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I have an interview coming up with a local carrier here in the New Jersey/Pennsylvania area. The hours are still crazy, but it's a regional railroad so you're home after every shift instead of in a hotel somewhere. The pay and benefits are good, but again, the hours are crazy at least until you get some years under your belt and can bid for better hours. Just curious how many other railroad workers there are here and how they like the job.
Not now but 30 years ago for a short line freight hauler. I worked the office in train movement. I usually describe it as the worst job I ever had. Left it to go learn to fly jets for the Navy. Company went bankrupt in the mid-80s, a combination of the overall collapse of industry, primarily coal, in western PA and poor decisons by management.
Should have mentioned my schedule was W,Th,F 11PM-7AM, Sat 3PM-11PM, Sun 7AM-3PM. The crews would sometimes work 12 on and 8 off. That's when we started to have small accidents like mating the cars too hard or running through switches.
how does one go about getting a job with the railroads?
what type of training or certification is involved?
Training for transportation jobs is most always provided by the companies once if they choose to hire you. So, coming off the street try to get hired as a conductor trainee on one of your local railroads. And of course a big plus is if you are willing to move.
Another good entry-level gig is a track laborer, in the Maintenance of Way Dept.
I'm a conductor with one of the big class A's here in the midwest. Major coal routes through here. We run around 60 trains a day through my terminal, about 80% coal.
It's a good job, but can be a drag. A lot of time away from home sometimes. Get a little seniority and you can balance it out pretty well. Pulling in 80000 a yr is pretty easy, some guys try for a lot more.
Should have mentioned my schedule was W,Th,F 11PM-7AM, Sat 3PM-11PM, Sun 7AM-3PM. The crews would sometimes work 12 on and 8 off. That's when we started to have small accidents like mating the cars too hard or running through switches.
Not the best schedule.
On the positive side, you had a nice long " weekend".
From 3 Sunday afternoon til 11 Wednesday night.
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