Best RR to work for?

[Paul_D_North_Jr]

Murray

  The two that I heard were the very best were Pan Am Railways and Progressive Rail (PGR). 

 

Well, I see that you're in apparently in Texas, and Pan Am - the former Guilford and before that, the Springfield Terminal, MEC, B&M, etc. - is in the NorthEastern US.  So, since the Original Poster also specifically asked for ''why'' - the basis of your opinion is what ?

- Paul North. 

[Paul_D_North_Jr]

wwhitby

 

Funny about the RR biz... seems like you ask most railroaders about their job and they say don't get into it... yet there are thousands of us railfans that would die to get in...

I'm one railfan that would not like to work for a railroad.  Spending time with my wife and kids, and having regular time off is important to me.  There's no way I could work on an extra board.  I'll keep my normal everyday 7am-4pm job, and watch / photograph trains in my free time. 

Someone else once said, "I got a job, but lost a hobby".  When I was in the business on a day-to-day basis, I found that to be true.  I let most of my magazine subscriptions lapse, including even Trains for a while - too much of a good (or bad ?) thing, I suppose.  As the saying goes, "It reads better than it lives" (from one of Ian Fleming's James Bond novels, perhaps '*** Galore' in Goldfinger).

- Paul North. 

[Anonymous]

Paul_D_North_Jr

Murray

  The two that I heard were the very best were Pan Am Railways and Progressive Rail (PGR). 

 

Well, I see that you're in apparently in Texas, and Pan Am - the former Guilford and before that, the Springfield Terminal, MEC, B&M, etc. - is in the NorthEastern US.  So, since the Original Poster also specifically asked for ''why'' - the basis of your opinion is what ?

- Paul North. 

I am originally from the northeast...and Pan Am (nee B&M et al) has a unique history.  And its new relationship wiht Norfolk Southern is proving to be very beneficial to that road's operations.

[henry6]

I think this concept of a railroader being a fan or not being a fan has changed greatly over the years.  Back when it was not uncommon for an employee to be a fan: pride and allegiance were two reasons; it being a career or choice job if not a family legacy is another.  But the evloution of the buisness has changed that, too.  In today's society a job is a job is a job, it is a way to make money if not a living. In my own field, broadcasting, such a change exists.  I used to relish the ability to travel and listen to all different radio staitons, watch TV in another town or  market; compare images created, music played, and presentation. But today, it's no longer fun to listen to because there is no comparison and a lot less quality, too.  So, I don't think it is just railroaders who have this problem: the clerk at Walmart and Target both feel the same, the mechanic or machinist can work anyplace because there is no difference from one to the next.  Loyalty is lacking on both sides of the labor table as labor can and will move across the street for a dime and the company will move off shore for the same dime, either one closing an operation down.  So the question has to be asked in either of two contexts: the past or the present.  And the answers have to be accepted weighing the same past or present context.