Railroad Jobs

[Anonymous]

What you guy's seem to be saying is: There's money to be made working for the railroad, but you have no family life. You gentlemen who work for the railroad, all of you must have a good patient spouse.
TIM A

[Anonymous]

What you guy's seem to be saying is: There's money to be made working for the railroad, but you have no family life. You gentlemen who work for the railroad, all of you must have a good patient spouse.
TIM A

[Anonymous]

Patient spouse..........Ha! Tim, as a single dude, it is nearly impossible to find a good girl working on the RR. Ever heard the old saying, "when the cats away, the mice will play"? Well, me being the cat means that the mice that I date play while I'm gone. I am gone alot, so the odds of me getting a spouse are slim. The good ones tend to shy away from us because it seems that rails have the rep of being tramps, and the bad girls seem to gravitate to us because they think that we have deep pockets and they want their cut. I have gone through a grip of chicks lately. This job is great for adding numbers to a guy's portfolio, but, is horrible if you are looking for, "the one."
Ken

[Anonymous]

Patient spouse..........Ha! Tim, as a single dude, it is nearly impossible to find a good girl working on the RR. Ever heard the old saying, "when the cats away, the mice will play"? Well, me being the cat means that the mice that I date play while I'm gone. I am gone alot, so the odds of me getting a spouse are slim. The good ones tend to shy away from us because it seems that rails have the rep of being tramps, and the bad girls seem to gravitate to us because they think that we have deep pockets and they want their cut. I have gone through a grip of chicks lately. This job is great for adding numbers to a guy's portfolio, but, is horrible if you are looking for, "the one."
Ken

[JoeKoh]

QUOTE: Originally posted by TARGUBRIGHT

What you guy's seem to be saying is: There's money to be made working for the railroad, but you have no family life. You gentlemen who work for the railroad, all of you must have a good patient spouse.
TIM A

I had a conductor and engineer ask if I was married.I said yes. They told me then don't come here for work.
stay safe
joe

[JoeKoh]

QUOTE: Originally posted by TARGUBRIGHT

What you guy's seem to be saying is: There's money to be made working for the railroad, but you have no family life. You gentlemen who work for the railroad, all of you must have a good patient spouse.
TIM A

I had a conductor and engineer ask if I was married.I said yes. They told me then don't come here for work.
stay safe
joe

[Anonymous]

Yep, I hear tell that the divorce rate is well over 70% on the RR. Hell, I work with 5 guys that are going thru a divorce. That is just on my run. And don't even think of having kids then divorcing on the RR. Support is horrendous. I have heard of guys paying upwards of $1,200 a month for 2. I pay $700 for one. Pretty sweet deal if you are a chick.........chaching!$$$$$$$$
Ken

[Anonymous]

Yep, I hear tell that the divorce rate is well over 70% on the RR. Hell, I work with 5 guys that are going thru a divorce. That is just on my run. And don't even think of having kids then divorcing on the RR. Support is horrendous. I have heard of guys paying upwards of $1,200 a month for 2. I pay $700 for one. Pretty sweet deal if you are a chick.........chaching!$$$$$$$$
Ken

[Anonymous]

Ken, I am sorry to hear that. I was in a simular situation at one time with my wife. I worked as a Cellular Phone systems Engineer. I would get called to all parts of the world trouble shooting Cell systems. I would be gone for weeks at a time. Money was great. Trouble is the wife was left alone to raise our two boy's. After one long trip my wife came to me and said "I can't do it alone anymore your Sons want to know how to play baseball and I know very little about the game." That was it, I quit the next day and went to work for the State. Took a cut in pay but in the long run it was worth it. Now all me and my wife argue about is who's turn it is to load the dishwasher. (The boy's are not old enough yet.)
TIM A

[Anonymous]

Ken, I am sorry to hear that. I was in a simular situation at one time with my wife. I worked as a Cellular Phone systems Engineer. I would get called to all parts of the world trouble shooting Cell systems. I would be gone for weeks at a time. Money was great. Trouble is the wife was left alone to raise our two boy's. After one long trip my wife came to me and said "I can't do it alone anymore your Sons want to know how to play baseball and I know very little about the game." That was it, I quit the next day and went to work for the State. Took a cut in pay but in the long run it was worth it. Now all me and my wife argue about is who's turn it is to load the dishwasher. (The boy's are not old enough yet.)
TIM A

[jrw249]

Was thinking about working for the railroad but it appears that it would not be fair to my wife. I guess I will have to be satisfied helping with a tourist railroad.

[jrw249]

Was thinking about working for the railroad but it appears that it would not be fair to my wife. I guess I will have to be satisfied helping with a tourist railroad.

[Anonymous]

Tim, you have your priorities in line! Sounds like your wife had some pull with you (in a good relationship, that's how it should be)! I envy guys that have a good woman. They are hard to find! I respect what you did.
Ken

[Anonymous]

Tim, you have your priorities in line! Sounds like your wife had some pull with you (in a good relationship, that's how it should be)! I envy guys that have a good woman. They are hard to find! I respect what you did.
Ken

[Mookie]

I want to give you one female's input - granted an older one, but .....

No matter what job you work - you need a spouse that will encourage you, if it is something that you really enjoy. There are many men and women out there that are more concerned with their wants and needs than with their partner/spouse's wants and needs. Your time together may not be all that much - but it is the quality that counts.

You may not be able to spend a great deal of time with your children, but again, quality is always better than quantity.

Above all, you must have great respect for yourself , your spouse/partner and your job. This is where it all starts - Get your house in order first and the rest will come - granted not w/o some ups and downs, but there are some very good people out there - both male and female. You just have to be ready to give them something besides time and $ - one of which you will have little and one of which you will have more.

And a whole lot of patience and tolerance is required, too! On both sides. Don't make your relationship a game or a stand-off! Set high standards for yourself and your one and only will find you!

Jen

[Mookie]

I want to give you one female's input - granted an older one, but .....

No matter what job you work - you need a spouse that will encourage you, if it is something that you really enjoy. There are many men and women out there that are more concerned with their wants and needs than with their partner/spouse's wants and needs. Your time together may not be all that much - but it is the quality that counts.

You may not be able to spend a great deal of time with your children, but again, quality is always better than quantity.

Above all, you must have great respect for yourself , your spouse/partner and your job. This is where it all starts - Get your house in order first and the rest will come - granted not w/o some ups and downs, but there are some very good people out there - both male and female. You just have to be ready to give them something besides time and $ - one of which you will have little and one of which you will have more.

And a whole lot of patience and tolerance is required, too! On both sides. Don't make your relationship a game or a stand-off! Set high standards for yourself and your one and only will find you!

Jen

[Trainnut484]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jrw249

Was thinking about working for the railroad but it appears that it would not be fair to my wife. I guess I will have to be satisfied helping with a tourist railroad.

That's good thinking jrw249. As the saying goes "You may love your wife, but you're married to the railroad".

Take care[:)].

[Trainnut484]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jrw249

Was thinking about working for the railroad but it appears that it would not be fair to my wife. I guess I will have to be satisfied helping with a tourist railroad.

That's good thinking jrw249. As the saying goes "You may love your wife, but you're married to the railroad".

Take care[:)].

[Anonymous]

Hey Guys,

Please allow me to share a little wisdom with all the young bucks who want to go into railroading as a career. When I went into railroading back in October of 1997, I too was head over heals for the railroad, thinking that the romantic days of railroading still existed and that railroads were very happy with their job. From a CSX perspective only, I can say, this is absolutely untrue! I was completely shaken up and took some time to adjust.

Here is my reply in parts:

[Anonymous]

Hey Guys,

Please allow me to share a little wisdom with all the young bucks who want to go into railroading as a career. When I went into railroading back in October of 1997, I too was head over heals for the railroad, thinking that the romantic days of railroading still existed and that railroads were very happy with their job. From a CSX perspective only, I can say, this is absolutely untrue! I was completely shaken up and took some time to adjust.

Here is my reply in parts:

[Anonymous]

Let me say:

1. Kiss your social life good bye for the first 5-10 years. Weekends, holidays, kids birthdays, graduations, weddings, social gatherings, picnics, etc. gone! The time frame will only depend on how large or small your seniority district is. The smaller it is, the less time it will take for you to jump off the extra boards, and have enough seniority to hold a regular yard, industrial, freight pool or pusher/helper assignment.

[Anonymous]

Let me say:

1. Kiss your social life good bye for the first 5-10 years. Weekends, holidays, kids birthdays, graduations, weddings, social gatherings, picnics, etc. gone! The time frame will only depend on how large or small your seniority district is. The smaller it is, the less time it will take for you to jump off the extra boards, and have enough seniority to hold a regular yard, industrial, freight pool or pusher/helper assignment.

[Anonymous]

2. New Hires after 1985 are not allowed by agreement to receive extra's, such as air house couplings, brake allowances, short crew allowances, or any other such extra's, unless by local agreement. When I left the C&O in 2000, there still was not parity on the pay scale of pre 1985 to post 1985 employees. Post 1985 employees were, and as far as I still know, are paid approximately 30% less their counterparts are paid for the same job. As you accure seniority, each year, by national labor agreement, you increase 5% until you reach 100% parity. This may have changed, as I know the UTU and BLE were pushing for parity when I left the railroad.

[Anonymous]

2. New Hires after 1985 are not allowed by agreement to receive extra's, such as air house couplings, brake allowances, short crew allowances, or any other such extra's, unless by local agreement. When I left the C&O in 2000, there still was not parity on the pay scale of pre 1985 to post 1985 employees. Post 1985 employees were, and as far as I still know, are paid approximately 30% less their counterparts are paid for the same job. As you accure seniority, each year, by national labor agreement, you increase 5% until you reach 100% parity. This may have changed, as I know the UTU and BLE were pushing for parity when I left the railroad.

[Anonymous]

3. Railroads are playing a double take. Many are requiring you to take a railroad conductors training course which costs you between $5000 to $6500 between classes, hotel, meals, travel, etc. Once you complete the training, there is no reimbursement for this expense, and it is NOT tax deductible. What was happening right after I was in school, and spent that money, was some were required to take the course, and then others were hired right off the street not requiring it. Watch out for the double take!

I will say this: The training I received excelled my understanding tremendously, however, I was indoctrinated with the concept that the course gave 30 years of practical experience in 5 weeks. This is sheer non-sense, and if you make the mistake of taking that and running, when you get to your assignment, you will anger veterans. What they teach in the course may differ to what's on the ground!

[Anonymous]

3. Railroads are playing a double take. Many are requiring you to take a railroad conductors training course which costs you between $5000 to $6500 between classes, hotel, meals, travel, etc. Once you complete the training, there is no reimbursement for this expense, and it is NOT tax deductible. What was happening right after I was in school, and spent that money, was some were required to take the course, and then others were hired right off the street not requiring it. Watch out for the double take!

I will say this: The training I received excelled my understanding tremendously, however, I was indoctrinated with the concept that the course gave 30 years of practical experience in 5 weeks. This is sheer non-sense, and if you make the mistake of taking that and running, when you get to your assignment, you will anger veterans. What they teach in the course may differ to what's on the ground!

[Anonymous]

4. Taxes: YOU WILL BE TAXED 55% of your check minimum! You are subjected to Federal, State, Railroad Retirement 1, Railroad Retirement 2, Medicare and Disability
taxes. You then must pay your union dues, any shared medical expenses, run off insurance (optional). A half that pays $2500 of legitimate work will only see about $1100 net take home pay. This is across the boards and doesn’t vary between railroads. The only issue that will vary is your union dues andstate taxes.

[Anonymous]

4. Taxes: YOU WILL BE TAXED 55% of your check minimum! You are subjected to Federal, State, Railroad Retirement 1, Railroad Retirement 2, Medicare and Disability
taxes. You then must pay your union dues, any shared medical expenses, run off insurance (optional). A half that pays $2500 of legitimate work will only see about $1100 net take home pay. This is across the boards and doesn’t vary between railroads. The only issue that will vary is your union dues andstate taxes.

[Anonymous]

5. Any railroader completing an 8 hour shift, must receive 8 hours off before returning. Any railroader who completes more than that, such as doubling a shift
will receive 12 hours uninterrupted rest. This is FRA mandated. Crew Dispatchers normally give 2 hour notice reporting time. This will vary per your local agreements but the standard seems to be 2 hours, some may have more. Miss a call, you are automatically marked off, and subject to review.

[Anonymous]

5. Any railroader completing an 8 hour shift, must receive 8 hours off before returning. Any railroader who completes more than that, such as doubling a shift
will receive 12 hours uninterrupted rest. This is FRA mandated. Crew Dispatchers normally give 2 hour notice reporting time. This will vary per your local agreements but the standard seems to be 2 hours, some may have more. Miss a call, you are automatically marked off, and subject to review.