How do trains get "driven" ?

[OuterUB]

Ok .... poorly worded question. But as I've been following my truck from Saltillo to Detroit I was thinking that it's a long way and a lonnnng time. So I wondered .... "How do they staff/man/woman/choo choo driver" that thing ? Do they do it in shifts ? Does one engineer sleep while another, uh, "drives" ?

I'm not being a dick .... I really want to know cuz it seems like a BEAR of a job.

 

[Darmichar]

Guy I used to work with was an Engineer on a train for a while. Yes, they do work in shifts. I don't know the proper terminology but there was a main engineer and a 'backup' in the engine. They could trade places and take a break and provide an extra set of eyes for the other. At certain points they would be picked up by someone in a vehicle and taken home or to a motel for a true break form the train.

 

[OuterUB]

Guy I used to work with was an Engineer on a train for a while. Yes, they do work in shifts. I don't know the proper terminology but there was a main engineer and a 'backup' in the engine. They could trade places and take a break and provide an extra set of eyes for the other. At certain points they would be picked up by someone in a vehicle and taken home or to a motel for a true break form the train.

Cool. I wonder how they schedule stops and rest for the engineers and conductors ... Does the same person go end to end ? Meaning Eagle Pass to Detroit ?

 

[tyler2you]

Ok .... poorly worded question. But as I've been following my truck from Saltillo to Detroit I was thinking that it's a long way and a lonnnng time. So I wondered .... "How do they staff/man/woman/choo choo driver" that thing ? Do they do it in shifts ? Does one engineer sleep while another, uh, "drives" ?

I'm not being a dick .... I really want to know cuz it seems like a BEAR of a job.

Sounds like it's typically a 2 man crew (Engineer/Conductor). Engineer operates the hardware and the Conductor does paperwork, communicates, and handles everything else. Typical day sounds like a 6-12 hour shift and they change crews when required so they don't exceed the 12 hour legal limit. If they haven't "timed out", they can pick up another route back to their origin or possibly dead head back as a passenger. Otherwise, they have to spend the night for crew rest and pick up a train the next day or get some other form of transportation back home. Lots of waiting around to be called to go at a moments notice.

Pretty good description here:

https://whatforwork.com/jobs/train-conductor/

 

[Ron045]

They also work in segments. The same crew may not take that train from Saltillo to Detroit. There may be crew changes along the way at major interchanges or yards. That train may even be broken up and rebuilt a few times in a rail yard to efficiently move freight all over the country.

Ron

 

[OuterUB]

They also work in segments. The same crew may not take that train from Saltillo to Detroit. There may be crew changes along the way at major interchanges or yards. That train may even be broken up and rebuilt a few times in a rail yard to efficiently move freight all over the country.

Ron

That makes a LOT of sense from a logistics perspective.

 

[OuterUB]

Sounds like it's typically a 2 man crew (Engineer/Conductor). Engineer operates the hardware and the Conductor does paperwork, communicates, and handles everything else. Typical day sounds like a 6-12 hour shift and they change crews when required so they don't exceed the 12 hour legal limit. If they haven't "timed out", they can pick up another route back to their origin or possibly dead head back as a passenger. Otherwise, they have to spend the night for crew rest and pick up a train the next day or get some other form of transportation back home. Lots of waiting around to be called to go at a moments notice.

Pretty good description here:

https://whatforwork.com/jobs/train-conductor/

DEFINATELY not for every one.

 

[matemike]

Probably a lot like truckers or ship captains/crew as well. They don't work and go home every day/night. They probably work a schedule like two weeks on, two weeks off. And the train company is responsible for providing travel back home when they are finished with a hitch. As well as travel from their home back to the train wherever it is when they go back on a hitch. I would also hope they always go back to the same engine cars so they can keep their effects on a single train and not have to travel with new bedding and all the toiletries every time they travel. Which brings up other questions without trying to derail the subject here (haha), : Do the engine cars have a bathroom, shower, washer and dryer, galley, kitchen, sleeping quarters? Wifi? Satellite TV? Sick bay/hospital? Is there someone on board with some medical training?

I'm basing most of this on what I know about tug boats and ships. That's how we have to do things in the maritime industry.

 

[OuterUB]

Probably a lot like truckers or ship captains/crew as well. They don't work and go home every day/night. They probably work a schedule like two weeks on, two weeks off. And the train company is responsible for providing travel back home when they are finished with a hitch. As well as travel from their home back to the train wherever it is when they go back on a hitch. I would also hope they always go back to the same engine cars so they can keep their effects on a single train and not have to travel with new bedding and all the toiletries every time they travel. Which brings up other questions without trying to derail the subject here (haha), : Do the engine cars have a bathroom, shower, galley, kitchen, sleeping quarters? Wifi? Satellite TV? Sick bay/hospital? Is there someone on board with some medical training?

I'm basing most of this on what I know about tug boats and ships. That's how we have to do things in the maritime industry.

Exaaaaactly @matemike ...... Wondering ALL of those things.

 

[DevilDodge]

You hold seniority at a location.

You receive a call with your train designation and report to your yard location. If the train is in the yard. You go to the track it is on and board the locomotive. If it is somewhere else you ride the jitney to your train

Engineer and conductor. Engineer operates the train. conductor mans the radio.

You sleep in a cab...you lose your job.

The engineer must flip a switch every 90 seconds or the train goes into emergency.

Most are under a 12 hour rule. They can only be on duty for 12 hours. Although. The railroads love to leave them rot. When your 12 hours are up. You stop the train and a jitney comes takes you to a hotel. You may be there for days til the next train.

Very rarely do you dead head home. Some crews board a train and never get trackage to move. So then they sit for 12 hours to be relieved and return to a hotel

All that said. Some do run a dedicated trip. Haul from yard to business and then back to yard.

If you get a yard job it is 8 hours...7 to 3 3 to 11 or 11 to 7. This is moving cars from one consist into a smaller local consist.

And they keep cutting crews. Layoff is such a fun thing for railroad tycoons.

They want the trains to run without a crew. The technology is there. Pray it doesn't happen. They can barely plan a simple shove...much less a whole route.

Good times.

This is it in a nutshell. There are many more things I could spend pages writing about.

 

[Ron045]

You hold seniority at a location.

You receive a call with your train designation and report to your yard location. If the train is in the yard. You go to the track it is on and board the locomotive. If it is somewhere else you ride the jitney to your train

Engineer and conductor. Engineer operates the train. conductor mans the radio.

You sleep in a cab...you lose your job.

The engineer must flip a switch every 90 seconds or the train goes into emergency.

Most are under a 12 hour rule. They can only be on duty for 12 hours. Although. The railroads love to leave them rot. When your 12 hours are up. You stop the train and a jitney comes takes you to a hotel. You may be there for days til the next train.

Very rarely do you dead head home. Some crews board a train and never get trackage to move. So then they sit for 12 hours to be relieved and return to a hotel

All that said. Some do run a dedicated trip. Haul from yard to business and then back to yard.

If you get a yard job it is 8 hours...7 to 3 3 to 11 or 11 to 7. This is moving cars from one consist into a smaller local consist.

And they keep cutting crews. Layoff is such a fun thing for railroad tycoons.

They want the trains to run without a crew. The technology is there. Pray it doesn't happen. They can barely plan a simple shove...much less a whole route.

Good times.

This is it in a nutshell. There are many more things I could spend pages writing about.

My brother in law is an engineer on NS. He speaks of the same things you do.

 

[DevilDodge]

My brother in law is an engineer on NS. He speaks of the same things you do.

I am a Carman. I get to listen to the bad while enjoying the better... Although lately...it hasn't been real good anywhere.

 

[OuterUB]

You hold seniority at a location.

You receive a call with your train designation and report to your yard location. If the train is in the yard. You go to the track it is on and board the locomotive. If it is somewhere else you ride the jitney to your train

Engineer and conductor. Engineer operates the train. conductor mans the radio.

You sleep in a cab...you lose your job.

The engineer must flip a switch every 90 seconds or the train goes into emergency.

Most are under a 12 hour rule. They can only be on duty for 12 hours. Although. The railroads love to leave them rot. When your 12 hours are up. You stop the train and a jitney comes takes you to a hotel. You may be there for days til the next train.

Very rarely do you dead head home. Some crews board a train and never get trackage to move. So then they sit for 12 hours to be relieved and return to a hotel

All that said. Some do run a dedicated trip. Haul from yard to business and then back to yard.

If you get a yard job it is 8 hours...7 to 3 3 to 11 or 11 to 7. This is moving cars from one consist into a smaller local consist.

And they keep cutting crews. Layoff is such a fun thing for railroad tycoons.

They want the trains to run without a crew. The technology is there. Pray it doesn't happen. They can barely plan a simple shove...much less a whole route.

Good times.

This is it in a nutshell. There are many more things I could spend pages writing about.

Wow. I had no idea. Not quite as glamorous as the YouTube videos suggest.

 

[Rockcrawlindude]

You hold seniority at a location.

You receive a call with your train designation and report to your yard location. If the train is in the yard. You go to the track it is on and board the locomotive. If it is somewhere else you ride the jitney to your train

Engineer and conductor. Engineer operates the train. conductor mans the radio.

You sleep in a cab...you lose your job.

The engineer must flip a switch every 90 seconds or the train goes into emergency.

Most are under a 12 hour rule. They can only be on duty for 12 hours. Although. The railroads love to leave them rot. When your 12 hours are up. You stop the train and a jitney comes takes you to a hotel. You may be there for days til the next train.

Very rarely do you dead head home. Some crews board a train and never get trackage to move. So then they sit for 12 hours to be relieved and return to a hotel

All that said. Some do run a dedicated trip. Haul from yard to business and then back to yard.

If you get a yard job it is 8 hours...7 to 3 3 to 11 or 11 to 7. This is moving cars from one consist into a smaller local consist.

And they keep cutting crews. Layoff is such a fun thing for railroad tycoons.

They want the trains to run without a crew. The technology is there. Pray it doesn't happen. They can barely plan a simple shove...much less a whole route.

Good times.

This is it in a nutshell. There are many more things I could spend pages writing about.

So you better be able to run to the pisser, piss, and get back to your seat in 90 seconds. Not a lot of time for shaking it off, maybe one shake.

 

[OuterUB]

So you better be able to run to the pisser, piss, and get back to your seat in 90 seconds. Not a lot of time for shaking it off, maybe one shake.

That absolutely sucks.