QUOTE: Originally posted by M.W. Hemphill The principal reason I went to work for a railroad is that I knew I'd never understand very much about railroading if all I did was look in from the outside. I've spent my life seeking to understand how things work, and why they're that way, and since my primary interest has always been railroads, it was natural that I go to work for one. That's also why I hired out as a dispatcher instead of in train service: I wanted to see the railroad from a viewpoint that surveyed the interaction between traffic, plant, people, and natural events, and the dispatcher sees all of that every day, and sees a lot of the railroad very quickly, whereas in train service it might take years to see more than a handful of subdivisions. Also, dispatching has better hours and you don't live out of a grip or in utter slavery to the telephone. Of all the jobs I've had -- and so far in my life I have had four distinctly different careers (the others are construction/design, writing/editing/publishing, and small-business entrepreneur), dispatching was by far the most intense, had the steepest learning curve, and had the most opportunities for making mistakes with terrible consequences. It's very hard for an editor to get someone killed overlooking even a big point in a magazine article. It's very easy for a dispatcher to get someone killed with just a one-second lapse of concentration. Dispatching by far also had the best job satisfaction, and the worst, sometimes on the same shift. It was extremely gratifying to watch trains move and move safely despite congestion, power failures, washouts, derailments, turf battles, human failures, and the occasional complete loss of CTC, radio, and company telephone lines. I took the lessons I learned to Trains, and it's not an exaggeration to say that had I not worked for a railroad, not only would have I edited the magazine much differently, I would have edited it inadequately and ignorantly, in my opinion. (Some will say I edited it ignorantly anyway, and there might be something in what they have to say. I note they haven't thanked me for creating a window of opportunity for them to launch their own magazine in competition, either!) Would I do it again? Who knows where life will lead. I never imagined for a second that I'd edit Trains until the day the opportunity presented itself. I never imagined I'd work for KCS in Shreveport, Louisiana, or travel all over Alaska, or run F units through the middle of a snowstorm in Colorado. If no risks are taken, no opportunities will be seized. All true adventures carry with them the risk of fatal error, and that's what makes them exciting. No one says you have to work for the railroad for the rest of your life. If you don't like it after a while, you can always quit. You'll take with you everything you learned, and while the world may not reward you with money for having a resume as weird as mine, money won't buy you a single one of the adventures I and other railroaders have had, either.
QUOTE: Originally posted by M.W. Hemphill Would I do it again? Who knows where life will lead. I never imagined for a second that I'd edit Trains until the day the opportunity presented itself. I never imagined I'd work for KCS in Shreveport, Louisiana, or travel all over Alaska, or run F units through the middle of a snowstorm in Colorado. If no risks are taken, no opportunities will be seized. All true adventures carry with them the risk of fatal error, and that's what makes them exciting. No one says you have to work for the railroad for the rest of your life. If you don't like it after a while, you can always quit. You'll take with you everything you learned, and while the world may not reward you with money for having a resume as weird as mine, money won't buy you a single one of the adventures I and other railroaders have had, either.
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.