I am sure we must have some members who are real railroad workers. let us hear from you guys please
Bob C.
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Hanging out waiting for my turn into the terminal
When I retired from the Carpenters Union in 2004, I wanted to look for a job with SEPTA or possibly Amtrak. I wish I had persisted. Some opinions from forum members of other forums, who had worked for railroads, made me abandon the effort. I was only 57 at the time and had and still have a young outlook on life. Oh well, can't cry over spilt milk.
Dan Padova posted:When I retired from the Carpenters Union in 2004, I wanted to look for a job with SEPTA or possibly Amtrak. I wish I had persisted. Some opinions from forum members of other forums, who had worked for railroads, made me abandon the effort. I was only 57 at the time and had and still have a young outlook on life. Oh well, can't cry over spilt milk.
Dan
I went to work as a Motorman for the NYCMTA when I was 56 It was a bucket list thing I wanted to do and am loving every minute of it. I retired from IBm after 32 years and I can honestly say I now have the easiest job in the world. The hours stink but they pay me to play with trains
I worked for 2 railroads. Right after high school I got a job with the Union RR outside of Pittsburgh PA. They did work for the local steel mills in the area. I worked as a yard clerk. Later on I got a job with NS, as a conductor, taking coal trains from Shire Oaks yard in Elrama PA over the mountain and around the Horseshoe Curve to Altoona PA. What amazed me was the ability of such long and heavy trains to traverse the mountain the way they do. What with steel wheels on steel track and with such a steep grade they have to climb. Almost unbelievable.
Rick
Penn Central..Conrail....CSX....collinwood yard OHIO !!.....the end is near !
I had 2 employee numbers:
Quanah, Acme & Pacific and BN (but Frisco corporate culture never went away on our board...working or retired, we're Frisco people).
Does it count if I'm going to work for a railroad?
RaritanRiverRailroadFan4 posted:Does it count if I'm going to work for a railroad?
Nope. Not until you pass all the employment tests and actually get the job.
- 1967 - 1969 - Brakeman - Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad
- 1978 - 1981 - Fireman on GTW 2-8-2 #4070 running out of Cleveland, Ohio
- 1982 - present - Life Member Fort Wayne RR Historical Society and Engineer on steam locomotive NKP 765
- 1995 - 2005 - Superintendent of Operations and Designated Supervisor of Locomotive Engineers (DSLE) for the Ohio Central Railroad System's Youngstown Division
- 2006 - present - Volunteer Engineer and DSLE at the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad in Cleveland.
- 2015 - present - DSLE at the Grand River Railway in Grand River, Ohio.
nice resume Rich
Bob C.
bluelinec4 posted:Dan Padova posted:When I retired from the Carpenters Union in 2004, I wanted to look for a job with SEPTA or possibly Amtrak. I wish I had persisted. Some opinions from forum members of other forums, who had worked for railroads, made me abandon the effort. I was only 57 at the time and had and still have a young outlook on life. Oh well, can't cry over spilt milk.
Dan
I went to work as a Motorman for the NYCMTA when I was 56 It was a bucket list thing I wanted to do and am loving every minute of it. I retired from IBm after 32 years and I can honestly say I now have the easiest job in the world. The hours stink but they pay me to play with trains
Although I work on aircraft 777-787-747, it's still good to know that at my age I can retire and still fulfill my childhood dream!!! I've always wanted to be a motorman for the greatest subway system in the world!
Not a RR per say, but worked at BFF (Berwick Forge & Fabricating) 1978 to 82, as a millwright. BFF built railroad cars, boxcars, hi cubes, gondolas and bathtub cars.
39 years (retired).
GP 40 posted:39 years (retired).
From what and where?
Hot Water posted:GP 40 posted:39 years (retired).
From what and where?
Chessie (B&O until 1987) then CSX. Brakeman 1977, Fireman seniority 1978, promoted Engineer 1979. Comfortable there from 1979 to 2005. Hundreds of thousands (somewhere around 1M give or take a few) of miles as engineer between Chicago, Toledo, Lima, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Willard. Then DSLE and eventually Mgr. Operating Practices (rules guy and accident investigator) for last third of career. Spent considerable time on all of CSX's Northern Region Divisions. Albany, Baltimore, Chicago and Great Lakes as officer. Chicago, Great Lakes and Louisville as engineer.
I worked for MK Rail in a re-manufacturing facility in Mountain Top Pa re-building SD 40's and 45"s. That's probably as close as I'll get?
Don
Details..Details.. hired at 18 years old on Penn Central 1972. Promoted to conductor in 1974. Conrail for the whole show . currently csx signs my check....44 years and 4 months. Been there ,seen it,done that..still love it...conrail john
some pretty admirable resumes
Bob C.
SP, worked on the section up in Truckee Ca. in the 70s.
Worked 37 years for CSX. Started straight out of High School. Worked in the Engineering Dept. Started out in the rail welding plant, welding together CWR. Got laid off when the changed from Oxy/Act weld to Electric Flash But welds. Went to work on the racks and never looked back. Supervisor for 29 years. Always had a goal to retire early at 55.
37 years with Santa Fe and BNSF. I hired out as a Fireman in 1970 and worked in engine service until 1984, when I became a Company official. My home terminal as an Engineer and Fireman was San Bernardino, California. I fulfilled a long-standing desire to become an Engineer on the Los Angeles Division of the Santa Fe, alongside which I grew up. As an official, I was headquartered at Barstow, California, as well as Sweetwater and Amarillo, Texas. I had temporary assignments at Galveston, Topeka, and Kansas City. As an official I was Road Foreman of Engines, General Supervisor of Train Handling, and Assistant Superintendent, and was certified as a Designated Supervisor of Locomotive Engineers.
I retired on the last day of 2007, at age 61. I had planned to work until I was 65, but my boss intended to retire at age 60, in December, 2007. So, I talked him into waiting until December 31, and we both left railroad service on that day. We left 'em high and dry -- so we said 
-- but they're still in business. Although it was not my long-term plan to retire at that age, it has been good and I have an O-gauge model railroad as proof. I have not burned any bridges, but I did allow my Locomotive Engineer Certificate to expire and turned down offers to be a DSLE for a company which trains and certifies Engineers for smaller railroads. Since retirement, I have been back to the Amarillo office four times in nine years. I still enjoy following the railroad, but I don't work there any more. That part of my life is finished.
Our three daughters had no interest in railroad employment, but our three sons work at BNSF. One is an Engineer here in Amarillo; another is an Engineer on the Joint Line at Denver; and the third is the Director of Safety-Operations for the entire BNSF. He is a DSLE and he gave Hot Water his annual check ride and signed his certificate aboard the 4449 from Sacramento to Keddie a few years back.
impressive background
Bob C.
I had planned to go to work for the DL&W RR, as a Hostler Helper in the Hoboken Terminal, and was already accepted for starting as soon as I graduated from High School (1959). My mother had other ideas, as she didn't want me to go "working on the railroad" has my father and grandfather had done.
I was "forced" to attend college, in order that I could obtain a "good job". However the "railroad blood" was in me, so I went to work for EMD on June 1, 1962, delivering new locomotives. During late 1964, I was drafted into the U.S. Army (while deliver new units to an all steam narrow gauge portion of the N de M in Mexico). I returned to EMD on January 2, 1967 and continued my career on the locomotive side of EMD's service organization, retiring at the end of 1998.
While in the Central Service Dept. of EMD, I was assigned to work with the Chief Mechanical Officer of the American Freedom Train, i.e. former SP GS-4 #4449, beginning in the summer of 1975. I have subsequently been a crew member on 4449 ever since, plus working as a contract Fireman with the UP Steam Crew from the early 1990s thru October of 2010, when Steve Lee retired from the UP.
Former Signal Maintainer for the THE LITTLE RAILRAOD THAT COULD--
THE CENTRAL RAILROAD OF NEW JERSEY
Now I have fun running O-Gauge trains.
A lot of good and very interesting resumes here!! Keep em coming!!
I was a conductor for NS in Harrisburg and later Conway, PA. Worked mostly road jobs between those terminals, with some local and yard work thrown in.
Also worked on two local tourist railroads, mainly as a conductor/trainman.
Thanks for starting this thread Bob C.
Wow, until now I only knew about Rich, Number 90, and Hot Water.
What advice would you veterans have for the young people looking to get into the industry?
Started out of highschool on the C & O as a signal helper. Worked a year and hit the draft lottery of 1970. Worked for Uncle Suger for a couple years in south east Asia. Came back to the C & O - B & O worked through Chessie, CSX and the Contrail acquisition. Was a signal foreman, signal inspector, signal manager of construction, and a Signal In Service Test Engineer. Worked on every division on CSX. Retired after 42 years.
This is a great thread !
My claim to fame is my relation to John Shearer in the enclosed article. John was a 16 year old apprentice with Hanover Junction ( close to York, PA ), relaying messages between Gettysburg and Washington as Lincoln was on his way to deliver his great speech.
John and the stationmaster hid in the woods with the telegraph when Rebels began to dismantle the telegraph wires. They were able to rebuild well enough to continue communications. Telegraph is now in Smithsonian.
http://www.trainweb.org/chris/htnf.html
spwills posted:Thanks for starting this thread Bob C.
Wow, until now I only knew about Rich, Number 90, and Hot Water.
They're all coming out of the closet.
And I'll second the tip of the hat to Bob C.
Hot Water posted:I was "forced" to attend college, in order that I could obtain a "good job".
Well, yes, but that "forced" you to ride the Lackawanna and the Santa Fe to and from college. Oh! What torture that must have been. 
yes thank you. this thread turned out to be better than I had expected. It carries information on very impressive careers. Thanks to all the railroad men who responded.
Bob C.
There is a couple people I know that haven't been online for a while that also works for the Railroad... What a very interesting thread
Number 90 posted:Hot Water posted:I was "forced" to attend college, in order that I could obtain a "good job".
Well, yes, but that "forced" you to ride the Lackawanna and the Santa Fe to and from college. Oh! What torture that must have been.
Right you are Tom! I took the Lackawanna to Buffalo, where the sleeper was then switched into a Nickel Plate train to Chicago. I then had to collect my luggage and transfer to the Santa Fe (Dearborn Station), for the Texas Chief to Ponca City, Okla. What fantastic trips!
I've been a railroader all my life, but I only worked there 42 years. I started in Jan. of '69 as a Carman Apprentice for Santa Fe at Topeka, Ks. It was still a freight car factory then. In 1-'79, I transferred to engine service at Emporia, as a Fireman on the Middle Div. Promoted to Engineer by the end of that year, I mostly worked west from Emporia until 9-88, when they transferred us to Kansas City for the run-thru agreement. I worked the "transcon" mostly between KC and Wellington, sometimes to Ark City, Newton, or Oklahoma City. Back in the day, we had branches up to Superior, NE and other places, I worked all those too. About two million miles altogether. I retired at the end of 2010, but still run live steam at the C&H RR east of Topeka. A 12" road with three coal eating Ottaway 4-4-0's. I'm too far away to help, but I'm a support of the AT&SF 2926 group, and send them what I can, when I can.
OGR Webmaster posted:
- 1967 - 1969 - Brakeman - Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad
- 1978 - 1981 - Fireman on GTW 2-8-2 #4070 running out of Cleveland, Ohio
- 1982 - present - Life Member Fort Wayne RR Historical Society and Engineer on steam locomotive NKP 765
- 1995 - 2005 - Superintendent of Operations and Designated Supervisor of Locomotive Engineers (DSLE) for the Ohio Central Railroad System's Youngstown Division
- 2006 - present - Volunteer Engineer and DSLE at the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad in Cleveland.
- 2015 - present - DSLE at the Grand River Railway in Grand River, Ohio.
I must be missing something but when did you work as a regular engineer on diesels(spare board?). Are you a member of the UTU or BLE?
Yes.. quite an accomplished career and I understand you're also a Pilot... What would you rather do... Fly or run run the steamer?
Norfolk Southern,25 years and counting. First 2 years brakeman/conductor,last 23 years as Engineer. 13 more to go.
Gregg posted:I must be missing something but when did you work as a regular engineer on diesels(spare board?). Are you a member of the UTU or BLE?
Yes.. quite an accomplished career and I understand you're also a Pilot... What would you rather do... Fly or run run the steamer?
I was a member of a union when I worked for the P&LE, but I don't recall which one it was. That was a long time ago! The Ohio Central was a non-union outfit.
In regional railroading we have to wear many hats. During the period from 1995 through 2005 I ran a lot of trains on the Ohio Central. We ran 40 car trains on a branch line that was a former street car line! Lots of heavy grades, light, 90-pound rail and old, tired ties. Careless train handling on that line would put you on the ground in a heartbeat. Right out of the yard we had a 2-mile long, 2% grade. Four GP10's had all they could handle on that grade with 40 loads. We'd get into the 5-minute short time ratings just as we crested the hill. Even though I was a company officer, I wasn't exempt from running trains almost every day. As I said, many hats...
Honestly, I would rather fly the King Air 200 than run the 765. It's a lot smoother, quieter and cleaner. And the view is a lot better, too.
