How much money dose a beginner Train Engineer make per hour on mainline service for 2009?
Trade secret. No one likes to talk about it. It's one of those mysteries of the profession.
Not as much as my wife thinks I make...
Mike WSOR engineer | HO scale since 1988 | Visit our club www.WCGandyDancers.com
wrawroacx How much money dose a beginner Train Engineer make per hour on mainline service for 2009?
A dollar three-eighty for straight time.
Poppa_Zit [A dollar three-eighty for straight time.
[A dollar three-eighty for straight time.
She who has no signature! cinscocom-tmw
Mookie Poppa_Zit [A dollar three-eighty for straight time. They got a raise?
Darn now everyone knows we got a raise. Anyways I am not sure why you guess think it should be such a secreat what we make in pay, I am more than happy to tell them what we get paid, last year i didnt make as much as the year before but it still was a decent wage. I made a little less than the president of the united states and a little bit more than a full time teenage employee at mcdonalds.and me and my neighbor compared w2s and if i had made 2 cents more i would have made as much as a postal worker.
wabash1 I made a little less than the president of the united states and a little bit more than a full time teenage employee at mcdonalds.and me and my neighbor compared w2s and if i had made 2 cents more i would have made as much as a postal worker.
I made a little less than the president of the united states and a little bit more than a full time teenage employee at mcdonalds.and me and my neighbor compared w2s and if i had made 2 cents more i would have made as much as a postal worker.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
When I was looking in to a career at CNW twenty years ago, I was told engineer pay was based on milage not hours. Under a hundred miles, in was a fixed rate.
James
Would you appreciate if someone just came up to you and asked how much you made?
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I'm sorry my post caused problems. I was just curious about how much.
wrawroacxI'm sorry my post caused problems. I was just curious about how much.
Sometimes it's easier to use Google, where I typed average engineer salary and went to this page:
http://swz.salary.com/salarywizard/layouthtmls/swzl_compresult_national_TR20000027.html
GraniteRailroader Would you appreciate if someone just came up to you and asked how much you made?
I read and re-read the original question. He did not ask you how much you made. He asked how much a beginning train engineer made.
Plus, you use a fake name as do many of us, so what's the big deal?
I thought it was a legitimate question, no need to apologize.
I think some railroads ask this question...likely to see if you know anything. I have a suspicion it's a screening mechanism.
I don't really care how mutch theay make. I am going to be an engineer one day and I would do it for free! Well Maby not for free. I just enjoy being around the railroad in general. Can't wait to work for It!
I would just like to send out a big thatnk you to all the hard-working train crews out there who keep this country moving. Want all you guys to know how mutch I appreciate you guys. I don't think people these days realize that most everything we have has been on a train and wouldn't be here if it wern't for the rail industry and it's hard working people. So to all railroad workers: I salute you!
The road to to success is always under construction. _____________________________________________________________________________ When the going gets tough, the tough use duct tape.
bubbajustin I don't really care how mutch theay make. I am going to be an engineer one day and I would do it for free! Well Maby not for free. I just enjoy being around the railroad in general. Can't wait to work for It! I would just like to send out a big thatnk you to all the hard-working train crews out there who keep this country moving. Want all you guys to know how mutch I appreciate you guys. I don't think people these days realize that most everything we have has been on a train and wouldn't be here if it wern't for the rail industry and it's hard working people. So to all railroad workers: I salute you!
I don't care how much either. I want to also become an engineer someday. Nobody has to anwser this post anymore. I looked it up on the internet and found out.
Engineers pay varies from $20 per hour at shortlines to $40 per hour at some commuter agencies.
When starting as Engineer a lot of railroads start you at 70% of pay with a 5% progression rate.
Now don't go saying you will do it for free. That might just come up in the next contract!
I guess the thing that most of the young guns on here don't understand, is that you don't automatically become and engineer. You have to slug it out on the ground for a while. Even then, at a class 1, you may never get the opportunity to go. They all have different rules and procedures for who goes when and how. Even at CSX there are areas (like the Louisville seniority district, and not the whole Louisville Division) where you don't have to go to engine school if you don't want. Some guys will pass it up a few times and then decide to go, bumping a young go-getter who had their heart set on it. Or there is the situation that a lot of us are in with the bad economy. We went to engine school, did several months of OJT, then got marked up knowing that we would be cut back immediatly to conductor. Now we are up for re-certification having never been marked up. ( and even being furloughed!)
Some short lines you may be an engineer one day and fixing the track the next. This is no joke, I know guys that do this. It sounds crazy, but to each their own.
It's not all about the pay...but the pay sure does help. Remember, most guys that love trains get a rude awakening when the phone rings at 3 am and you don't get to take pictures the next day.
Even if you're working for free (volunteering at a tourist road, as I do), you have to deal with seniority.
I qualified as a conductor over my regular runs last year, but I'm the last one on the list, so if anybody else is working, I'm a trainman, not the conductor.
The same will be true when I eventually qualify as an engineer. We have qualified engineers whose seniority date is below some of our conductors (never mind the engineers), so if they are working and there is a senior engineer and conductor working as well, they're "just" a trainman...
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...
It is my understanding that different jobs/railroads have all kinds of ways to figure pay. It is not always a simple hourly rate.
My father worked 43 years for the railroad. He recieved a good check each month but put in a huge amount of hours to get it. He always got home late and worked some on Saturdays. I think he endured it to get away from his four boys. Mom was at home making lunch for us all and he was sitting in a cafe somewhere with the crew, eating pie.
In today's Class I railroad world, where the engineer is expected to be no less than perfect, trip after trip, you'll earn every dime. Believe me, after you figure out what's going on, you'll know beyond a doubt that you wouldn't do it for free.
Thank you everyone for the encoraging words. I will have to work in the yard or be a window washer, witch would be fun to work on locomotives, first. Then if I get luckey I can be hired on as a engineer.
I'm pretty sure it was nonsense, but here I go: on a Northeast Regional cafe car I listened to Amtrak workers discussing wages and the topic came up of engineers. Some engineers make $165K with Amtrak. He said a good amount of that is overtime, which I took to understand as overtime due to train delays, deadheading, and that wage you get paid after exceededing the limits they have on hours of work (the term for this eludes me now).
It's a loaded queation. You're probably a Conductor working occasionaly as engineer at first and not by the hour. You're not payed at the hotel for the first many, many hours. Then once home you calculate what you made by the hour it can be pretty depressing.
A senior engineer making big miles is different, you asked "new guy". If times are busy maybe alot.
tree68 Even if you're working for free (volunteering at a tourist road, as I do), you have to deal with seniority. I qualified as a conductor over my regular runs last year, but I'm the last one on the list, so if anybody else is working, I'm a trainman, not the conductor. The same will be true when I eventually qualify as an engineer. We have qualified engineers whose seniority date is below some of our conductors (never mind the engineers), so if they are working and there is a senior engineer and conductor working as well, they're "just" a trainman...
Interesting.
This is our way of doing things.
Conductors: Huge list with ALL regular season runs listed (2 Lester River Trips Sunday through Thursday, with 3 on Friday and Saturday (13 mile roundtrip) Pizza Train on Wednesday through Saturday (32 mile roundtrip) and Friday and Saturday Two Harbors train (60 mile roundtrip) They sign up on a first come-first serve basis, with the highest seniority guys getting to sign up first for their regular jobs.
Fireman: Same as above, but none on the Two Harbors trip unless we use an engine.
Engineers: Seniority based. Assinged by the Operations Manager, most have usual weekday runs if they have enough seniority.
Our charter system works oddly, but in a good way. At the beginning of each season, a list with (at the time) all the charters are sent out and guys may bid in on any 10 they want, in the order they want. The list is looked at and for the first choice of the highest engineer, het gets it. They then move down the list and populate the crews with the about top 5 seniority guys, then scatter other guys in. The conductors also do this. The fireman are usually just asked by Tim to crew a charter, and many times we will have to go to option 3 or 4 to find a guy available to work. We ave over 50 operating guys, so it gets a bit heated at times.
The more seniorty, the more priveleges you get.
Lester River Trains: No special requierments, this is where rookies start off.
Palmers/Marbles Trains (siding names): Need to be able to take a track warrant and use a SPAF form, as well as know correct lantern hand signals and proper radio lingo for operating switches in dark territory.
Two Harbors: Need to know how to take a track warrant, obtain TGBO's, take a Main Track Authority (CN), hand operate powered switches/interlocking in the event of an emergency, do a proper rollbye on an ore train, and realize that sometimes CN RTC's have no idea what they are saying.
Last one is important, as this was a little event that happened last year.
DMIR 193: Ok at blah, is it ok if we hold on to this warrant? (back when CN used warrants)
CN RTC: Yea thats fine how long will you need it for?
DMIR 193: Umm probably about 20 minutes we just have to run to Larsmont.
CN RTC: Yea ok sounds good.
DMIR 193: We will be breaking radio contact is that ok?
CN RTC: Yea that is fine.
DMIR 193: Ok we will give you a holler in about 20, 193 out.
CN RTC: Lakes RTC out.
About 20 min later, just as we turned our radio onto the CN channel
DMIR 400: 400 to NSSR, come in over!
DMIR 193: Yes 193 here, what can we do for you sir.
DMIR 400: Where the hell have you been! The RTC is ready to rip you a new one.
DMIR 193: Umm, DMIR 193 to Lakes RTC.
CN RTC: WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?
DMIR 193: Umm, Larsmont....
CN RTC: We have been trying to contact you for 20 min! That ore train is sitting at Highland and needs a warrant down the hill.
DMIR 193: You told us we could hold onto our warrant.
CN RTC: Yea well, then I needed it back, you cant just not answer!
DMIR 193: You explicity told us we could take the warrant and break radio contact.
CN RTC: Uhh... *papers shuffle*
DMIR 193: Why is the trainmaster driving towards us red in the face.
DMIR 400: *stifling a laugh* Hey RTC how about you stop hassling these guys, let them clear up, and then get us the heck down the hill, I think the 404 is dying.
DMIR 193: Ok well anyway *clears warrant* so have a good day #400 and RTC we will be calling you in about 15 for another warrant.
CN RTC: Uhh ok.
The trainmaster proceeded to scream and rant at us as the engineer (a 50+ year GN, BN, and BNSF vet, started out on the steamers) looked on with amusement. It was so bad the Two Harbors paper ran a pic of the guy making one of our passengers cry and a very mad editorial.
:)
Mechanical Department "No no that's fine shove that 20 pound set all around the yard... those shoes aren't hell and a half to change..."
The Missabe Road: Safety First
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