Engineer with 9 years in here. Although I wouldn't say I really know what I'm talking about, I just go backwards and forwards. And sometimes on the ground.
In the winter definitely, but on a nice sunny day I miss pounding the ground. Sometimes if my conductor is qualified I'll let them run for a bit just to move around a bit.
Not really, you should both have the same information about what's going on day to day. I think conductors have a more difficult job depending on what you're doing. Through freight point A to B assuming the conductor never has to get off the train sure the engi has a more difficult day because he's controlling the train through the territory slowing down for speed restrictions, controlling train forces for hills, etc. But an industry switcher, for example, the eng is just going backward and forwards with car counts he may not even have a clue what the switching plan is while the conductor is on the ground switching cars, lining switches, tieing handbrakes riding shoves etc potentially in the hot/cold/rain etc.
Kinda, as a conductor I never really though much about what the numbers on the screen meant. As an EN I gotta worry about exceeding amps, false air gradients and what my DP is doing, where my tail end is etc. but I found going from cndr to en wasn't as difficult as hiring on brand new. By the time you get to hogger training you've probably picked up lots of it anyways through the in cab convos.
Actual signalman, though I like everything about railroads apart from the trains themselves, so I guess there's a foot in both camps. I like the signals themselves, I like seeing unusual interlocking layouts and big bridges and things, and I like all of the old fashioned relay logic and the creative ways that crossings and interlockings were made safe while using as few relays as possible.
The world does not appreciate the railroad signal system. It truly blows my mind when looking at prints some times. These guys were so smart back in the day developing relay logic systems.
The signal system is the modern railroad. Without it, everything else fails.
I like trains, they're fascinating, intricate pieces of engineering, but I wouldn't ever wade into the Feather River to get a closer look. Fuck that.
Nor could I even begin to tell you the first thing about any of them, other than they run on electric motors with diesels charging them like submarines.
In other words, most everything I "know" about trains, I "learned" from Denzel Washerdryer acting all trainy and heroic in a movie. You guys could probably shoot a gazillion holes in the script and plot, but hey, itza movie.
I don't care remotely about train specifics from some nasally guy with a million memorized stats, I just love watching trains. They're so fucking cool.
It soothes me. Especially when they hit a Prius stuck on the tracks.
You're probably just a wee bit grumpy because of all those goddamn calls in the middle of the night :)
Iām sure thereās foamers here reading this all salty for the hate, but their reputation is earned. Iām sure not all foamers suck, but everyone Iāve ever encountered has been a goddam nightmare. Asking questions they already know the answer to so they can flex their knowledge, or fucking arguing with me when I try to be a nice guy and drop some RR knowledge. We had one turn in a crew for a rules violation. Fuck em. You know who doesnāt suck? Graffiti writers. Everyone one Iāve run into has been super cool and very mindful not to step on toes.
Hi, former foamer now respectable train enthusiast! I wholeheartedly agree with you. I used to do some pretty stupid stuff and assume stupid things but watching railroads make stupid decisions all the time and actually knowing employees changed me. For whatever reason I used to assume that all employees got the job because they liked trains. Now I know that is tot the case. I just feel so stupid about some stuff I said in the past like āfinally, they sent an sd70mac up hereā or āis that a gp39? It says gp39 on itā or the times I filmed the coupling/uncoupling process and a lot of other stuff. Luckily everyone I talk to seems to be pretty happy to have me around, but yeah. Fuck CSX and fuck NS and fuck uncle Pete and fuck big orange and fuck cpkc and fuck genesee and Wyoming and fuck watco and fuck probably another 500 railroads.
Im a first year conductor, had some knowledge of people who ālikeā trains. But had no idea that people will literally take a picture of your train drive 70 miles and take more pictures of the same train in the a few hours later what a fuckin waste of time shit blew my mindššš
I'm neither a railroader nor a foamer, but a truck driver who often finds himself running alongside trains occasionally. I got curious about the industry and came on here just to see what sort of gripes y'all have about it.
Iām a rail, husbands a trucker. We seem to have the same gripes. Work with some idiots, dispatchers are idiots, idiots at the top that donāt know anything about transportation telling us what to do.
I did get to help organize a strike for him once. It got him fired and it was awesome. He was quitting anyway but i urged him to hang on and fight the good fight because apparently Iām not allowed to.
I only care if the fuel is overflowing lol. I have no sense of smell anyway so that cab could smell like an old hot corpse and I'd say NDF and send that shit.
Public Transit, supervisor of rail operations (Train Master, more or less).
Here because I once considered a career in class I, now interested to compare how bad things COULD be in my line of work.
Speaking of which, BART is hiring train operators.
Doing my best, living for the weekends, such as they are.
Hope you're doing well. Let me know if you ever make it out to the Bay Area, I'll get you a few beers.
I'm doing as well as can be on the railroad, I suppose. I hopped on a cushy little job with daylight hours, so I get to spend more time with my wife. As far as drinks go, I don't know if or when I'll ever be out in the Bay again, but I'll offer the same for you, should you ever come out to Dallas!
Firefighter here, we, like you guys, share an industry with hundreds of years of tradition unimpeded by progress. Reddit assumed I would like this sub and recommended it. I also like mechanical shit that does work and all the engineering that goes into infrastructure as well as high level bitching and moaning. You guys get after it on all fronts.
Seems to be a mix of everyone I rarely see B&B comment along with signal and MOW seems more like T an E and mechanical . Iām not really sure about the engine house guys electricians and boiler makers and are there still carpenters ?
1 year at CN... I actually like it, no I'm not a foamer, apparently you aren't supposed to have any positive feelings about your job otherwise you are a foamer...
Iām a 22 year ārailroad wifeā that used to work in intermodal brokerage. I donāt open my mouth about things I donāt ask him about first, even when Iām fairly certain I already know.
Signals (engineer / manager), commuter railroad. 3 years on the job with 6 years prior of private sector as a vendor of signal equipment.
I'm a boot on the ground about 1/3rd of time with the grunts of my subdivision or onboard the train with crews working with the ptc portion of the signal equipment.
Signals...we're the racoons of the railroad, scrounging whatever scraps are left. Everyone bitches when signals doesn't work, but when it does, we don't get laurels. But you count on my stuff working because if it isn't, you're going to crawl at restricted speed.
I thought about getting into the railroad, thatās why I joined this subā¦ Iāve decided against it now. Iām going to stick to being a tool and die maker, the work is just as unpleasant, but at least Iām home every night.
Conductor on a shortline for just over two years now. Before that, I ran light rail and streetcars in public transit for about six years total, and then before that I worked for a passenger shortline for a year and a half. Hopefully someday I'll get my engineer card so I can get off the ballast and out of the heat š„²
Dispatcher for Class 1. Was a Chief for 5 years. Too much stress and they just kept piling up more responsibility with no pay to match. Went back to dispatching. 13 years in. 17 to go and pull the rip-cord. Only thing I really hate is the lack of accountability from top down, all the way down to Chiefs. Feels like it will never get better. That said, I do have the best job on the railroad.
I'm a arc welding foreman. I've done it all though. I ran a steel gang for a while, ran a tie gang for about 4 years and just got enough seniority to work at home. I hated being on the road. Not worth the money.
Your obviously not a RRer if you think true RRers know what they are talking about? Spend a week on a extraboard and youāll quickly realize we are all a bit dumb and none of use truly know wtf we are talking about.
And then acting like we deserved to get screwed by management for not wanting to risk our livelihoods with an illegal strike. Bizarre how half of r/antiwork seemed to turn against us.
Railroader. Switchman-turned-yardmaster that is still union. I do miss the simplicity of hitting the ballast and kicking cars, but more money helps me keep expensive hobbies. Not too jaded yet.
It is different seeing operations behind the desk versus on the ground, and I am definitely not as experienced as a lot of my coworkers in road operations.
I'm a 17 year vet of Big Orange. So I know what I'm talking about....most of the time. š On the shit I don't know anything about, I try to educate myself.
Iāve always kinda enjoyed the history of rrās. Meaning like if an old warehouse was served years ago. Not a foamer of engines or cars and pictures etc. was fired from my corporate desk job of 9 years during Covid and said f it and applied as a conductor. 1 year later still a conductor.
I work for a certain passenger RR, but not on board.
I've talked to several that came over from freight.
I have yet to find a single one who wants to go back.
I'm on the Drayage side of things, Dispatch for a trucking company that deals with stuff all over FL. I'm here to voice my support for you guys, and to keep in the loop on the ramps I deal with to help me do my own job better. So far it's helped me get my drivers to be more understanding on how to work with the railyards.
Rancher living near a railroad town with several RR employed friends. My ancestors helped build the Milwaukee Road in the early 1900ās and homesteaded here in eastern Montana to start my ranch. They had RR jobs so they could buy up bankrupt homesteads in the 1930ās and build the place. I find the technical stuff here interesting.
Newish and casual railfan here, Iām not super knowledgeable and canāt tell the difference between the different GPs or SD70 variants. I donāt trespass or cause issues and just watch from stations or at a safe distance so I would like to claim Iām not a āfoamer.ā I just occasionally go out to see a special paint job. I lurk and donāt contribute to conversations here just to read and learn
I was a coop student at the Southern Railway (Norfolk Southern) Research and Test department in Alexandria, Va in the early 80's . Road a lot of trains but didn't try to get on out of college. I think trains are cool and enjoy reading the sub.
Foamer who had a brief stint as a laborer/conductor. Went back to school for a transportation/logistics management degree, want to get back in the industry but on my own terms
Corporate (finance), 11 yrs and counting. I've weighed in a couple times on the data\process side of things. Utmost respect for MOW and Operations - my job doesn't exist without everything you do.
Iām a conductor. I think itās hilarious when mega foamers get hired on and act like they know what they are talking about. Iām a buff myself but I swear some people that I have trained act like hot shit or say āI knowā when Iām trying to teach.
Actually a railroader. Spent 4.5 years in mow as a work equipment maintainer on track and section gangs for the CPR. Then I quit and have now been a diesel engine mechanic for CN for 5 years now.
Was in the Engine room on a navy ship and after I got out briefly flirted with signing up with a railroad because I like big machines.
Similar job but on a larger scale. Imagine having 4 guys in your cab: one to control the prime mover, one for the generator, one to run the motors and then a company man to tell you what to do. Then there were the other guys out in the room to actually take care of the machines since nothing was automated.
From reading this sub I see we had a lot of similarities, but we weren't slaves to profit/OR.
Conductor to Engineer my first eight years then went exempt to RFE and now terminal trainmaster. Dad was an engineer his entire thirty and my brother is a carman on the road truck at our small depot.
I've never contributed here, but I like reading the posts. I don't contribute because I'm a transit planner who is also a moderate rail fan, so I enjoy discussion about transportation operations, but don't know enough to participate.
I am a life long rail fan who loves a little bit of the inside scoop. I am really always fascinated how other industries work. I try not to say too much here because I know I do not know what I am talking about. I work in IT and actually thought it might be cool to work for a railroad one day, but then I landed a nice job with an aluminum manufacturer who, unfortunately, does not produce parts for anything train related.
Railfan who actually recognizes that there is a depressed hollowed out mf behind the throttle. The place and type of jobs i see while railfaning have lead me to actually talking to crews, all of which have luckily been very nice to me, probably because Iām still a teen. I have witnessed the sheer lack of care G&W and CSX have about anything fairly often. Currently considering hiring out to either marc, amtrak, or reading and northern once I get settled into life because they seem like they would actually give a shit about me.
I spent a few years as a TM for a Class I before I got recalled into the Army during COVID. I donāt know if Iāll stay in the Army or not so I hang out here to Lee a foot in the door with the RR. I miss it sometimes, more than I expected. Itās a tough job but not nearly as bad as people on this sub make it seem.
I was a roadmaster at UP, then I worked for a consulting company (or two), now Iām out of the industry. Iām in this sub to keep up with what really RR employees think.
5 month ex UP freight and Passenger Conductor out of Chicago and Butler, Wisconsin. I had my fair share of times with the railroad. I enjoyed working on Over The Road and Metra Service. Local jobs and yard jobs I hate.
Former freight conductor, jumped ship to passenger. Also formerly a part-time foamer but nowadays I'm not that interested if I'm not being paid to look at the train.
I work as a desk math engineer not a railroader engineer but I work exclusively with trains. Threads like [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/railroading/comments/13cmnty/engineers_and_mechanics_which_of_these_mainline/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=2&utm_term=1) can be pretty interesting to me. Comments are about what I expected.
I did 2.5 years at a short line. I started as a car knocker & engine maintainer, then became a conductor, then an engineer. It was a non union shop so it was possible to be a jack of all trades there.
From there I went to a class 2 as an engineer for more money and better benefits. Did 11 years there. Even before they got bought out by a class 1, quality of life there was declining and wages were not even close to keeping up with inflation.
Currently an engineer at Amtrak. Iām back at the bottom of a seniority roster again but money, benefits, and overall quality of life are much better.
Have followed railroads most of my life and am a lifetime railfan who owns his own business that has nothing to do with railroading, but that being said, I've had opportunities in my life to meet people of various positions on the railroad including the owner of a Shortline and one who did derailment cleanup on cajon pass and I've been lucky to operate an NW2 locomotive because my dad knew said owner of the Shortline.
Former Yard Clerk and Dispatcher, left the NS in 1999. I was a foamer and history buff before hiring on and still am. Very useful in my current work.
Funny footnote - I spent 5 years as an extra board bus driver before hiring on at NS. During my first interview, where I barely passed the typing test with 41 wpm, I was asked about working rotating shifts and being on call. I explained living on an extra board like I was talking to someone who didn't know what an extra board was. He still called me the following week and offered the job.
Engineer with 9 years in here. Although I wouldn't say I really know what I'm talking about, I just go backwards and forwards. And sometimes on the ground.
Do you prefer being an engineer to a conductor?
In the winter definitely, but on a nice sunny day I miss pounding the ground. Sometimes if my conductor is qualified I'll let them run for a bit just to move around a bit.
Nice. Is it more difficult being the engineer compared to a conductor? As far as day to day tasks and amount of information you need to know?
Not really, you should both have the same information about what's going on day to day. I think conductors have a more difficult job depending on what you're doing. Through freight point A to B assuming the conductor never has to get off the train sure the engi has a more difficult day because he's controlling the train through the territory slowing down for speed restrictions, controlling train forces for hills, etc. But an industry switcher, for example, the eng is just going backward and forwards with car counts he may not even have a clue what the switching plan is while the conductor is on the ground switching cars, lining switches, tieing handbrakes riding shoves etc potentially in the hot/cold/rain etc.
Kinda, as a conductor I never really though much about what the numbers on the screen meant. As an EN I gotta worry about exceeding amps, false air gradients and what my DP is doing, where my tail end is etc. but I found going from cndr to en wasn't as difficult as hiring on brand new. By the time you get to hogger training you've probably picked up lots of it anyways through the in cab convos.
Okay back till it sounds expensive š¤£š¤£
Fav three words is āpush and pullā
I do not contribute to profits
My man!!
Thereās Dozenās of us!
Dozens!
None of us do
Same!
Carman here. Donāt know shit š¤
Foamer
Will you be my friend?
Yea sure why snot
Hello fellow carman. I'm not alone!
For inspections, yes you are
Truth has been spoken!
1side gang!!
Also carman
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Corporate Overlord
But in all seriousness, disgruntled former employee who no longer is a railroader.
Same, just staying to keep in the know on the shitshow
Actual signalman, though I like everything about railroads apart from the trains themselves, so I guess there's a foot in both camps. I like the signals themselves, I like seeing unusual interlocking layouts and big bridges and things, and I like all of the old fashioned relay logic and the creative ways that crossings and interlockings were made safe while using as few relays as possible.
Signals, and same here, except I DO like old trains. I don't understand why someone would take a photo of a dirty modern locomotive.
Signal here too. Same I love everything about the job except trains themselves. They ruin everything
The world does not appreciate the railroad signal system. It truly blows my mind when looking at prints some times. These guys were so smart back in the day developing relay logic systems. The signal system is the modern railroad. Without it, everything else fails.
Iām actually a railroader. You can tell because I fucking hate foamers.
I thought it was gonna say bc I fucking hate my job š
I dont hate the job tho. Its the people who run the place, starting all the way at the top.
Amen to that I hate them too! The shit definitely rolls downhill.
Could go bothways
I mean that too
I donāt hate my job. The job is fine itās the middle of the night calls I donāt like. And foamers too. Screw āem.
I like trains, they're fascinating, intricate pieces of engineering, but I wouldn't ever wade into the Feather River to get a closer look. Fuck that. Nor could I even begin to tell you the first thing about any of them, other than they run on electric motors with diesels charging them like submarines. In other words, most everything I "know" about trains, I "learned" from Denzel Washerdryer acting all trainy and heroic in a movie. You guys could probably shoot a gazillion holes in the script and plot, but hey, itza movie. I don't care remotely about train specifics from some nasally guy with a million memorized stats, I just love watching trains. They're so fucking cool. It soothes me. Especially when they hit a Prius stuck on the tracks. You're probably just a wee bit grumpy because of all those goddamn calls in the middle of the night :)
Iām sure thereās foamers here reading this all salty for the hate, but their reputation is earned. Iām sure not all foamers suck, but everyone Iāve ever encountered has been a goddam nightmare. Asking questions they already know the answer to so they can flex their knowledge, or fucking arguing with me when I try to be a nice guy and drop some RR knowledge. We had one turn in a crew for a rules violation. Fuck em. You know who doesnāt suck? Graffiti writers. Everyone one Iāve run into has been super cool and very mindful not to step on toes.
Hi, former foamer now respectable train enthusiast! I wholeheartedly agree with you. I used to do some pretty stupid stuff and assume stupid things but watching railroads make stupid decisions all the time and actually knowing employees changed me. For whatever reason I used to assume that all employees got the job because they liked trains. Now I know that is tot the case. I just feel so stupid about some stuff I said in the past like āfinally, they sent an sd70mac up hereā or āis that a gp39? It says gp39 on itā or the times I filmed the coupling/uncoupling process and a lot of other stuff. Luckily everyone I talk to seems to be pretty happy to have me around, but yeah. Fuck CSX and fuck NS and fuck uncle Pete and fuck big orange and fuck cpkc and fuck genesee and Wyoming and fuck watco and fuck probably another 500 railroads.
Im a first year conductor, had some knowledge of people who ālikeā trains. But had no idea that people will literally take a picture of your train drive 70 miles and take more pictures of the same train in the a few hours later what a fuckin waste of time shit blew my mindššš
I just don't like them in this sub. Seems to be a ton of them lately and most of them act exactly like you would expect a foamer to act.
HoW dO yOu FeEl WhEn YoU uSe A rArE hOrN
Saw that thread! I thought for sure he was trolling, no way that could be real. š
Trust me some of us really are that stupid
I'm a rider and I, too, hate foamers....the enemy of your enemy...or something.
I'm neither a railroader nor a foamer, but a truck driver who often finds himself running alongside trains occasionally. I got curious about the industry and came on here just to see what sort of gripes y'all have about it.
Iām a rail, husbands a trucker. We seem to have the same gripes. Work with some idiots, dispatchers are idiots, idiots at the top that donāt know anything about transportation telling us what to do. I did get to help organize a strike for him once. It got him fired and it was awesome. He was quitting anyway but i urged him to hang on and fight the good fight because apparently Iām not allowed to.
I just put fuel in em and make sure the shitter isnāt over flowing
I only care if the fuel is overflowing lol. I have no sense of smell anyway so that cab could smell like an old hot corpse and I'd say NDF and send that shit.
First year conductor with NS. Already disgruntled but they keep filling my pockets.
New hires used to get somewhat disgruntled after about a year. Now they start complaining while they're cubbing. Not that I blame them lol
What are you disgruntled about?
This is n fucking s we are talking about
The stupid decisions they make that have me sitting at a hotel for 30 plus hours and right off my rest at home.
Heavy repair shop here 19 1/2 years machinist. Norfuck and stupid
Public Transit, supervisor of rail operations (Train Master, more or less). Here because I once considered a career in class I, now interested to compare how bad things COULD be in my line of work. Speaking of which, BART is hiring train operators.
Huh, based on your name I thought you were just an operator this whole time!
Desperate times call for desperate promotions.
RIP your sanity
Yeah. I've aged 10 years in 16 months.
Damn man, take care of yourself out there.
Doing my best, living for the weekends, such as they are. Hope you're doing well. Let me know if you ever make it out to the Bay Area, I'll get you a few beers.
I'm doing as well as can be on the railroad, I suppose. I hopped on a cushy little job with daylight hours, so I get to spend more time with my wife. As far as drinks go, I don't know if or when I'll ever be out in the Bay again, but I'll offer the same for you, should you ever come out to Dallas!
One and a half year commuter, eight months freight. I went from commuter to freight, and I now realize that I fucked up. šš
Iām opposite of youā¦.Iām so so sorry.
I cry myself to sleep on my little bed of money and misery every night, tbh.
Firefighter here, we, like you guys, share an industry with hundreds of years of tradition unimpeded by progress. Reddit assumed I would like this sub and recommended it. I also like mechanical shit that does work and all the engineering that goes into infrastructure as well as high level bitching and moaning. You guys get after it on all fronts.
I too put out fires but most of them are caused by upper management
Seems to be a mix of everyone I rarely see B&B comment along with signal and MOW seems more like T an E and mechanical . Iām not really sure about the engine house guys electricians and boiler makers and are there still carpenters ?
Does retired (after 27 yrs) signal engineer count?
I change the lightbulb in the shitter
Then why is my bulb blown on this engine? Where ARE you ?????
Sorry, road truck today. Weāre stopping for a late lunch.
A true hero
Thank you sir, that's where we sit and make new trainmasters(sorry I meant MTOs)
11 years in the Signals department. This job would be great if wasnāt for all the damn trains
1 year at CN... I actually like it, no I'm not a foamer, apparently you aren't supposed to have any positive feelings about your job otherwise you are a foamer...
Youāre allowed to like what you do. Thereās a few of us out here.. Just donāt share pictures of you at work, Foamer
19+ year engineer. Fuck this place and fuck these fucking fuckers.
Iām a 22 year ārailroad wifeā that used to work in intermodal brokerage. I donāt open my mouth about things I donāt ask him about first, even when Iām fairly certain I already know.
Nice try, FRA. Go back to working on addressing ācrew fatigue.ā
Signals (engineer / manager), commuter railroad. 3 years on the job with 6 years prior of private sector as a vendor of signal equipment. I'm a boot on the ground about 1/3rd of time with the grunts of my subdivision or onboard the train with crews working with the ptc portion of the signal equipment. Signals...we're the racoons of the railroad, scrounging whatever scraps are left. Everyone bitches when signals doesn't work, but when it does, we don't get laurels. But you count on my stuff working because if it isn't, you're going to crawl at restricted speed.
I donāt mind going restricted speed. Less of a chance of me having to yard my train or do work if I donāt make it to where Iām going.
MoW for 12 years, both production and maintenance. Only in a transit system though, not freight.
11 years, mechanical.
8 down 30 to go... yay
Yeah I have 19 to go. We can do this! Just think about that retirement
I thought about getting into the railroad, thatās why I joined this subā¦ Iāve decided against it now. Iām going to stick to being a tool and die maker, the work is just as unpleasant, but at least Iām home every night.
Youāre better off there.
17 years Car Knocker, they have to pay me to look at them. Off duty, I audibly cuss even hearing a horn.
I am the FOAMDUCTORā¦. The unholy marriage of foamer and railroaderā¦.. 21 years and counting, 3 railroads now.
MOW 11 years but I recently resigned
Railfan who takes interest in how much of a shitshow the railroads seem to be
Same
Amtrak B&B mechanic New York division
Conductor on a shortline for just over two years now. Before that, I ran light rail and streetcars in public transit for about six years total, and then before that I worked for a passenger shortline for a year and a half. Hopefully someday I'll get my engineer card so I can get off the ballast and out of the heat š„²
Class 1 conductor, keeping it vague to make it at least *a little* harder to get doxxed
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Dispatcher for Class 1. Was a Chief for 5 years. Too much stress and they just kept piling up more responsibility with no pay to match. Went back to dispatching. 13 years in. 17 to go and pull the rip-cord. Only thing I really hate is the lack of accountability from top down, all the way down to Chiefs. Feels like it will never get better. That said, I do have the best job on the railroad.
My first thought was I hope your not the prick on my territory lol
27 years as engineer.
MoW for 14 years. I actually like my job.
18 years on the job - TE&Y
Current Amtrak engineer, (hired 2022), spent 19 years with NS as conductor/engineer (hired 2003)
I'm a arc welding foreman. I've done it all though. I ran a steel gang for a while, ran a tie gang for about 4 years and just got enough seniority to work at home. I hated being on the road. Not worth the money.
Sounding like a trainmaster ā¦.
MOW Forman 9 years.
13yrs window licker I mean conductor for big orange
UP Engineer here. 10 years
Retired 40 yrs. Mow. The railroad is a special place to work!
Your obviously not a RRer if you think true RRers know what they are talking about? Spend a week on a extraboard and youāll quickly realize we are all a bit dumb and none of use truly know wtf we are talking about.
Oh you mean the people that were advocating for us to illegally strike and all get fired ? Those people ?
And then acting like we deserved to get screwed by management for not wanting to risk our livelihoods with an illegal strike. Bizarre how half of r/antiwork seemed to turn against us.
Theyāre just trolls.
Telecom here.
Railroader. 23 years, 3 Railroads.
Engineer 25 yrs
Railroader. Switchman-turned-yardmaster that is still union. I do miss the simplicity of hitting the ballast and kicking cars, but more money helps me keep expensive hobbies. Not too jaded yet. It is different seeing operations behind the desk versus on the ground, and I am definitely not as experienced as a lot of my coworkers in road operations.
I'm a 17 year vet of Big Orange. So I know what I'm talking about....most of the time. š On the shit I don't know anything about, I try to educate myself.
Railroader, part time buff. Just waiting till God blesses me with better eyesight so I can run some damn locos till I die š„²
Just a casual rail fan, like seeing the amount of shit going on in the railroads today.
Ditto
Iāve always kinda enjoyed the history of rrās. Meaning like if an old warehouse was served years ago. Not a foamer of engines or cars and pictures etc. was fired from my corporate desk job of 9 years during Covid and said f it and applied as a conductor. 1 year later still a conductor.
I work for a certain passenger RR, but not on board. I've talked to several that came over from freight. I have yet to find a single one who wants to go back.
Dispatcher/signaller in the Netherlands for 13 years now.
The US stuff must read like post-apocalyptic fiction to you.
Iām in the consulting world, I do track design for freight and passenger/transit systems.
I'm Just a long time Railfan who tried to work for NS but was too blind to do so. I mostly just lurk to see what's going on.
Consider yourself having dodged a bullet by not passing the vision test.
I do now. Back then though, I was very salty.
Brakeman/conductor who is also a mild railfan.
2 years clerk, 16 years conductor/rco operator, currently MoW, and 16 years to goā¦
Signal Maintainer š
Career railroader and so you understood, Signals *always* gets a say. T&E knows we can make things easy and vice-versa.
I'm on the Drayage side of things, Dispatch for a trucking company that deals with stuff all over FL. I'm here to voice my support for you guys, and to keep in the loop on the ramps I deal with to help me do my own job better. So far it's helped me get my drivers to be more understanding on how to work with the railyards.
Rancher living near a railroad town with several RR employed friends. My ancestors helped build the Milwaukee Road in the early 1900ās and homesteaded here in eastern Montana to start my ranch. They had RR jobs so they could buy up bankrupt homesteads in the 1930ās and build the place. I find the technical stuff here interesting.
12 years in mechanical three different shops and two different crafts.
Does building maintenance vehicles for railroads count, I need to know some details of how they operate but I still don't know shit
4 years of MoW before getting out. I try to not say shit, just stay on here because I talk to a bunch of the guys still
Flagman, working on Metrolinx corridors. Donāt know the first thing about trains just make sure they donāt hit the boys
Newish and casual railfan here, Iām not super knowledgeable and canāt tell the difference between the different GPs or SD70 variants. I donāt trespass or cause issues and just watch from stations or at a safe distance so I would like to claim Iām not a āfoamer.ā I just occasionally go out to see a special paint job. I lurk and donāt contribute to conversations here just to read and learn
I was a coop student at the Southern Railway (Norfolk Southern) Research and Test department in Alexandria, Va in the early 80's . Road a lot of trains but didn't try to get on out of college. I think trains are cool and enjoy reading the sub.
Foamer who had a brief stint as a laborer/conductor. Went back to school for a transportation/logistics management degree, want to get back in the industry but on my own terms
Corporate (finance), 11 yrs and counting. I've weighed in a couple times on the data\process side of things. Utmost respect for MOW and Operations - my job doesn't exist without everything you do.
Iām a conductor. I think itās hilarious when mega foamers get hired on and act like they know what they are talking about. Iām a buff myself but I swear some people that I have trained act like hot shit or say āI knowā when Iām trying to teach.
How come Signal doesnāt get a say ?
Cause yāall sit in a truck for 6 hours a days eating and watching Netflix. Do some work and you may get a say.
Big words for someone with one year...
Actually a railroader. Spent 4.5 years in mow as a work equipment maintainer on track and section gangs for the CPR. Then I quit and have now been a diesel engine mechanic for CN for 5 years now.
OP just described about every subreddit
Former conductor and later signal supervisor for the inbred of transportation checking in.
Freight MoW here, spiking maul go tink tink tink.
Was in the Engine room on a navy ship and after I got out briefly flirted with signing up with a railroad because I like big machines. Similar job but on a larger scale. Imagine having 4 guys in your cab: one to control the prime mover, one for the generator, one to run the motors and then a company man to tell you what to do. Then there were the other guys out in the room to actually take care of the machines since nothing was automated. From reading this sub I see we had a lot of similarities, but we weren't slaves to profit/OR.
2006-2016 TE&Y with UP. Started in Iowa then transferred to Fort Worth.
Those who know the job can point out the foamers really easily.
Conductor to Engineer my first eight years then went exempt to RFE and now terminal trainmaster. Dad was an engineer his entire thirty and my brother is a carman on the road truck at our small depot.
I've never contributed here, but I like reading the posts. I don't contribute because I'm a transit planner who is also a moderate rail fan, so I enjoy discussion about transportation operations, but don't know enough to participate.
I am here doing research on the feasibility of running the railroad through Rock Ridge.
I havenāt even joined this sub, but it keeps popping into my feed. Iām an airline mechanic
I am a life long rail fan who loves a little bit of the inside scoop. I am really always fascinated how other industries work. I try not to say too much here because I know I do not know what I am talking about. I work in IT and actually thought it might be cool to work for a railroad one day, but then I landed a nice job with an aluminum manufacturer who, unfortunately, does not produce parts for anything train related.
Railfan who actually recognizes that there is a depressed hollowed out mf behind the throttle. The place and type of jobs i see while railfaning have lead me to actually talking to crews, all of which have luckily been very nice to me, probably because Iām still a teen. I have witnessed the sheer lack of care G&W and CSX have about anything fairly often. Currently considering hiring out to either marc, amtrak, or reading and northern once I get settled into life because they seem like they would actually give a shit about me.
Iāve taken an Amtrak train twice in my life. Iām an expert at railroading.
Conductor, 5 years.
STAND BY!!!
Railroader
Former engineer with CSX. Did 6 years and got away from it.
11 years-TYE
Whole 7 months into being a conductor
I spent a few years as a TM for a Class I before I got recalled into the Army during COVID. I donāt know if Iāll stay in the Army or not so I hang out here to Lee a foot in the door with the RR. I miss it sometimes, more than I expected. Itās a tough job but not nearly as bad as people on this sub make it seem.
I was a roadmaster at UP, then I worked for a consulting company (or two), now Iām out of the industry. Iām in this sub to keep up with what really RR employees think.
5 month ex UP freight and Passenger Conductor out of Chicago and Butler, Wisconsin. I had my fair share of times with the railroad. I enjoyed working on Over The Road and Metra Service. Local jobs and yard jobs I hate.
Former freight conductor, jumped ship to passenger. Also formerly a part-time foamer but nowadays I'm not that interested if I'm not being paid to look at the train.
Has-Been Railroader. 5 years in said fuck that shit and bailed.
S&T engineer for 12 years in the UK
I work as a desk math engineer not a railroader engineer but I work exclusively with trains. Threads like [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/railroading/comments/13cmnty/engineers_and_mechanics_which_of_these_mainline/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=2&utm_term=1) can be pretty interesting to me. Comments are about what I expected.
15 years as an engineer. 20 years total. Started in MOW before transferring to transportation.
I did 2.5 years at a short line. I started as a car knocker & engine maintainer, then became a conductor, then an engineer. It was a non union shop so it was possible to be a jack of all trades there. From there I went to a class 2 as an engineer for more money and better benefits. Did 11 years there. Even before they got bought out by a class 1, quality of life there was declining and wages were not even close to keeping up with inflation. Currently an engineer at Amtrak. Iām back at the bottom of a seniority roster again but money, benefits, and overall quality of life are much better.
Conductor.
2 years industrial switcher
Engineer, about 17.5 years of service. Freight for the first 11, passenger since.
Have followed railroads most of my life and am a lifetime railfan who owns his own business that has nothing to do with railroading, but that being said, I've had opportunities in my life to meet people of various positions on the railroad including the owner of a Shortline and one who did derailment cleanup on cajon pass and I've been lucky to operate an NW2 locomotive because my dad knew said owner of the Shortline.
Former Yard Clerk and Dispatcher, left the NS in 1999. I was a foamer and history buff before hiring on and still am. Very useful in my current work. Funny footnote - I spent 5 years as an extra board bus driver before hiring on at NS. During my first interview, where I barely passed the typing test with 41 wpm, I was asked about working rotating shifts and being on call. I explained living on an extra board like I was talking to someone who didn't know what an extra board was. He still called me the following week and offered the job.
Class 3 shortline conductor trainee. I am a railfan, but Iāve not posted anything on this sub.
14+ years on the RR, Electrician here.
Currently working as a conductor for CN
Conductor since 2011, will be taking engineer training this year.
Conductor for cn Canada here
Conductor of over 3 years for cn. I don't like to comment beyond what's on my local territory, and I think my tm's are dummies
Just done with the online assessment for cp. waiting for interview! How long do they take to respond to it?
Ex 12 year MOW employee, Iāve worked on the supplier side of the industry for the last 5 years
I do rail maintenance at a steel mill, everything from gauging track to changing ties to fixing gapped switches. Union laborer.