Any railroaders out there. (Bismarck, Devils Lake: transfer, maintenance, living in)

[BigP66]

Thinking of transferring out for bnsf, wondering what the forecast is for work out there and what the seniority looks like. Also, any details about bismarck would be great; cost of living, rent, groceries, night life, activities, etc. sorry about the vague questions, just tired of living in socal and i recently started exploring my options. Thanks.

[supercarbon]

What kind of work do you do for BNSF? They are pouring money into the state and have tons of local work with their maintenance crews. My dad and I pressure clean MOW equipment for BN and used to travel from ND to Georgia throughout the summers but there's so much work in ND right now there's no reason for more extensive travel; we basically stay in ND because there's so much activity.

If you're a 'go-getter' kind of guy there's always opportunity. Seniority is there but it's not what it used to be- crews aren't performing the way they used to (tie gangs, steel gangs, surfacing crews). The amount of time spent on the tracks for MOW equipment is extremely limited due to the amount of traffic.

I'd go for a smaller town like Devils Lake over Bismarck. Lower cost of living, plus if you're traveling 80-150 miles on their time, there's a lot more opportunity for outdoor activities like hunting, fishing, etc. when you're not working.