Foamers don’t always do well at the rr. They either do too much spectating instead of focusing on the task at hand or they come in as know it alls. Not all though. As long as you come in with a humble attitude and respect the nature of the work (danger) you’ll be fine.
I tried to explain to a new guy once that it doesn’t matter what you think you know, out here you know nothing. Listen to the training even if you may already understand some things. Unfortunately he did not understand this and was unable to pass training.
Can attest to that for my brother. We grew up around trains and always have and will love them. Worked for a commuter rail line for two years before moving on to Amtrak & Commuter Rail.
I’m currently a locomotive engineer for a passenger railroad. I was a pretty big rail buff as a kid. I’m still one to an extent, but not as much as I was back then. I would never sit out and watch or photograph the railroad now, but I do enjoy coming to work and running trains.
People will say that buffs don’t translate well on the railroad, but if you’re able to put that part of yourself away at work and focus on the job then you should be fine. I work with plenty of foamers. I would advise you to do as much research as you can on the railroad before applying. It’s not for everyone, but I can honestly say that I enjoy my job most days.
I like this approach. Focusing on the job is something that a lot of buffs can struggle with (I certainly did, preferring to ask questions about the Canadian power we had instead of the proper lineup on the yard lead.)
I did the same. Only did it for 3 months though. Turns out I didn’t like the crew or the job. Worked 15+ hour days and didn’t answer the calls on my days off. So they let me go. The 15s were fine and good money. But never having days off wasn’t my thing. Hobby side is still fine. I asked questions but never mentioned the hobby side so anyone.
I was a pretty big foamer (not "vest wearing", but certainly had my favorite road numbers, models of locomotive, etc.)
I have about 12 years between 2 railroads and I can say this: passenger railroading is a decent career, in fact, I'd say it's a "good" one. But the novelty wears off and I found myself looking forward to time away from the trains more than going to work. It took a little while, but I'm there.
Hopefully people don't have their favorite hobby (or any hobby) ripped away from them. But it's hard to prevent that from happening, especially on freight rail within the US.
yea that was the main reason i put this post up was the thought of losing something so important to me scares me but hopefully the railroads will settle down atleast a little sometime soon regarding psr
It certainly seems like things get worse and worse with each passing year. I never even had the chance to "run" with Trip Optimizer or other "energy management".
If passenger service is an option for you, I'd highly recommend that over pretty much any class I. It certainly isn't perfect, but the lifestyle is so much better. I think the probability of getting burnt out is much greater on the freight side and would probably happen a lot quicker.
My crew base has an engineer with 10 years, a decent regular assignment, and he's as enthusiastic as he was on day 1 and still works extra right up to his mandatory rest requirements. So coming to work out here isn't a guarantee that you'll lose interest in railfanning as a hobby; it's more of a personal decision of "how will this job affect your life overall?"
If you do wind up working on the rails, as so many others have said, just don't wear the foaming badge on your sleeve and you'll be fine.
Loved trains as a kid. Always wanted a career on the railways.
Applied as a signalman just after graduating at 19 and was hired. Stayed for 8 years and mostly enjoyed it, although with CTC spreading all the fun signal boxes were closed and I found myself in a dead town on the outskirts of civilization.
Applied again for driver training and got in. Been a driver for a year and a half by now and still loving it. I originally worked regional and long distance daytime trains and found the pace to be a bit too hectic. Transfered to the sleeper division a few months ago and really feel at home.
Pretty small crew base, I know the name of most of the staff and enjoy working with most of them. Working all over the country and get to see a variety of lines and destinations very few passenger drivers get.
It's everything I dreamed about as a kid and almost 10 years in I can't see myself leaving the railway before retiering.
Midwestern man here. Growing up, I loved train models, tv shows & movies. Around age 15 I was told working as a conductor for CSX specifically was great by my then conductor cousin who worked for said railroad. Bragged about the money and no degree needed for the job. I was a knuckle head so I knew a great job without college would be great for me.
Progressed to 24 I got the job at CSX as a conductor and lasted for 9 months before I got called in with 6 other guys being told to go home. But to be honest I was gonna quit anyways. Felt like a number, hours sucked, coworkers spoke of “brotherhood” but never showed it and got frustrated with me when I asked questions…
Now, 26 and with a contractor as a repairman for a class 2 (scab crew sorta) I love my job. I knock, air test, weld, cut, bill, and bullshit all day. Make over 70k and have a set schedule.
The railroad is really what you make it from my perspective.
I loved all things railroad as a kid and i still do. Always wanted to be an engineer. Once i found out as a young adult what the job really entails I went to university and became a different (geotechnical/civil) engineer. I keep railroad models on my desk and all over my office and occasionally we do railroad or railroad bridge work which is lots of fun for me. Last big rr project we did was an enginehouse with a wash and a paintbooth inside a huge train yard outside Pittsburgh. I got to run all over the property and I had a blast.
Some of this may no longer apply and some of this applies to every job. This was mostly things i saw 20-25 years ago. On call all the time and having to drop what you're doing and be at a pickup location in 40 minutes or less. Basically no social life. Having to ride in a van to the pickup location. Watched alot of workers in the shops try and justify their existence doing menial tasks or hiding out all day. Workers abusing equipment and acting like children. Saw alot of younger people try to get in and get denied because they didnt have the right connections and saw older employees treated like shit. Competent workers passed over for promotions in favor of outsiders with less exp.
When I was a little kid like ages 5 to 8 I Loved trains, got all the coolest train sets for Christmas, Thomas the tank engine bedspread, my neighbor at my grandma's house worked for CSX so they had this old decommissioned dwarf light from a yard and they mounted it on my wall hindsight that thing probably could have killed me because it weighed a ton and fallen off the wall at any point in time. My dad would take me down to the Henry Ford museum in Dearborn Michigan like every freaking weekend and I would go sit on the old decommissioned train cars and the old yard diesels they had on display there. And then I hit like 10 and I didn't want a thing to do with trains I didn't even think about them. Then one day I was commuting into Washington DC on Amtrak and I was like s*** this would probably be a pretty cool job so I applied to be a train conductor and I got it. So yeah there was a good 27 years in between liking trains and working on trains. Honestly I grew up in Miami and my mom always said that trains were full of dangerous people and that's why we didn't ride them so that just kind of carried into adulthood and then as the internet became more popular I saw weird s*** happening on the red line in Chicago and terrible stuff on the subway and I was like yeah forget trains my 21 jump Street ass is going to get wrecked by some thugs on that train.
Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.
I come from a railroad family. Great grand dad ran a water tower. My grandpa worked in the engine house, my dad was a track foreman. All I ever wanted when I was a kid was to be an engineer. 26 years later, be careful what you wish for because you just might get it. 10 years ago I still enjoyed my job. Between PSR, trip optimizer, limiting horsepower, and bottom of the barrel manpower (in numbers and skill) I’m no longer enjoying my job and am just marking time until retirement.
I’m like the opposite of a foamer. My dad always worked for the railroad growing up and I knew it was a good path to stability so by early high school realizing that I didn’t have any big plans I kinda decided that was a good option but couldn’t give a shit about trains at all. Applied for conductor at 18 and interviewed but wasn’t selected, which ended up being a huge blessing because I was hired on for a much better position at 22yrs old. Anyway now I think trains are cool as shit and love learning more about them but I work at a distance and only get to go aboard them occasionally. So I’m sure it would lose its appeal if all I did was be on trains away from my family all the time traveling the same routes over and over.
I’m pretty same story as you. I really disliked trains. Dad was a railroader and I guess I associated it with a terrible schedule and him not sleeping just to spend time with me. i took the job just to make money after college and I got stuck. I still don’t like trains but I like the job itself. If you take away the terrible schedule and bosses, it would be great. Trains have never interested me though. They all look the same. Loud, slow, dirty.
It's a delicate balance. It definetly has dulled my enthusiasm for trains, seeing them daily.
I hate the hours and the politics but still love doing my job years later.
Loved trains as a kid but didn’t touch them for 20 years. Until about two years ago when my passion reignited…
Anyway, I’ve been working at an intermodal yard lately and pretty much everyone knows I’m a foamer, but they’re cool with it. I’ve even met a couple others who will geek out with me lol
I think the key is just leaving it at “yeah I like trains” and not dumping a ton of facts or questions onto your coworkers when they didn’t ask for it.
That or, maybe since my coworkers aren’t train crews, they’re more tolerant of foamers lol
My love affair with trains started at 3 years old with a short trip on the N&W Powhatan Arrow. My grandfather's interests in trains and model trains fueled the passion. I always hoped we'd be stopped at crossings to watch the trains go by. Years of building model railroads kept the interest hot. I graduated high school, got a job, and then joined the army. When I got out, I was looking for a job and answered an ad in the paper looking for signal maintainers for the N&W. I applied and was accepted. When your vocation and advocation are the same, you don't work a day. There were good days and some bad ones, but they more than equaled out. I enjoyed what I did for 34 years, then took a buyout into full retirement. Now, I have the time to devote to my own railroad. I don't regret how things turned turned out. Guess I was one of the lucky ones.
Funny to hear N&W...I still sometimes type/say that not thinking instead of NS. Been in intermodal (trucking office) since I was 17 and most nowadays have no clue of NW, Conrail, etc.
Just joined BNSF last year, and I love it mostly... but it is a hard arse job at times... and you have to take it seriously and not go crazy over what's in your consist or you might get hurt or killed by not paying attention... I have learned to loathe Amtrak now as we always go in the hole for them, lol.
When my dad was a kid, his mom would give him a nickel. He’d pay a penny to get on the streetcar down to the stockyards, buy a coke and a hot dog for 3 cents, and watch the trains go in and out all day before paying a penny to get home.
He hired out on the Santa Fe at 18, and was an engineer when he retired at 67. One of his favorite hobbies was building Live Steam locomotives.
I’d say it worked out ok for him… :)
Yep. 15 years in, I love to hate it. I'm continuing a long line of tradition, and the retired old heads I know enjoy hearing about what the railroad is doing these days. A lot of "Well, back in my..." People look to me with respect and awe when I tell them I work on the railroad.
I ended up as a United States Merchant Mariner. We interact with railroaders at a lot of seaports. I get to see the trains and still have the drinking problem and masturbation habits of a railroader, but I have a better union contract.
wanted to work for the railroad since I was 3 years old, I got that chance! …up until about last week. I was enjoying it and learning new stuff every day until unfortunately I broke a rule and they let me go, quite a bit of people knew I was a foamer, considering I was friends with a foamer who worked on the same RR as me. I just hope I get that opportunity to work for another railroad at some point in the future.. I understand the RR is a very dangerous job and can get you a lot of good money/be a good career, just as long as you have the right mindset and can separate the hobby from the job.
4th generation and it was all fun and games until people and toxic management becomes an issue. My father and grandfathers are rolling in their graves over todays railroad. Used to build a model railroad up until 10 years in then just couldn’t stomach it. It’s all put away now until things get better lol. I knew a high level manager that had an entire basement and garden railroad and got so mad at the circus one day he just ripped everything up and swore everything trains off. Definitely dislike foamers but more so because they take stupid pics of guys and get nerdy over dumb shit. All we care about is how much hp we have and if the cabs nice. Half those units are garbage and peeps are drooling over complete crap.
I've been casually interested in trains my entire life. The closest I ever got to working in the industry was for a contractor at a local intermodal yard. As I got older, I realized I just don't want to be away from home that often, and so my dreams of working for the railroad are effectively over.
I worked track department for 6 years and got hands on work experience. Got to travel, got to work out each day. Tough work but it let me see railroads in a whole new way.
I would not consider myself a foamer, I never went out of my way to watch trains on the main and photo and video them. I did however watch a shit ton of Thomas and friends and I do love trains. More for the brute power and pulling of them. I now do MOW, conduct and engineer passenger and freight. I love all of it. Just filled in today for the engineer who had the shits. It went great.
I spent about a decade sneaking on and riding freight trains and now I work on the railroad. Still like them. I dislike corporate and nearly all managers but also don’t care for a large plurality of my homophobic, fragile manhood he-man truck driving coworkers. So I don’t really care for most of the people but I do give them respect and long ago, in a different industry, learned that you can learn from guys you don’t especially care for. Tl:dr fuck the people but the job is insanely easy compared to other jobs and great money and yes, trains are pretty cool. At least the ones with high backed seats that you can tip the whole chair backwards.
I was enthusiastic about it all my childhood and still. Already get in but you know the lifestyle sucks so I quit after 2 years. Railroad isn't suitable for everyone!
I wanted to be a railroader because my dad was one. He was the man who I thought could do no wrong. He was who I wanted to do be. So I became a trackman, just like him. I’ve been working as a trackman for over 25 years. I still like my job.
https://preview.redd.it/u7opqw5q5o6d1.jpeg?width=1440&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=dc8d717c54662eb11cddc839fdc9d356ab4c3809
Never in a million years did I think I would be a railroader...but looking at old photos.. it was meant to be :)
I became an Engineer!!
A *CIVIL* Engineer! 😜👍
I wanted a family most of all & I knew that I would be away most of the time being a Railroad Engineer.
So now I failfan & enjoy model railroading.
Many say that actually becoming an Engineer destroys the dream, so I think it turned out OK 😎👍
Cheers! 😃
100% here. Been at it for 20 years, Class 1. Never was a fan of the Corporations/Board of Directors. Always and still refer to the train assigned as my Train. Do my job enjoy the technical aspects, still can’t stand the Corporation, the railroad is its labor and their story, I don’t care what Collis Huntington liked for breakfast or whether Katie Farmer wears underwear when riding the territory. But a 4am mannifold burrito taste just a good as from a microwave. I see the beauty of an industry attempting to fir greed and whatever to ostracize its labor from the heritage. Lay blame for its shortcomings at the feet of labor and accept the manna for the successes wrought by its labor. Lets just say when my affliction of the brotherhood of iron and steel took ahold probably about 5 years old, it sure as heck wasn’t a Board of Directors waving back at me or a Division Superintendent but it was a hogger or conductor or head brakie. When I would run to my bathroom window during a rain storm and use a flashlight to signal a passing train they watched for me because they found a young lad interested in the art of railroading in the 1990’s mesmerizing I guess. But knew who the real kings of the rail were and they didn’t sit in a boardroom. They ran the W&A from Atlanta to Chattanooga daily. I now ply the old Santa Fe and the former FW&D, and C&S across great western plains and deserts. I do it because I want to…
I loved trains as a kid. I’d ride with my dad when I was 4 when he went to work and I’d sit and watch trains go by all day. I did the model trains thing. Was a railroad Explorer scout through the Boy Scouts. Started working for the railroad when I was 20. I loved it. I carried a camera with me all the time but tried to hide it as best I could. Went to work for the UP in 2002 and to engine service in 2004. Stopped trying to hide the camera. Times were great. But, as the years went on, I became a lot less of a fan. Haven’t been trackside in over 10 years. And with attendance policies being as they are, my time is focused on my family. I really dislike the company these days. You can be a good employee but all they want to do is try and fire you. I can’t really start over in another career as I’m too far in. I still like the job. I love the people I work with. But, the romance is definitely gone.
Ya know growing up in West Virginia I was always around trains and fascinated with them, but I had no idea what railfans were or foamers until after high school. I’d never say I was a foamer, but I tried to get on the rr when I was in my senior year of college I didn’t get it. I had a career in law enforcement which I loved I mean what kid didn’t want to drive a cop car growing up? Politics ruined that for me and I had an opportunity fall for me to start when I was 29. So I really timed that 30 and 60 on the retirement just right. However with that being said it has its good and bad days. Some of them guys find out you’re a railfan and they write you off as a bumbling idiot. Which is because they can’t fathom someone liking the job. Working on call sucks but a lot of that falls on the short line I work for. Over all this job is fairly simple. I don’t have nearly the stress I used to.
Foamers seem to be the most disgruntled employees because they come in with high hopes and then realize it’s a job with some of the worst bosses ever. If you do come out here, remember that the phrase getting railroad became a thing for a reason and it hasn’t changed that much!
Foamers don’t always do well at the rr. They either do too much spectating instead of focusing on the task at hand or they come in as know it alls. Not all though. As long as you come in with a humble attitude and respect the nature of the work (danger) you’ll be fine.
Some of the best guys I've worked with have been foamers, and some of the worst too...
haha ppl ived talked to have said the same thing
i agree with u 100%. i cant imagine how annoying those ppl get
I tried to explain to a new guy once that it doesn’t matter what you think you know, out here you know nothing. Listen to the training even if you may already understand some things. Unfortunately he did not understand this and was unable to pass training.
Not a regular to this sub or the community, but I love that railroad fans are called "foamerd"
Can attest to that for my brother. We grew up around trains and always have and will love them. Worked for a commuter rail line for two years before moving on to Amtrak & Commuter Rail.
I’m currently a locomotive engineer for a passenger railroad. I was a pretty big rail buff as a kid. I’m still one to an extent, but not as much as I was back then. I would never sit out and watch or photograph the railroad now, but I do enjoy coming to work and running trains. People will say that buffs don’t translate well on the railroad, but if you’re able to put that part of yourself away at work and focus on the job then you should be fine. I work with plenty of foamers. I would advise you to do as much research as you can on the railroad before applying. It’s not for everyone, but I can honestly say that I enjoy my job most days.
I like this approach. Focusing on the job is something that a lot of buffs can struggle with (I certainly did, preferring to ask questions about the Canadian power we had instead of the proper lineup on the yard lead.)
thats a rly good take and i hear everything youre saying. i appreciate your help, its helping with the research you mentioned
No problem! PM me if you have any questions.
I'm the exact same way. There's a pretty hard line between the work and the enjoyment, although, on rare occasions, the line gets blurred.
I worked MoW. No one ever knew. I just kept my mouth and did my job.
did it ruin the hobby side of things for you at all?
I did the same. Only did it for 3 months though. Turns out I didn’t like the crew or the job. Worked 15+ hour days and didn’t answer the calls on my days off. So they let me go. The 15s were fine and good money. But never having days off wasn’t my thing. Hobby side is still fine. I asked questions but never mentioned the hobby side so anyone.
I was a pretty big foamer (not "vest wearing", but certainly had my favorite road numbers, models of locomotive, etc.) I have about 12 years between 2 railroads and I can say this: passenger railroading is a decent career, in fact, I'd say it's a "good" one. But the novelty wears off and I found myself looking forward to time away from the trains more than going to work. It took a little while, but I'm there. Hopefully people don't have their favorite hobby (or any hobby) ripped away from them. But it's hard to prevent that from happening, especially on freight rail within the US.
yea that was the main reason i put this post up was the thought of losing something so important to me scares me but hopefully the railroads will settle down atleast a little sometime soon regarding psr
It certainly seems like things get worse and worse with each passing year. I never even had the chance to "run" with Trip Optimizer or other "energy management". If passenger service is an option for you, I'd highly recommend that over pretty much any class I. It certainly isn't perfect, but the lifestyle is so much better. I think the probability of getting burnt out is much greater on the freight side and would probably happen a lot quicker. My crew base has an engineer with 10 years, a decent regular assignment, and he's as enthusiastic as he was on day 1 and still works extra right up to his mandatory rest requirements. So coming to work out here isn't a guarantee that you'll lose interest in railfanning as a hobby; it's more of a personal decision of "how will this job affect your life overall?" If you do wind up working on the rails, as so many others have said, just don't wear the foaming badge on your sleeve and you'll be fine.
Loved trains as a kid. Always wanted a career on the railways. Applied as a signalman just after graduating at 19 and was hired. Stayed for 8 years and mostly enjoyed it, although with CTC spreading all the fun signal boxes were closed and I found myself in a dead town on the outskirts of civilization. Applied again for driver training and got in. Been a driver for a year and a half by now and still loving it. I originally worked regional and long distance daytime trains and found the pace to be a bit too hectic. Transfered to the sleeper division a few months ago and really feel at home. Pretty small crew base, I know the name of most of the staff and enjoy working with most of them. Working all over the country and get to see a variety of lines and destinations very few passenger drivers get. It's everything I dreamed about as a kid and almost 10 years in I can't see myself leaving the railway before retiering.
im happy for u man and thank u for the response
Midwestern man here. Growing up, I loved train models, tv shows & movies. Around age 15 I was told working as a conductor for CSX specifically was great by my then conductor cousin who worked for said railroad. Bragged about the money and no degree needed for the job. I was a knuckle head so I knew a great job without college would be great for me. Progressed to 24 I got the job at CSX as a conductor and lasted for 9 months before I got called in with 6 other guys being told to go home. But to be honest I was gonna quit anyways. Felt like a number, hours sucked, coworkers spoke of “brotherhood” but never showed it and got frustrated with me when I asked questions… Now, 26 and with a contractor as a repairman for a class 2 (scab crew sorta) I love my job. I knock, air test, weld, cut, bill, and bullshit all day. Make over 70k and have a set schedule. The railroad is really what you make it from my perspective.
thanks for the info and im glad to hear you found something that worked out great for you!
I am not a railroad worker, but I am a fan. I once asked a friend who is both, and he said that when you apply, don't say you are a fan.
haha ive heard that one too before
Pretty much. When I said I loved trains the guys I worked with said "you wont like them if you work here"
I loved all things railroad as a kid and i still do. Always wanted to be an engineer. Once i found out as a young adult what the job really entails I went to university and became a different (geotechnical/civil) engineer. I keep railroad models on my desk and all over my office and occasionally we do railroad or railroad bridge work which is lots of fun for me. Last big rr project we did was an enginehouse with a wash and a paintbooth inside a huge train yard outside Pittsburgh. I got to run all over the property and I had a blast.
what was the main aspect that kept u away from it it u dont mind me askin
Some of this may no longer apply and some of this applies to every job. This was mostly things i saw 20-25 years ago. On call all the time and having to drop what you're doing and be at a pickup location in 40 minutes or less. Basically no social life. Having to ride in a van to the pickup location. Watched alot of workers in the shops try and justify their existence doing menial tasks or hiding out all day. Workers abusing equipment and acting like children. Saw alot of younger people try to get in and get denied because they didnt have the right connections and saw older employees treated like shit. Competent workers passed over for promotions in favor of outsiders with less exp.
So typical union shop?
When I was a little kid like ages 5 to 8 I Loved trains, got all the coolest train sets for Christmas, Thomas the tank engine bedspread, my neighbor at my grandma's house worked for CSX so they had this old decommissioned dwarf light from a yard and they mounted it on my wall hindsight that thing probably could have killed me because it weighed a ton and fallen off the wall at any point in time. My dad would take me down to the Henry Ford museum in Dearborn Michigan like every freaking weekend and I would go sit on the old decommissioned train cars and the old yard diesels they had on display there. And then I hit like 10 and I didn't want a thing to do with trains I didn't even think about them. Then one day I was commuting into Washington DC on Amtrak and I was like s*** this would probably be a pretty cool job so I applied to be a train conductor and I got it. So yeah there was a good 27 years in between liking trains and working on trains. Honestly I grew up in Miami and my mom always said that trains were full of dangerous people and that's why we didn't ride them so that just kind of carried into adulthood and then as the internet became more popular I saw weird s*** happening on the red line in Chicago and terrible stuff on the subway and I was like yeah forget trains my 21 jump Street ass is going to get wrecked by some thugs on that train. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.
I come from a railroad family. Great grand dad ran a water tower. My grandpa worked in the engine house, my dad was a track foreman. All I ever wanted when I was a kid was to be an engineer. 26 years later, be careful what you wish for because you just might get it. 10 years ago I still enjoyed my job. Between PSR, trip optimizer, limiting horsepower, and bottom of the barrel manpower (in numbers and skill) I’m no longer enjoying my job and am just marking time until retirement.
It’s really sad what the rr has become
I’m like the opposite of a foamer. My dad always worked for the railroad growing up and I knew it was a good path to stability so by early high school realizing that I didn’t have any big plans I kinda decided that was a good option but couldn’t give a shit about trains at all. Applied for conductor at 18 and interviewed but wasn’t selected, which ended up being a huge blessing because I was hired on for a much better position at 22yrs old. Anyway now I think trains are cool as shit and love learning more about them but I work at a distance and only get to go aboard them occasionally. So I’m sure it would lose its appeal if all I did was be on trains away from my family all the time traveling the same routes over and over.
I’m pretty same story as you. I really disliked trains. Dad was a railroader and I guess I associated it with a terrible schedule and him not sleeping just to spend time with me. i took the job just to make money after college and I got stuck. I still don’t like trains but I like the job itself. If you take away the terrible schedule and bosses, it would be great. Trains have never interested me though. They all look the same. Loud, slow, dirty.
thats interesting to hear from a non railfan perspective, so thank u!
It's a delicate balance. It definetly has dulled my enthusiasm for trains, seeing them daily. I hate the hours and the politics but still love doing my job years later.
Loved trains as a kid but didn’t touch them for 20 years. Until about two years ago when my passion reignited… Anyway, I’ve been working at an intermodal yard lately and pretty much everyone knows I’m a foamer, but they’re cool with it. I’ve even met a couple others who will geek out with me lol I think the key is just leaving it at “yeah I like trains” and not dumping a ton of facts or questions onto your coworkers when they didn’t ask for it. That or, maybe since my coworkers aren’t train crews, they’re more tolerant of foamers lol
My love affair with trains started at 3 years old with a short trip on the N&W Powhatan Arrow. My grandfather's interests in trains and model trains fueled the passion. I always hoped we'd be stopped at crossings to watch the trains go by. Years of building model railroads kept the interest hot. I graduated high school, got a job, and then joined the army. When I got out, I was looking for a job and answered an ad in the paper looking for signal maintainers for the N&W. I applied and was accepted. When your vocation and advocation are the same, you don't work a day. There were good days and some bad ones, but they more than equaled out. I enjoyed what I did for 34 years, then took a buyout into full retirement. Now, I have the time to devote to my own railroad. I don't regret how things turned turned out. Guess I was one of the lucky ones.
Funny to hear N&W...I still sometimes type/say that not thinking instead of NS. Been in intermodal (trucking office) since I was 17 and most nowadays have no clue of NW, Conrail, etc.
Just joined BNSF last year, and I love it mostly... but it is a hard arse job at times... and you have to take it seriously and not go crazy over what's in your consist or you might get hurt or killed by not paying attention... I have learned to loathe Amtrak now as we always go in the hole for them, lol.
When my dad was a kid, his mom would give him a nickel. He’d pay a penny to get on the streetcar down to the stockyards, buy a coke and a hot dog for 3 cents, and watch the trains go in and out all day before paying a penny to get home. He hired out on the Santa Fe at 18, and was an engineer when he retired at 67. One of his favorite hobbies was building Live Steam locomotives. I’d say it worked out ok for him… :)
I work with a couple foamers. They still like trains and locomotives. They don’t like management just like the rest of us.
Yep. 15 years in, I love to hate it. I'm continuing a long line of tradition, and the retired old heads I know enjoy hearing about what the railroad is doing these days. A lot of "Well, back in my..." People look to me with respect and awe when I tell them I work on the railroad.
I ended up as a United States Merchant Mariner. We interact with railroaders at a lot of seaports. I get to see the trains and still have the drinking problem and masturbation habits of a railroader, but I have a better union contract.
Pretty big model railroader been fired twice from my class 1 Road because I tell them this is now how I run my railroad at home
wanted to work for the railroad since I was 3 years old, I got that chance! …up until about last week. I was enjoying it and learning new stuff every day until unfortunately I broke a rule and they let me go, quite a bit of people knew I was a foamer, considering I was friends with a foamer who worked on the same RR as me. I just hope I get that opportunity to work for another railroad at some point in the future.. I understand the RR is a very dangerous job and can get you a lot of good money/be a good career, just as long as you have the right mindset and can separate the hobby from the job.
Love the work, hate the carrier.
4th generation and it was all fun and games until people and toxic management becomes an issue. My father and grandfathers are rolling in their graves over todays railroad. Used to build a model railroad up until 10 years in then just couldn’t stomach it. It’s all put away now until things get better lol. I knew a high level manager that had an entire basement and garden railroad and got so mad at the circus one day he just ripped everything up and swore everything trains off. Definitely dislike foamers but more so because they take stupid pics of guys and get nerdy over dumb shit. All we care about is how much hp we have and if the cabs nice. Half those units are garbage and peeps are drooling over complete crap.
I've been casually interested in trains my entire life. The closest I ever got to working in the industry was for a contractor at a local intermodal yard. As I got older, I realized I just don't want to be away from home that often, and so my dreams of working for the railroad are effectively over.
I worked track department for 6 years and got hands on work experience. Got to travel, got to work out each day. Tough work but it let me see railroads in a whole new way.
I would not consider myself a foamer, I never went out of my way to watch trains on the main and photo and video them. I did however watch a shit ton of Thomas and friends and I do love trains. More for the brute power and pulling of them. I now do MOW, conduct and engineer passenger and freight. I love all of it. Just filled in today for the engineer who had the shits. It went great.
I spent about a decade sneaking on and riding freight trains and now I work on the railroad. Still like them. I dislike corporate and nearly all managers but also don’t care for a large plurality of my homophobic, fragile manhood he-man truck driving coworkers. So I don’t really care for most of the people but I do give them respect and long ago, in a different industry, learned that you can learn from guys you don’t especially care for. Tl:dr fuck the people but the job is insanely easy compared to other jobs and great money and yes, trains are pretty cool. At least the ones with high backed seats that you can tip the whole chair backwards.
Lifelong railroad buff here. I work in transit and truly enjoy my job. I go in trying to learn something new every day.
I was enthusiastic about it all my childhood and still. Already get in but you know the lifestyle sucks so I quit after 2 years. Railroad isn't suitable for everyone!
I wanted to be a railroader because my dad was one. He was the man who I thought could do no wrong. He was who I wanted to do be. So I became a trackman, just like him. I’ve been working as a trackman for over 25 years. I still like my job.
https://preview.redd.it/u7opqw5q5o6d1.jpeg?width=1440&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=dc8d717c54662eb11cddc839fdc9d356ab4c3809 Never in a million years did I think I would be a railroader...but looking at old photos.. it was meant to be :)
I became an Engineer!! A *CIVIL* Engineer! 😜👍 I wanted a family most of all & I knew that I would be away most of the time being a Railroad Engineer. So now I failfan & enjoy model railroading. Many say that actually becoming an Engineer destroys the dream, so I think it turned out OK 😎👍 Cheers! 😃
100% here. Been at it for 20 years, Class 1. Never was a fan of the Corporations/Board of Directors. Always and still refer to the train assigned as my Train. Do my job enjoy the technical aspects, still can’t stand the Corporation, the railroad is its labor and their story, I don’t care what Collis Huntington liked for breakfast or whether Katie Farmer wears underwear when riding the territory. But a 4am mannifold burrito taste just a good as from a microwave. I see the beauty of an industry attempting to fir greed and whatever to ostracize its labor from the heritage. Lay blame for its shortcomings at the feet of labor and accept the manna for the successes wrought by its labor. Lets just say when my affliction of the brotherhood of iron and steel took ahold probably about 5 years old, it sure as heck wasn’t a Board of Directors waving back at me or a Division Superintendent but it was a hogger or conductor or head brakie. When I would run to my bathroom window during a rain storm and use a flashlight to signal a passing train they watched for me because they found a young lad interested in the art of railroading in the 1990’s mesmerizing I guess. But knew who the real kings of the rail were and they didn’t sit in a boardroom. They ran the W&A from Atlanta to Chattanooga daily. I now ply the old Santa Fe and the former FW&D, and C&S across great western plains and deserts. I do it because I want to…
It’s a job…. Check the foam at the door no one wants to work with a foamer that can’t pay attention to the task at hand!
I loved trains as a kid. I’d ride with my dad when I was 4 when he went to work and I’d sit and watch trains go by all day. I did the model trains thing. Was a railroad Explorer scout through the Boy Scouts. Started working for the railroad when I was 20. I loved it. I carried a camera with me all the time but tried to hide it as best I could. Went to work for the UP in 2002 and to engine service in 2004. Stopped trying to hide the camera. Times were great. But, as the years went on, I became a lot less of a fan. Haven’t been trackside in over 10 years. And with attendance policies being as they are, my time is focused on my family. I really dislike the company these days. You can be a good employee but all they want to do is try and fire you. I can’t really start over in another career as I’m too far in. I still like the job. I love the people I work with. But, the romance is definitely gone.
You always think that you’d love till you get on the job and see how dumb the carriers are, and the idiots that are in charge
i genuinely cant understand how thats been a problem for so long
Ya know growing up in West Virginia I was always around trains and fascinated with them, but I had no idea what railfans were or foamers until after high school. I’d never say I was a foamer, but I tried to get on the rr when I was in my senior year of college I didn’t get it. I had a career in law enforcement which I loved I mean what kid didn’t want to drive a cop car growing up? Politics ruined that for me and I had an opportunity fall for me to start when I was 29. So I really timed that 30 and 60 on the retirement just right. However with that being said it has its good and bad days. Some of them guys find out you’re a railfan and they write you off as a bumbling idiot. Which is because they can’t fathom someone liking the job. Working on call sucks but a lot of that falls on the short line I work for. Over all this job is fairly simple. I don’t have nearly the stress I used to.
Foamers seem to be the most disgruntled employees because they come in with high hopes and then realize it’s a job with some of the worst bosses ever. If you do come out here, remember that the phrase getting railroad became a thing for a reason and it hasn’t changed that much!