The road to to success is always under construction. _____________________________________________________________________________ When the going gets tough, the tough use duct tape.
Virtually any idiot can handle a throttle....an Engineer knows how to handle the brakes.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Funny .. this is the dream I usually have right before I get married again ...
LMAO Randy thats HIlarious!! Its all about how you handle everything, Brakes,power, dynamics and like they say in that famous play."Ya gotta know the territory!"
I agree a long heavy train beats the short light ones.I have them nightmares too.One of my favorites was watching my engines hit a derail and flop on their sides all while my conductor was waving me back. Till the last one gets close and he says whoa stop looks like we lost a few.It happens, wait till you have the head on dream! Those are the best.
Yes we are on time but this is yesterdays train
Everything is easy once you know how to do it. Operating a train is "hard" if you've never done it before. Maybe the question to ask is "how much time in training does it typically take for someone to become profficient at operating a train"? Is it 30 hours?...100 hours? etc... It generally takes 25 to 40 hours to become reasonably competent at driving a tractor trailer...maybe the same for operating a train..maybe more.
Amen I am a locomotive engineer and I would much rather have a 19,000 ton coal train as oppoosed to a 2,000 ton local (I will work my back side off on the local), I have a lot of things on my mind when I am running and keeping (1) step ahead of the train. I agree anyone can be at the throttle but, after 22 weeks in the program I still had a few problems I still to date after (4) years of running I treat every trian I run as learning because no (2) trains the same tonnage operate the same.
Rodney
BTW Justin how old are you?Plus remember if its your dream go out and live it. I wanted to be an engineer when I was 2 years old and finally got around to becoming one at 37.
But when I was growing up it was the 70's and it was a horrible time for railroads.People called me crazy saying the rails would be gone before I could get out of grade school. I am so glad they were not correct.
route_rock BTW Justin how old are you?Plus remember if its your dream go out and live it. I wanted to be an engineer when I was 2 years old and finally got around to becoming one at 37. But when I was growing up it was the 70's and it was a horrible time for railroads.People called me crazy saying the rails would be gone before I could get out of grade school. I am so glad they were not correct.
Justin, I'll tell you this right now that the train simulator stuff is nothing You have to have the feel of the train. Most engineers run by the seat of their pants, I do. I feel everything that the train is doing is what is going to happen. So, all you have to do is give it time, be patient, and work hard to acheive your goals. I was the same way you are now. I'm pretty sure that at the age of 18, if you want a railroad job, my boss will set you up. The way he does it is pretty simple. You work 2 years on the ground learning everything you need to know about switching, or it could be shorter than 2 years, it all depends on how fast you learn.We do all the training here. No schools, you get paid, while you learn. We do follow the General Code of Operating Rules (GCOR). So if you ever think about it, its the Cimarron Valley Railroad. Satanta Kansas. Later, Dru
At the passenger end of things the basic rule is starting is easy, stopping is easy, stopping in the right place is hard. The right place generally means stations, but can also mean signals with limited overlaps. Most metro services have just a few feet of leeway, and even with modern braking systems a few feet when braking from 60mph is not easy.
I heard all that at your age Justin and your right. They are agreat way to move people and goods.
Hey Dru you ever work with a guy named Barry?I know a guy out of KC on the IC&E who came from the Cimmaron Valley.Said he had a lot of fun out there.
Yea, I know Barry. He is a hell of a guy and he is alot of fun to work with. I just talked to him just a couple of weeks ago. He stopped by my house here and we visited for about an hour discussing what he had been doing and how business is out here. So if you happen to see him, tell him I said HI. I do miss em out here. He was a good engineer.
Later, Dru
Good to hear! Yeah we all got cut off up in teh Quad Cities so him and Matt ( kid that hired out of KC) Got LUCKY!
We did have a lot of fun screwing with the new guys heads lol.
Yes, we do all the training here on the railroad and you get paid while doing it. So its a good way to get an early jump on things, instead of spending thousands on college tuition, like one of the guys here did. He's been here over 2 years already, and he is still on working on paying it back. All that is college is, is a waste of time and money. We teach the same things in more detail than what they do. So its something for you to think about in the future.
Dru
Yes the Cimarron Valley is a short line. We operate 240 miles on the ex Santa Fe branch lines that run southwest of Dodge City Kansas to Boise City Oklahoma. We also run a line from Satanta to Springfield Colorado. We have a fleet of 8 units, 5 GP30's, ex-Rio Grande. A rebuilt GP30M, that was once part of the CSX and the only 2 GP26's ever built. These were once part of the GM&O. Starting in mid June through September, our grain season will kick into full gear. One of our customer has ordered cars on the tune of 156 grain cars every other day. These cars will all be going to one of our new shuttle facilities. Word has it, is that this facility, based in Hugoton Kansas, will be taking a 110 car shuttle train 7 days a week during the season. So yes, we are going to be very busy during this time. If you have any more questions, just ask and tell you what I can.
Justin ,
It has possibly been addressed in another post , but , we do not DRIVE a locomotive . We OPERATE the engines and RUN the train . It may seem picky but you have to speek the language of the industry to be in the industry .
Running a train is VERY difficult untill you know the territory . Learning all the mile posts , siding switches , permanent speed restrictions , dips , crests , and all of the other land marks needed to run in all types of weather . Down here on the Gulf Division of the former I C Railroad fog is just about the worst possible weather we can run in . I HATE to run in the fog , because then I have to THINK about what I am doing . Normally when I start my run I have checked the train profile to see what kind of "WAUMPUS CAT" (low tonnage on the head-end and HIGH tonnage on the rear-end) train they have assembled for me . Gone through my TGBO (we operate in CTC territory)noteing any temporary speed restrictions , planned work limits , or any other restrictions . Checked with the Conductor to see where we need to stop to set-out or pick-up anything on line of road . Now I go into my TRAIN RUNNING mode , it is all REACTION from here to the final terminal . THINKING is not needed unless something out of the ordinary happens . It might not sound right but after doing it for so long you really do not need to think it all reaction , unless .
In my opinion the trains(manifest) in the neighborhood of 1 ton per foot are just about the best to run , but , I do like to occasionally get either a 14,000 ton grain train @ 5300 feet or a coal train of 19,000 tons @ 6,000 feet . Down here on this end of the R.R. THEY don't allow more than half of a horsepower per ton for empty unit trains . These trains are sooooooooooooooo boring , put it in throttle 8 , kick your feet up and blow the horn . My presonal best was 102 miles with out touching the throttle , cleared the siding at Natalbany ,La. and got to run 8 at M.P 854 and did not notch off till I passed through Hazlehurst Ms. and notched off at M.P.752 prepairing to take the siding at Crystal Springs , Ms. .
Enough rattling on , to answer your question simply , IT IS NOT HARD TO RUN A TRAIN . (IF you are prepaired to do it ) . KNOWLEDGE , TRAINING , UNDERSTANDING , EDUCATION and more KNOWLEDGE and CONTINUING EDUCATION are the key .
Gotta go , BE AWARE < BE ALERT > ARRIVE UNHURT . The Travler DPH
Hey glad that worked for you Justin. As for training I got all of mine from the BNSF. I was an off the street hire and my engineer card came from them.
Now during my engineer training I was there where Choo Choo U is.Well for the BN anyway, NARS is on the same campus and in the same wing with us. Most said it was "implied" they would have jobs but not promised.So its all how it goes.
After moving over to a short line I find I like it better.Just me
CNTRAVLERMy presonal best was 102 miles with out touching the throttle , cleared the siding at Natalbany ,La. and got to run 8 at M.P 854 and did not notch off till I passed through Hazlehurst Ms. and notched off at M.P.752 prepairing to take the siding at Crystal Springs , Ms. .
CNTravler, are you based in McComb, or New Orleans?. Apparently, you run all the way from New Orleans to Gwin; am I correct? Forty years ago, the manifest freight crews ran either McComb-New Orleans-McComb or McComb-Gwin-McComb in the chain gang service. Obviously, they preferred to go north since it was a longer run. Passenger service was different. The engine crews ran McComb Canton-McComb and McComb-New Orleans-McComb; the train crews would be gone for twenty-four hours and then be home for twenty-four hours--except for the City, their runs were McComb-New Orleans-Canton-McComb (5-6-5, 3-8-3, or 25-4-25); the City crews ran McComb-Canton-New Orleans-McComb (2-1-2)--the difference came from the difference in layover times.
Johnny
Ulrich Everything is easy once you know how to do it. Operating a train is "hard" if you've never done it before. Maybe the question to ask is "how much time in training does it typically take for someone to become profficient at operating a train"? Is it 30 hours?...100 hours? etc... It generally takes 25 to 40 hours to become reasonably competent at driving a tractor trailer...maybe the same for operating a train..maybe more.
Like Hall-of-Famer Honus Wagner said, 'there's really not much to being a ballplayer...if you're a ballplayer".
BTW Justin, you might want to look into volunteering at a local railroad museum that has some operating equipment. I believe you need to be 18 to operate or be in 'train service' on a museum / tourist RR but you might be able to do other things. Just being around engines and such will give you a leg up when it comes time to work on them for a living I would think.
wjstix Ulrich Everything is easy once you know how to do it. Operating a train is "hard" if you've never done it before. Maybe the question to ask is "how much time in training does it typically take for someone to become profficient at operating a train"? Is it 30 hours?...100 hours? etc... It generally takes 25 to 40 hours to become reasonably competent at driving a tractor trailer...maybe the same for operating a train..maybe more. BTW Justin, you might want to look into volunteering at a local railroad museum that has some operating equipment. I believe you need to be 18 to operate or be in 'train service' on a museum / tourist RR but you might be able to do other things. Just being around engines and such will give you a leg up when it comes time to work on them for a living I would think.
Well, I really don't live near any touist/historical railroads. If I did I would. Do you think that my local class 1's might let me scrub locomotives down? That sounds fun to do. I like to see shiny locomotives!
bubbajustin Well, I really don't live near any touist/historical railroads. If I did I would. Do you think that my local class 1's might let me scrub locomotives down? That sounds fun to do. I like to see shiny locomotives!
No, those dang 'child labor laws' might get in the way.
In the old days things were a lot less formal. If a kid was big for his age and could pass for 18 he might apply for a job with a railroad right after getting his 8th grade diploma. I think Great Northern had a few engineers put in 56 years - start as trainee firemen at 14 and retire at 70.
Conversely, when the mandatory retirement age of 70 came in during the 1930's, there was a brief shortage of engineers and railroads had to promote firemen and hire new trainee firemen, since the mandatory retirement age forced so many engineers who were hanging on to good jobs into their 70's or 80's...even a few in their 90's I guess.
Awwe! Darn it! Ohh I wish the stupid govt. wouldn't do things like that.
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