Does anyone here do this? I spoke to a tour line operator over the weekend who stated that they're looking for volunteers for the summer. My interest in this would be to get hands on experience on a railroad...from collecting the tickets to maybe learning to fire and run the locomotive. Any pros/cons? Why shouldn't I go for it?
Hey if you really want to do so I would go for it! I know of two people that are currently volunteers on a tourist line and they love it!! I think it would be a learning experience for you. If I could I would of volunteered to do something for a tourist line railroad but, I never had the oprotunity.. I got a job with a railroad instead lol . Job wise, there are things I really do love about the railroad I work for and there are some things that I don't like.
Though I do think you would have more fun working as a volunteer for a "fun" railroad than to be a "grunt" for a strictly busness railroad.
I'm about to wrap up my third year volunteering on the Adirondack Scenic. I love it.
It's work. It's real railroading, albeit with just a few cars and on a limited route. It's potentially just as dangerous as working on a Class 1 (maybe even moreso), and your "cargo" may just complain about a bad ride. But at the end of the day, you've had some fun.
Another plus - you'll be running on a schedule. No middle of the night calls to duty.
The first year I was a "car host." Look good, take care of the passengers - get them on and off the train safely, collect tickets, answer questions.
The second year I took the NORAC rules class and test (your local requirements may vary) and became a T&E "employee" - a "trainman" - hands-on work with the equipment. Handling the run-arounds, throwing switches, the works.
This year I started out as a trainman but quickly moved to "student conductor." I qualified as a conductor for our local runs on August 31 and have worked in that capacity a number of times since. I want to expand my qualified territory, which will involve being qualified by another railroad. In time.
Even though I'm a conductor, I still drop back to trainman if there is a more senior conductor working. Even our engineers sometimes drop all the way down to trainmen when circumstances dictate.
At some point I'll apply for my engineer "learner's permit" and start getting some seat time. We have several student engineers right now, so I'm not in a big hurry. We don't run steam, so fireman isn't an option in the "career path."
Enough of my "life story." Visit the tourist line you'd like to volunteer with and see what they have to offer. Odds are they're looking for volunteers. Be willing to start at the bottom (everyone wants to be an engineer) and work your way up.
And stay safe.
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...
Thanks for your input Sarah and Larry...I think I will go for it. Part of the allure (apart from working around trains) is the idea of getting some hands on experience and working outdoors. I spend most of my days at a desk and in front of a computer screen...so this will be a welcome change from that.
Ulrich Thanks for your input Sarah and Larry...I think I will go for it. Part of the allure (apart from working around trains) is the idea of getting some hands on experience and working outdoors. I spend most of my days at a desk and in front of a computer screen...so this will be a welcome change from that.
Sounds like you just got yourself into a good hobby ! Hobbies are great for relieving stress !
Tree 68,
Why dont the guys that are engineers go home that dat if theyre not needed? Is everyone assigned days to work or do you just show up everyday to be available for what ever needs to be done?
Been doing it since I was 14. We operate on a seniority list for engineers, and have a large crew board with magnets where the lineups for the next two weeks are listed. Conductors and fireman is a first come first serve. Seniority dictates all charters.
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
videomakerTree 68, Why dont the guys that are engineers go home that day if theyre not needed? Is everyone assigned days to work or do you just show up everyday to be available for what ever needs to be done?
Why dont the guys that are engineers go home that day if theyre not needed? Is everyone assigned days to work or do you just show up everyday to be available for what ever needs to be done?
Everyone starts out at the bottom and works up. Some spend less time than others at certain steps, especially if they are experienced on other railroads. This yields seniority. Right now I'm at the bottom of the conductor's list. But everyone is qualified at all levels below them.
We are scheduled a month in advance - the potential for random drug testing being one reason. We send in our availability to the trainmaster in advance and he schedules according to who is available for each day we're running. A minimum crew would normally be engineer, conductor, and at least one trainman (car hosts are scheduled separately). If only three people are available for a given day and they're all qualified engineers, the senior person will get the seat, next will be conductor, and the junior crew member will be the trainman.
Some folks have enough seniority that they'll always be able work at their highest qualification.
Many of us travel a fair distance to get to the railroad - we're not going to drive a couple of hours on the hope that maybe we'll get to be conductor today. In fact, if we show up and aren't on the schedule, we won't even be allowed to sign on as hours of service unless they are truly shorthanded. We can just ride, or act as a car host, but we can't do any more than that.
UlrichDoes anyone here do this? I spoke to a tour line operator over the weekend who stated that they're looking for volunteers for the summer. My interest in this would be to get hands on experience on a railroad...from collecting the tickets to maybe learning to fire and run the locomotive. Any pros/cons? Why shouldn't I go for it?
I've been a volunteer at the Illinois Railway Museum for 22 years. All museums and tourist lines are looking for volunteers.
IRM is typical; volunteers start at the bottom as a car host or working on restorations. Once you've done that for a year, you can take the rules test and be qualified to start training as a conductor or motorman. Once you've trained in those crafts, you take the qualification test; having passed the qualification test you can serve as conductor or engineer.
Once you've gotten some running experience you can train as an engineer. Our steam department requires 8 days of student trips before you can take your qualification as fireman or engineer. You have to be a qualified fireman before becoming an engineer.
Once you're qualified, you can sign up for service; at IRM it's on a first come, first served basis.
It helps to be known to the department as a reliable person if you want to become an engineer. It also helps if you're able to contribute "sweat equity" to restorations. Though if your contributions are with the checkbook instead of with the hands it won't be held against you. Every museum has its own culture; and an ability to take on the crummy jobs will definitely be taken into consideration. At most museums, everyone wants to be engineer and few people want to do the financial statements.
More than a few IRM volunteers have graduated to the mainline railroads.
videomaker Tree 68, Why dont the guys that are engineers go home that dat if theyre not needed? Is everyone assigned days to work or do you just show up everyday to be available for what ever needs to be done?
I work on the Avon Valley Railway in England, either selling tickets in the booking office or checking them on the train. For my part I am quite happy to do these jobs so I've not made any attempt to progress to firing/driving or being guard (what you call "conductor"). We have plenty of people willing to do those jobs but not enough who want to do the jobs I do.
We have a roster and I tend to work about two days a month. As I live within an hours drive of the railway, occassionally I will work at short notice, if for example the person originally scheduled to work on a particular day is no longer able to do so.
I find it very enjoyable and my co-volunteers are a good bunch. The AVR does employ a small nucleus of paid staff who work on Monday and Fridays, but many of them also work as volunteers at the weekend. We also have a number of social events and we get treated to a meal every January (after we've done running Santa trains!) as the company's way of saying thank you for your help!
I volunteered with the Boone and Scenic Valley railroad before going to work with the Union Paciofic . I made it a point not to mention this fact to anyone when I hired out, Because I know how the rails felt about the B&SV RR. But like in the above posts you need to start at the bottom and work youre way up. I found that it was a great way to both live the dream and relive stress. Even now I will go over to the offices of the B&SV RR and see how things are going Just a thought Larry. CNW FOREVER
I did it for a couple of years. A two-hour drive each way and working out of state, made me not mark up again. I didn't want to become unreliable and make them mad at me in case I could work volunteer there again. It was fun, dirty, fun, tiring, fun, long-days, fun, etc. They held classes in Jan/Feb and I went with my wife and even she learned how to connect frozen air hoses in February.
rrnut282 I did it for a couple of years. A two-hour drive each way and working out of state, made me not mark up again. I didn't want to become unreliable and make them mad at me in case I could work volunteer there again. It was fun, dirty, fun, tiring, fun, long-days, fun, etc. They held classes in Jan/Feb and I went with my wife and even she learned how to connect frozen air hoses in February.
I live about a 100 miles from 2 different tourist rr's, I dont think I would drive it twice aweek being that far..I have thot about volunteering for the Austin Steam Train www.ast.org when and if they get it finished (rebuilding)...SP Mikado 2-8-2
The other is the Tx State Railroad www.TSR.org but I think they are about bankrupt since Hurricane Ike came thru..Too much water dumped in the area and a flood 2 yrs before that... AST runs an Alco rs 13 and a gp 40 or something now...TSR runs old steam engines like consoladatedes and praires...
Ulrich Does anyone here do this? I spoke to a tour line operator over the weekend who stated that they're looking for volunteers for the summer. My interest in this would be to get hands on experience on a railroad...from collecting the tickets to maybe learning to fire and run the locomotive. Any pros/cons? Why shouldn't I go for it?
I worked one summer for the Boone & Scenic Valley. Even in that short a time, I can definitely see how railroading can get into your blood. When I was out there as a brakeman, the work obviously wasn't terribly complicated, and August in central Iowa can get a tad warm, and it didn't seem like it was all that much fun when I was working. But after I'd get home and showered-up, I was on the phone to request when I could work again! You may run into some hard-heads as in any job. They had some personalities working there - especially one loudmouth who was one of the few paid employees, and who set some very bad examples with really dangerous actions on his part (he mouthed-off to me once and we had words that I thought might escalate things, but words were all he had to offer). But in retrospect I think that gave it a more realistic flavor - you get all kinds of personalities on the big revenue railroads too.
Just finishing up my 3rd year as a volunteer at Golden Spike NHS. I started in repair and restoration (which takes about 6 months of the year). My first task was to sand the wooden brake beams. I have noticed that the staff there tends to start the newbees on simple, boring tasks. If that doesn't wash the volunteers out - then they go on to more and more complex tasks. I have fired for 3 summers (up to 130 in the cab) and even got some right seat time in. Since I have a lot of technical writing background, I have written training documents and procedures. Last year I wrote a wildfire plan and now I am working on an eathquake plan. Being a volunteer is well worth the time spent.
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videomakerrrnut282 I did it for a couple of years. A two-hour drive each way and working out of state, made me not mark up again. I didn't want to become unreliable and make them mad at me in case I could work volunteer there again. It was fun, dirty, fun, tiring, fun, long-days, fun, etc. They held classes in Jan/Feb and I went with my wife and even she learned how to connect frozen air hoses in February. I live about a 100 miles from 2 different tourist rr's, I dont think I would drive it twice aweek being that far..I have thot about volunteering for the Austin Steam Train www.ast.org when and if they get it finished (rebuilding)...SP Mikado 2-8-2 The other is the Tx State Railroad www.TSR.org but I think they are about bankrupt since Hurricane Ike came thru..Too much water dumped in the area and a flood 2 yrs before that... AST runs an Alco rs 13 and a gp 40 or something now...TSR runs old steam engines like consoladatedes and praires...
If your going to do that, you should go and help volunteer before they get the steamer done. Nobody on a volunteer line hates anything more than the guys that wait till the job is done, and then come in and think they are gonna fire the steamer.
Not saying it about you, but just a heads up.
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