Electroliner 1935 BaltACD When I retired I was #1 on the System Roster. With all the "Rights and PRIVILAGES" attendent thereunto.
BaltACD When I retired I was #1 on the System Roster.
With all the "Rights and PRIVILAGES" attendent thereunto.
My final two years were a personality battle. When you work for money and not prrestige you win the battle by what goes into your paycheck. I wouldn't waste spit on that 'boss's' grave.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
BaltACDWhen I retired I was #1 on the System Roster.
BaltACD zugmann Ulrich I look at the kids around me and the young people I encounter in my daily routine.. the future is in good hands. Yep. I think that older/past generations sometimes have a hard time dealing with the fact they are are not always as relevant as they once were. Life (and in this example railroads) will continue to progress and move on without them. And I speak as someone that's closer to the top of the roster than the bottom. When I hired out in 1965 - railroads were still using the Timetable & Train Orders method of operation on much of the network.
zugmann Ulrich I look at the kids around me and the young people I encounter in my daily routine.. the future is in good hands. Yep. I think that older/past generations sometimes have a hard time dealing with the fact they are are not always as relevant as they once were. Life (and in this example railroads) will continue to progress and move on without them. And I speak as someone that's closer to the top of the roster than the bottom.
Ulrich I look at the kids around me and the young people I encounter in my daily routine.. the future is in good hands.
I look at the kids around me and the young people I encounter in my daily routine.. the future is in good hands.
Yep. I think that older/past generations sometimes have a hard time dealing with the fact they are are not always as relevant as they once were. Life (and in this example railroads) will continue to progress and move on without them.
And I speak as someone that's closer to the top of the roster than the bottom.
When I hired out in 1965 - railroads were still using the Timetable & Train Orders method of operation on much of the network.
"No such celebration when I was attending Kent State from 1967-70. The EL was a active main line railroad at the time."
When I hired out in 1965 - railroads were still using the Timetable & Train Orders method of operation on much of the network. With all the 1st, 2nd & 3rd Class schedules, Wait Orders for scheduled trains, Run Late Orders for scheduled trains, Right Over Orders, Run Ahead Orders and any number of other train order 'tools' to operate a single track railroad with and without automatic block signals - for a individual to come from the 'Outside World' and be able to comprehend what was actually taking place - AND WHY. A large educational task for a 'newbie'. Not to mention MofW performing their on track tasks under 'Track Car Line Ups'. A wild and dangerous form of operation.
With the bulk of new Operating Department employees coming from outside the industry - the effort to school them on the 'Old Ways' would be monumental with, in reality, a limited chance of being sufficiently successful.
The change to Direct Traffic Control and Track Warrent Control at the end of the 1980's and on to today - greatly simplified the concepts of running the railroad in ways that make somewhat logical sense to those entering the industry.
Making things simpler and still maintaing checks and balances to insure safe operations is what the whole game is about.
When I retired I was #1 on the System Roster.
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 Overmod My point was more about every generation rolling their eyes a bit at what the previous generation thought was important -- the "OK boomer" that is the counterpart of 'kids these days'. Every generation has their own challenges. Not always better or worse, but different. But old head RRers knew their stuff, current ones know their stuff, and future RRers will know their stuff*. To think otherwise is just pointless gatekeeping. * Just realize that stuff does evolve and change with time.
Overmod My point was more about every generation rolling their eyes a bit at what the previous generation thought was important -- the "OK boomer" that is the counterpart of 'kids these days'.
Every generation has their own challenges. Not always better or worse, but different. But old head RRers knew their stuff, current ones know their stuff, and future RRers will know their stuff*. To think otherwise is just pointless gatekeeping.
* Just realize that stuff does evolve and change with time.
If Amtrak's human error track record, since they instituted their own training regimen, is any indicator your last two observations are inaccurate.
OvermodMy point was more about every generation rolling their eyes a bit at what the previous generation thought was important -- the "OK boomer" that is the counterpart of 'kids these days'.
My point was more about every generation rolling their eyes a bit at what the previous generation thought was important -- the "OK boomer" that is the counterpart of 'kids these days'.
OvermodI have become nervous, looking at Amtrak's hiring criteria and training practice, whether you can get many of the likely hires to listen to the experienced and knowledgeable long enough or hard enough to get the picture... let alone the necessary self-discipline, and definitely let alone teaching it to 'the next generations' of employees...
Every generation says that about the next generation.
Just another form of "darn kids these days..."
Overmod I have become nervous, looking at Amtrak's hiring criteria and training practice, whether you can get many of the likely hires to listen to the experienced and knowledgeable long enough or hard enough to get the picture... let alone the necessary self-discipline, and definitely let alone teaching it to 'the next generations' of employees...
I have become nervous, looking at Amtrak's hiring criteria and training practice, whether you can get many of the likely hires to listen to the experienced and knowledgeable long enough or hard enough to get the picture... let alone the necessary self-discipline, and definitely let alone teaching it to 'the next generations' of employees...
I hope I am wrong but I feel it is just a matter of time before the next human error disaster occurs.
243129 Ulrich Tough to hire people who can easily choose to retire with a decent pension instead. Probably better to prepare for a couple of years of lean running while hiring and training their own. Many people in their 30s,40s and even 50s have no pension and no retirement savings...they might jump at a job that pays well and offers a pension at the end of it. Amtrak needs to refocus their hiring on that demographic ,and they need to be prepared to train them. The unknowing teaching/training of the unknowing will continue hopefully without any disastrous incidents as have occurred in the past.
Ulrich Tough to hire people who can easily choose to retire with a decent pension instead. Probably better to prepare for a couple of years of lean running while hiring and training their own. Many people in their 30s,40s and even 50s have no pension and no retirement savings...they might jump at a job that pays well and offers a pension at the end of it. Amtrak needs to refocus their hiring on that demographic ,and they need to be prepared to train them.
Tough to hire people who can easily choose to retire with a decent pension instead. Probably better to prepare for a couple of years of lean running while hiring and training their own. Many people in their 30s,40s and even 50s have no pension and no retirement savings...they might jump at a job that pays well and offers a pension at the end of it. Amtrak needs to refocus their hiring on that demographic ,and they need to be prepared to train them.
The unknowing teaching/training of the unknowing will continue hopefully without any disastrous incidents as have occurred in the past.
Or maybe have experienced and knowledgeable people teach the new hires.
Here is a listing of Amtrak openings as of Dec 23 rd. Use ctrl + to view part below.
Job Matches:PASSENGER ENGINEER TRAINEE - 90302840 - San Luis Obispo - San Luis Obispo, CA, US, 93401PASSENGER ENGINEER TRAINEE - 90302845 - Salt Lake City - Salt Lake City, UT, US, 84101PASSENGER ENGINEER TRAINEE - 90302848 - Seattle - Seattle, WA, US, 98134PASSENGER ENGINEER TRAINEE - 90302846 - Milwaukee - Milwaukee, WI, US, 53203Quality Process Engineer - 90297998 - Beech Grove - Beech Grove, IN, US, 46107Sr HR/EEO Investigations Specialist - 90296456 - - USLead Technical Recruiter - 90296012 - - USEMCS Electronic Security Systems Mgr - 90282131 - Washington - Washington, DC, US, 20002Project Controls Specialist - 90298950 - Washington - Washington, DC, US, 20001Motor Equip Opr - 90295676 - Rensselaer - Rensselaer, NY, US, 12144
EDIT: here is another list of all operating positions for past 7 days.
roundstickBorrow them from the freight side just like the old days when Conrail and BN was on the extra boards for conductors and engineers on Amtrak till 1980 something. Love the stories of the grizzled old freight conductors in the lounge car.
Bold to assume the freight guys have anyone to spare.
Borrow them from the freight side just like the old days when Conrail and BN was on the extra boards for conductors and engineers on Amtrak till 1980 something. Love the stories of the grizzled old freight conductors in the lounge car.
As information, one now retired GN-BN passenger conductor and GN, BN BNSF freight conductor told me why should I go to AMTK and for for $10,000 less per year and work nights? He would have been working out of St. Cloud to Winona, MN (2 trips) and one trip to Minot and return with two days off. I called crews on the NP passenger trains from St. Paul, MN to Fargo, ND. Three crews were assigned to the Mainstreeter and three to the North Coast Limited. The train pairings were 1 and 26 and 2 and 25. (Mainstreeter and NCL). So one crew departed Monday, second crew Tuesday, and the third crew Wednesday and then repeat the cycle.
Ed Burns
MidlandMikeMight retired freight crews who worked irregular hours be attracted to Amtrak's more regular passenger train hours?
I think retirement hours are probably a bit better.
Put me in coach!!!
For the most part, freight crews would be PO'd that they have to interact with 'passengers'. Unit Coal trains don't have a verbal aspect.
The reality is that many of the now retired T&E personnel had opportunities during their employment history of going to work for Amtrak. They turned the opportunity down then and are more than likely not interested in revisiting that decision in their retirement.
Might retired freight crews who worked irregular hours be attracted to Amtrak's more regular passenger train hours?
IMO this proposal probably will go nowhere. If it does then it would mainly help Amtrak as work conditions are much better than freight RRs.
blue streak 1SD70DUDE: Maybe a short time would be all that is needed? Also there is the possibility of part time in a month?. Just saying?
Manpower is not a short term problem in transportation.
In the rail side of transportation PSR's manpower tactics are and continue to be the issue, no matter the traffic levels. Just saying.
This isn't a short-time sort of problem.
SD70DUDE: Maybe a short time would be all that is needed? Also there is the possibility of part time in a month?. Just saying?
I find it hard to take anything from Frank Wilner seriously. He was fairly high up in the UTU when it was decertified in Canada as a result of the international UTU leadership taking CN's side during a strike instead of supporting their own members (we became Teamsters shortly after).
They've tried hiring retirees back here as well, and a fair number do come back for short periods. But it never lasts.
Greetings from Alberta
-an Articulate Malcontent
If guys wanted to keep working after they reached retirement age, they wouldn't have retired.
I do like the terminology. "Allow them to work". You couldn't get most of them back at gunpoint!
This idea is (let's be nice and say) "out of touch".
Probably the biggest part of what keeps people at the RR is the chance at a RR retirement. I don't think any are going to give that up to play trains another few years. And that's overlooking training, qualifications, seniroty issues, physicals, etc.
Also from the posted article: "This combination remedy of legislation and union cooperation could be extended to freight railroads similarly experiencing labor shortages."
Ok: he is COMPLETELY out of touch.
In the end, maybe we should treat the disease instead of easing the symptoms?
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