmselves a landlocked railroad not "part of the general system of railroad transportation" as termed in the 49 CFR 200's. Therefore, I see no explanation how an FRA-exempt railroad could issue an FRA-approved engineer's license.

Keep us posted and good luck with the training [:D]. Remember safety first, safety always [8D].

[Anonymous]

Okay today I went to the Modoc Railroad Academy. A lot of has been said on this topic & has been proven incorrect. In fact I was also able to meet someone from BNSF that was there interviewing the current students. They did say that the engineer program certifies for their railroad. Even is someone worked for UP for many years and then went to another railroad you would still have to go through their training. I talked to the current students. They were very informative. Also something I thought was pretty cool is they gave me contact info of previous students if I had any more questions. One thing I found out is that not everyone that has gone through the school, (they wouldn't give a name) but someone had lied on their application to BNSF regarding a felony and yes they were not able to help that student. They admitted that this school is not for everyone. Not everyone can cut it. If you're a railroader you understand that this is a career not just a job. I have decided to attend. Especially after speaking with BNSF. Thanks for all the advice.

[Chris_S68]

QUOTE: Originally posted by tjsmrinfo

i wish i had known about these schools in the early 90's when i first got out of the army. i'd have about 14 years senoirity.


tom

Actually, they didn't really have these schools back then, at least that I know of. At that time, most railroads hired through the state job services. Choo-Choo-U is a realtively new concept which, IMHO, is borne of people seeing an opportunity to make a buck in the job-screening business.