EXTRA BOARD

[wabash1]

Show me where i was complaining. also dont be quick to judge i said as a exsample. for the 1700 but i did draw 942 this last half. also the operators have gaurentee extra board. and they sit on the board 2 weeks at a time not working making a regular paycheck. but i guess if you dont work in the railroad industry its hard to think that you get paid for doing nothing but waiting for the phone to ring. Nobody should bring up the reserve board. and how it pays you to sit at home not even waitng on the phone.

[Anonymous]

BNSF is hiring buttloads as we speak. As I allready said, furlough is almost guarenteed. Whoever still wants to try this as a career, I strongly suggest that you stay away from "primary recall," locations. You will be married to that terminal for 5 years. That means that if you get furloughed from Kansas City and transfer to say Temple TX and KC ends up running short on people, they can and have forced people back. Gets a little expensive when you start breaking appartment leases. Next piece of advice to all who hire: I have seen alot of guys go out and buy vehicles and houses only to get furloughed a few months/weeks later. Don't do this! You should see the look on their faces when they get cut off. This is really what makes this job tough for New Hires. You can't really plan a future such as buying a house, etc. The physical work is easy, but, there is a lot to learn. The hours suck, but if you are single it is not all that bad. The pay is good when you are working, but you gotta save while you can. Days that you are on a bump board are not paid. As a new guy plan to get acquainted well with the bump board. If you sit on the bump board a few times during the half it can really kill your pay. Also, a good portion of the time familiarization trips are paid (there are some variables to this), but don't plan on seeing that money right away. Mine have gotten declined often and need to be put in as a special claim. You may not see this money for a couple of pay periods or more. Being on the hind teat is tough. Since we were talking about hiring in this thread, I wanted to shoot all of you guys considering this job straight.

[Anonymous]

Hey Train, I've read just about all the thread here. (I really like the jab about talking to the boys at the hobby shop...now there's a sarcastic railroader!) But let's say you go ahead with this big railroad career...and you suffer through EVERYTHING described here...and you stick with it (not getting hurt or worse)...and FINALLY, you get enough seniority to hold a regular job...when suddenly BINGO! Your seniority district is merged with others. Now you drop back down the new list. Then a few more years and POW! The union that pretends to represent you has sanctioned the use of technology that allows trainmen with less than 6 months service to run the black box engine on a job you're not allowed to bid on! That's my story...all of those things happened to me; my seniority covers three former districts on my home road, plus two segments of foreign railroads we took over...I have fewer job selections now than ten years ago. Guess where the younger men are in that mulligan stew. If you like trains, see if you can volunteer at some museum operation or see if you can work for some daisy-picker railroad on weekends. Let that satisfy your love of railroading and go out and get a job that allows you to have a life. Believe me, Train, the railroaders in this thread are TELLING IT AS IT IS!

[Anonymous]

Hey skeets, sounds like the RR has scraped the ol horn in your nether regions. I'm fairly new, but my sphyncter feels like that of an old head. I whole heartedly agree with what you said. The Kodak shine sure seems to wear off of the RR when you get to stand outside freezin your *** off switchin' cars only to know that you will be furloughed in a few short weeks. I don't even want to think about the black box. That daisy-picker thing you said is just plain funny!

[wabash1]

To sum it up. eveyone who thinks they are going to have a weekend off job with railraods are fooling themselves. there are guys with 25+ years with railroads that dont get weekends and holidays off. the transportation field will not stop for anyone.i dont care if it is railroad ,trucking , bus driver planes or what not. it is our job to move freight to make sure others have lives. when you relize this then transportation will be easier.