Basic Questions

[Mookie]

Years ago, they used "human callers" to telephone you for work. What system do they use now?

There were "turns" in the pool and on the extra board - do they still have both the pool and the extra board?

I assume they still use a senority status as to which jobs you will work. Since everything is now freight and coal (sans passenger) what is the more coveted job for pay - I am going to assume it would be the coal train. And if they do call you for work, do they still do about a 90 min call ahead time?

Just wondering....

[DTomajko]

Jenny, On NS around Pittsburgh,the senior crews seem to prefer the TV trains because of the greater mileage covered,hence larger pay.Also,the TV's are scheduled trains and are subject to union bid rules.I don't know how many manifests or coal trains are scheduled trains.On Conrail,most unit and manifests were operated as extras.At Pitcairn,Pa.,(east of Pittsburgh),empty coal trains are held until the mines are ready to load them.Many weekends,two trains are parked end-to-end on the third main from Friday until Sunday night before recrewing.I'm sure these jobs are worked from an extra board.I hope this helps a little. DT,Pa.

[wabash1]

jenny yes they still have human callers, the way trains are called is still 90 min call times. the pool jobs are bid in by senority if a job comes open or new job is up then they post a job bid the senoir bidder is awarded the job. if nobody bids on this job it is forced on the junior man or senior demoted man in service. all jobs are bid in by senority. you cant just pick a job you want you bid it in.

As far as what pays best is a indivisual thing. there are jobs that work 6 days a week (locals) that may not pay as much as thru freight but because of the hours (daytime off at night) make it better for some and not others. coal trains are good trains but i dont like them they are boaring. so i avoid them.

the extra boards are set up to work vacancies for guys who have regular jobs or jobs that are extras such as work trains. they are just as they say extra men who dont hold regular jobs but work when needed.

hope this answers your question.

[Mookie]

Wabash: some things have changed, some haven't. My Dad worked a pool turn in his last years and it was usually passenger. Ditto my Grandfather. Dad was on the extra board early in his career, but then had enough senority to stay in the pool regularly.

The crew callers then were "call-boys" - it was only men and you had to have a single telephone line - no party lines. You had to call in every few hours to see where your turn was so you could leave home, since they would only call your home # or a forwarding one that you gave them and they would usually only talk to the railroad employee, no wives or children. When Dad was "first out" - he knew he would be going to work and would start making preparations. The pool turns paid the best and worked the most. A yard job wasn't very good pay-wise, but like you say - he was home at nite unless he got the 11:55 pm yard office job!

Thanx for info! Like I said - some things change....some don't.

[CShaveRR]

I don't talk much to the callers any more, unless I want to change jobs or take a day off. I have a regular job, regular hours to my liking, and a set "weekend" (not always to my liking).

Nowadays, the second telephone number is almost always that of a cell phone, so the "stay-at-home" thing is pretty much a thing of the past (of course, you should be getting your rest if you need it!). A few years ago, it would be a pager. Also, I believe you can now get automatic e-mail notification when you're first out on an extra board...sort of a "heads-up".

[edblysard]

Hi Jenny,
Just to add to the mix a little, I work for a terminal road, PTRA, so we dont have road jobs, all of our "road" jobs are really switch turns, we go out, pull and spot industries along the Houston ship channel, and return to the yard, interchange the pulls to BNSF and UP, and take their interchange cars they brought to us, and start all over. All the jobs are bid on seniority
basis, the oldest guys get the best jobs, youngest guys ride the extra board. We all work 8 to 12 hours per shift, there are 3 shifts per day, start times at 7:00am, 3:00 pm, and 11:pm. Older guys have the morning jobs, middle guys get the afternoon shift, younger the night shift, real young the extra board. We have crew callers, male and female, who call guys off the extra board to fill vacancies on the regular jobs when some one marks off. They also handle the "bidding" on jobs when someone excersises their seniority to displace a person with less time in. 90 minutes is still the lead call time before you have to report for duty. Best jobs is a one man jobs that transfers cars from our Pasadena yard to North yard, and takes one back . Just ridding, no switching.
Stay Frosty,
Ed

[Anonymous]

The 90 min. deal notwithstanding, often, crews are called for say, a midnight departure time, but will sit until 2 or 3 waiting on other "variables". Back when Conrail was still sorting out the mess of Penn Central, It wasn't unusual for a crew to show up at the called time, and "go dead" on hours before turning a wheel.
Todd C.

[Mookie]

How interesting! I think my mother would have accepted the job more if we could have had those conveniences back then. This give you so much more freedom!

[Mookie]

Ed - sounds like you have an "outside" desk job!

Sounds like a pretty nifty set up. Now are you the old guy on the morning shift or the middle guy on the afternoon shift? (I'm guessing the middle guy, since you post usually in the wee hours)

But this is interesting, since I didn't realize they had set-ups like this. I am only aquainted with the local yard and over-the-road.

Jen

[Mookie]

Todd: Isn't that a shame - I hate having my time wasted - even when I am being paid for it! I remember things like this - I always thought it was kind of strange that the train would "die" just outside the city limits and they would have to truck the crews back and forth. I am so over-organized, it drives me nuts to see lots of trains in the yards or waiting to get into the yards for long periods of time. I always heard that the weekend dispatchers were the worst and that seems to be true here!

[edblysard]

Hi Jenny,
Middle shift, but by choice, it helps avoid the horrors of Houston rush hour traffic. One of the morning crews forman leaves him home in Katy, a suburb of Houston, at 5:00am to travel the 40 miles into the city. He spends another 2 hours going home. Not for this cat. I leave my home at 2:15, and get to the yard at 2:45, enought time for a cup of coffee before work. But, due to attrition, and the 60/30 retirement change to the contract, the PTRA is becomming a "young" railroad. Over half of the 190 plus operating personel are under 25. I am in a odd group of people hired at just the right time, as the older guys are retiring, so my group has enough time in to hold most jobs, some of us have even moved up to yardmasters, with just six years in service. At 44, I am one of the "old guys" to most of the crews. But most terminal and belt lines, and a few short lines, operate like this, you could say we run a scheduled railroad, but due to the nature of our customers business, it works out all around for everyone. We get the convienence of regular work hours, our customers, (mostly petrochemical plants) get the convienence of knowing we will be there at a certain time, every day, so it allows them to schedule production runs accordingly. Neat little railroad to work at.
Stay Frosty,
Ed

[edblysard]

Funny you guys bring this up now, we just had a UP crew abandonded at our yard last week. They brought in a grain train, left it in the receiving tracks, brought all their stuff, grips, suitcases ect, into the locker room, and called their trainmaster to arrange a ride back to a UP terminal, as there wasnt a empty to take back. And they just sat, for a hour or two. And called, and called, and called. Our trainmaster finally got po'ed, had us cut the UP power off the grain train,(it usually stays with it, we use their power to pull the empties, so the empty train is made up and ready to go straight from Cargil) and take it over to our outbound yard, couple up a few tracks, ran them paper work, called the dispatcher, told her we had a extra for a transfer run, and put the UP crew on the train. It was the only way they were going to get back to their terminal. These poor guys couldnt even get UP to send a cab for them, the only other choice would have been for them to spend the night in our locker room/lunch room, sleeping on benches.
Ed

[Mookie]

Ed: UP was probably busy finalizing the layoff of 1000 more people! Ah Midwest humor - I'm sorry - guess we are now the Great Plains!

[edblysard]

You know, it may have been they were laid off, and no one remembered to tell them. Maby they can hold the train hostage, till they get their jobs back?
Stay Frosty,
Ed (in warm, sunny Texas)