In previous steam locomotive threads, I was told by many to "Actually get involved." Time has finally permitted for me to do that, and I will be volunteering at the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society on February 4.
Is there anyone on the forum that will be there? Also, does anybody have any advice on what I should bring or wear?
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Wear clothes you won't mind getting permanently dirty.
I wear denim overalls over a t-shirt. Also, you'll need to wear weather-specific clothes. I don't know how cold it is up there.
Steel-toed boots.
Work gloves. Lots of people use leather gardening gloves from Home Depot. Sometimes you can find gloves like this with insulation for working on cold days.
A good LED flashlight. I use a tactical style that I can fit in my pocket, but puts out about 350 lumens.
You might want to bring lunch and something to drink as well. I'm a Gatorade fan.
Cold weather gloves .... if dexterity is important, our Caterpillar road mechanics use winter gloves made by Mechanix Wear.
Enjoy your time volunteering.
Safety glasses, leather work gloves, jeans, a long sleeve t-shirt, and safety toe work boots will make you feel at home in no time. There should be a good size crew at the shop working on several different projects that day.
Thank you to everyone who replied! 
I've been studying some of the Norfolk Southern books that I received from a former employee. Among them are the the Locomotive Engineer Training Handbook (2012), and the CORA. For those of you that don't know what the CORA is, it stands for Chicago Operating Rules Association, and states the operating rules for all railroads entering Chicago. It weighs at least 2 and a half pounds.
Railfan Brody posted:I've been studying some of the Norfolk Southern books that I received from a former employee. Among them are the the Locomotive Engineer Training Handbook (2012), and the CORA. For those of you that don't know what the CORA is, it stands for Chicago Operating Rules Association, and states the operating rules for all railroads entering Chicago. It weighs at least 2 and a half pounds.
You should also begin studying/learning about the basic design concepts of steam locomotives, plus the cause and affect involved in firing. Before one EVER learns "how to be an Engineer", one should REALLY learn about steam locomotives and how they work!
EDITED to correct "auto spell" of the word cause.instead of "cars".
Hot Water posted:Railfan Brody posted:I've been studying some of the Norfolk Southern books that I received from a former employee. Among them are the the Locomotive Engineer Training Handbook (2012), and the CORA. For those of you that don't know what the CORA is, it stands for Chicago Operating Rules Association, and states the operating rules for all railroads entering Chicago. It weighs at least 2 and a half pounds.
You should also begin studying/learning about the basic design concepts of steam locomotives, plus the cause and affect involved in firing. Before one EVER learns "how to be an Engineer", one should REALLY learn about steam locomotives and how they work!
I was reading them them to learn some of the class one operating rules like signals and regulations. And also, I'm planning on working for NS so I thought some knowledge on Class 1 operations would be nice to have.
Well good luck to you. I've been trying to volunteer for Black River & Western but college is around the corner so.... yeah. Hope it works out for you.
Buy a CARHARTT coat with the Artic Liner. We called them "wreck coats" on the NYS&W. You won't freeze your *** off.........
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