wabash1 a new conductor will make a engineer lots of money
a new conductor will make a engineer lots of money
Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.
And a old conductor can earn you both a whole lot more!
zugmann These old farts love to sit around and complain about how the newer RRers don't know anything, but you just know when they were new, they were also accused of not knowing their butt from a hole in the ground. Some things never change.
These old farts love to sit around and complain about how the newer RRers don't know anything, but you just know when they were new, they were also accused of not knowing their butt from a hole in the ground.
Some things never change.
Nope, they do not. And please note, I did not include all new guys, that would be unfair to those who do a days job, and are conscientious.
Yes, Nick, you, and the others have given good advice. I like Zug's comment about the lazy switchman--he will work out the best way to accomplish the needed with the least motion, which will move more cars than the man who does not look ahead will move.
Paul, thank you for pointing out the fact every blue-collar vocation calls for thoughtful planning, so that more work can be accomplished in less time. I think of the time that I was in Production in a semiconductor plant. There were two of us who more or less oversaw the two sections of production. I would come in early and check on the location of all the lots of wafers in process. I than could tell the other man when to expect certain lots to move to his side, and he was able to tell me when certain lots would move from his side to my side--and both sides would be prepared to handle the wafers. As a result, we moved more wafers than either of the other shifts--and the other shifts accused us of cheating (such as claiming to move lots that were not quite through a particular step).
Johnny
Thanks much, Nick, for starting this thread. It provides a logical and relevant place to post the following, which I coincidentially heard this / Sunday morning at 7:00 AM on the Philadelphia National Public Radio station, WHYY-FM 90.9. I was thinking of all you guys as I was listening to this, and wondering how I could work it into a thread and keep it 'on topic' - you've neatly solved that problem for me. For what it's worth, I've heard/ read several of your points elsewhere, and they seem to be a 'common wisdom' that maybe isn't so common. Thanks again.
- Paul North.
From: http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/programs/2010/meaning-of-intelligence/kristasjournal.shtml
"I grew up a witness to the intelligence of the waitress in motion, the reflective welder, the strategy of the guy on the assembly line. This, then is something I know: the thought it takes to do physical work. Such work put food on our table, gave shape to stories of affliction and ability, framed how I saw the world … I've been thinking about this business of intelligence for a long time: the way we decide who's smart and who isn't, the way the work someone does feeds into that judgment, and the effect such judgment has on our sense of who we are and what we can do." I Recommend Reading: The Mind at Work: Valuing the Intelligence of the American Worker by Mike Rose This refreshing, wonderfully written examination of beliefs about the mind explores blue-collar vocations and offers ample opportunity for the reader to reevaluate one's assumptions about the complexity of thinking that takes place as a hairdresser snips a lock, a waitress juggles multiple tables and orders, a carpenter problem-solves on site.
"I grew up a witness to the intelligence of the waitress in motion, the reflective welder, the strategy of the guy on the assembly line. This, then is something I know: the thought it takes to do physical work. Such work put food on our table, gave shape to stories of affliction and ability, framed how I saw the world … I've been thinking about this business of intelligence for a long time: the way we decide who's smart and who isn't, the way the work someone does feeds into that judgment, and the effect such judgment has on our sense of who we are and what we can do."
I Recommend Reading: The Mind at Work: Valuing the Intelligence of the American Worker by Mike Rose
This refreshing, wonderfully written examination of beliefs about the mind explores blue-collar vocations and offers ample opportunity for the reader to reevaluate one's assumptions about the complexity of thinking that takes place as a hairdresser snips a lock, a waitress juggles multiple tables and orders, a carpenter problem-solves on site.
Carl
Railroader Emeritus (practiced railroading for 46 years--and in 2010 I finally got it right!)
CAACSCOCOM--I don't want to behave improperly, so I just won't behave at all. (SM)
Yeah, and for some of us switchmen who really wanted to learn something, some of those old heads didn't want to tell you anything because they didn't want to show you how ignorant they are.
Actually, a lazy switchman will be the best of them all.
It's been fun. But it isn't much fun anymore. Signing off for now.
The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.t fun any
Zugmann:
Just remember the old saying,
" Old age and cunning will trump youth and exzuberence every time!"
RRKen I know this may sound blase, but it is true. Work smart, not fast. The best switchmen I worked with got done way before most, because they had a plan before they walked out the door, (We don't have yardmasters to pester us). Even if things did not go as planned, they could think on the fly. The young switchmen I work with today, walk too much (they must own a boot factory), make unnecessary moves (they must like being out in the cold and rain longer than they need be), never verify their lists, and do not pay attention to what is going on around them (three binders can roll by them and not even hear it). I like to call them one dimensional. And, they do NOT listen to the old heads on how things are done (nor do they watch). And the absolute most important thing about working a yard, leave it in the condition you want others to leave it for you. Hang air, no gaps in tracks, only two hand brakes at the end of a track, not scattered all over it, tag defects, and don't set up some other crew with a dangerous situation (clearance, housekeeping, ect.). They do care however that they get the big Footboard pay check!
I know this may sound blase, but it is true. Work smart, not fast. The best switchmen I worked with got done way before most, because they had a plan before they walked out the door, (We don't have yardmasters to pester us). Even if things did not go as planned, they could think on the fly.
The young switchmen I work with today, walk too much (they must own a boot factory), make unnecessary moves (they must like being out in the cold and rain longer than they need be), never verify their lists, and do not pay attention to what is going on around them (three binders can roll by them and not even hear it). I like to call them one dimensional. And, they do NOT listen to the old heads on how things are done (nor do they watch).
And the absolute most important thing about working a yard, leave it in the condition you want others to leave it for you. Hang air, no gaps in tracks, only two hand brakes at the end of a track, not scattered all over it, tag defects, and don't set up some other crew with a dangerous situation (clearance, housekeeping, ect.).
They do care however that they get the big Footboard pay check!
There is a real philosophical life lesson hidden in this post. Take it from an old retired fart. My father used to have a saying " You can't put an old head on young shoulders!" I heard it growing up many times, I never undestood until I started sproutng grey hairs.
To paraphrase what RR Ken (Band Leader) says; " The Young....do not pay attention to what is going on around them...And they do not listen to the old heads on how things are done(nor do they watch)."
And the final statement about wanting the big pay check, immediately, is a generational thing. It takes years to understand why it takes time to work into a paycheck catagory that rewards job experience and safety understanding of job issues.
Thanks you for letting me vent, and get this off my chest!
OK...I'm not that old, but here is some railroad wisdom I picked up along the way...
I'm sure my fellows Ed, Carl, Larry, Wabash, WSOR, Limited Clear, BaltACD, Zug, BigJim, and RWM can add their own wisdom.
Nick
Take a Ride on the Reading with the: Reading Company Technical & Historical Society http://www.readingrailroad.org/
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