The Trainmaster's Duties

[mudchicken]

BNSFwatcher

As far as Roadmasters go, do they have to be Civil or Mechanical Engineers?  I know I couldn't lay out a 'spiral easement' even on my model railroad, let alone inspect a defect or a field weld.  Up here, they even have to (re)inspect the tracks before an "Inhalation Hazard" train can pass in dark territory (our branches).  Lots of nasty oh-dark-thirty "overtime" that they aren't really compensated for, methinks.

Hays 

Don't really need to have that civil engineering degree until one gets above the Division Engineer level, but it doesn't hurt either. The degree is a tool that can be used or abused. Most larger railroads have a mix of folks who came up through the ranks and some who have college degrees. You really don't want all one or the other. You have to understand your profession, or you won't be around long. I was on the railroad eight years before I got in the roadmaster corps. I learned from some very good roadmasters without degrees or non-engineering degrees (forestry, ag science, education, geology...) and some who never finished school. I'm grateful to have been around them all and hoping that I've been able to pass on some of what I've learned to those following me.

 There are plenty out there that will never understand a spiral except to know what makes one defective by FRA rule (watch 'em lose it when there's an AREA 10-chord, Klauder and that undefined "thing" that gets left behind a track liner*) ...To really understand a defective weld, go find a metalurgist or spend your time in the trenches with the rest of us grunts.

It used to be that yould be a licensed PE or LS without a degree, but those days are pretty well gone. You need that PE after your name to represent the company at the Chief Engineer level. PDN will probably  chime-in here somewhere.

I've had just a few too many of those 72 hour days. In a lot of territories, there might be one roadmster and a dozen trainmasters plus a gaggle of yardmasters, etc. going 24/7 .... sleep becomes a luxury.

*there are way too many folks who have been fooled by the sales pitch that those track liners can put out engineering correct curves, including some at the Asst. Chief level at several railroads....All they can do is smooth out the rough parts.

 

....gotta go back out and dig holes...

[GraniteRailroader]

  A little story for you...

When I hired out with the railroad, I had a long-standing relationship with my train-master. I had known him for years, and was really in a pinch. Out of work, and in the hole monetarily, he hired me and mentored me through turning my life around.  He brought me up from a brakeman on the yard job to holding the yard job as conductor, and then holding one of the road jobs as experience and seniority allowed. I trusted him and he trusted me. We had a few small bumps along the road where we expected a little extra then the other was willing to give, but for the most part, it was a healthy relationship. For the most part, everyone liked and trusted the TM. If you needed a favor, he was there to help you. Short a few dollars in your check? He'd make sure it was right.

When a position came available on a larger regional railroad, I made it known that I was going to take the job if it was offered. The hiring process took around three months. At that point, our relationship was strained, and while I trusted him as a boss, we didn't get along like we had before. It started to become a game of who could screw the other over more.

From holding the yard job, and the PM switch job, I got to know the other railroad's TM before I got hired there. He'd call me when he knew the job was going on duty, to see if we could get him accurate lists, arrival instructions, etc. This was "family railroading" in a region where everyone knew everyone, and we all got along. From what I knew, he was a great guy to work for. And that stood true while I worked for him.

He wasn't one of the types of TM's that had zero experience. He worked his way up from doing MOW, and through train service. He had a great hand on how all aspects of the railroad worked. He got a job offer from another railroad closer to his home town and he accepted it. That's when the TM from hell came in.

The "new" trainmaster had been a real-estate manager, had been a railroad employee for a long time with a railroad in New England, but was a real tool. He was a union scab. When CP was on strike, he was one of the guys that went and worked for them. When the B&M was on strike, he did the same thing for them too. He was well known in the region for being a real pleasure to work for, if you kissed his ***.

His management style was to punish and discipline if you didn't answer to his every beck and call. Not willing to come in and cover a job that wasn't yours, you'd get a letter. If you marked off sick, he'd come and check in on you to make sure you were home. He'd cancel vacations with no notice. He is the type of TM that nobody wants to work for. Instead of calling an extra switcher to come work the yard, he'd go out and switch cars with the other railroad who interchanged with us in our yard to get their train ready.

He generated so much lost money in union grievances, that instead of changing management, they started changing schedules when job bids came around. When that didn't work and over time went through the roof, they started cutting jobs. Eighteen people from my railroad were cut. I was #17.

Now, if you're coming into the rail industry with no experience, I wish you the best of luck. But personally, I wouldn't respect you as a TM. You'd be the "new kid on the block", and you'd have to earn the respect from myself and my union brothers. Until you've proven yourself as a team-player, and not just another weed-weasle, don't expect much from anyone. We'll give you a chance, but expect resistance to change, and expect that any little mistake is going to lead to a grievance.

Personally speaking, unless you can switch a train better then the majority of the railroaders that are currently employed (which might not actually be hard. Half the "new guys" can't switch worth a ****. I was expected to memorize my trains, and switch without a list to get out of my "probation" stage. Not to double switch, don't handle things that don't need moving, and do it in the fewest possible moves). If you can't do my job equally to me, you shouldn't be managing how I work. The trainmaster needs to understand the jobs of the men and women below him....And have experienced it the same way his workforce has as well.