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T O P I C     R E V I E W
trainman2b
Member # 2572
 - posted
From start to finish is 5 weeks! what all does this training session consist of?
 
conrailkid
Member # 1898
 - posted
some more fresh meat for the vultures of csx training school to indulge in? well, you will learn lots of things there. you will become very proficient on the operating rules, those of both csx and the fra. you will learn signals, what they are and what they mean. you will learn operations, switching cars in yard operations as well as road trains. you'll get hands on operating switches and hand brakes, coupling and uncoupling cars, proper use of radios. you'll learn how the air brakes work. then comes the important stuff like use of the computer to enter your times to get paid. i will tell you that there is a lot to learn in a short period of time. if you are really into getting this job, study hard. you need to maintain an 85% or better on your tests and finals to pass. no sense in wasting the $4500 for nothing! study hard, realize that a job is waiting for you on your return. and don't hesitate to ask the instructors for help if you need it. good luck!
 
BNSF 1088
Member # 2400
 - posted
You only need an 85% wow i needed a 90% and that was tough
 
trainman2b
Member # 2572
 - posted
Conrail,
Thanks for the reply! I start this coming Monday! I am really looking forward to this class and this job! I am not shy when it comes to asking questions. The dumbest question is the one not asked!!! I do plan on passing this course! all I here about is how good the money is! and this is a great oppertunity for me and I do not plan on messing this up!
Thanks again,
 
jrw249
Member # 2414
 - posted
Im also interested in the CSX conductor school. Any approximate idea what a CSX conductor would make a year?
 
conrailkid
Member # 1898
 - posted
hey there jrw249 and trainman2b!
i wish the 2 of you the best of luck. put your minds into the training, and trust me on this, forget that you are railfans! let the instructors instruct! you will learn a lot, and it will flood your minds! hard work now will pay off with a job that CAN start in the $35,000 range or more, depending on where they send you and how soon you get qualified on the work. study hard, ask questions, and do well on the tests. hope to see you in the yard in 5 weeks.
 
conrailkid
Member # 1898
 - posted
one last thing, jrw249 and trainman2b, that i forgot to mention. please read the letters under rail industry, why should i not join the csx conductors training. some very good people have listed lots of good and bad things there, i hope you take the time to read and understand the world you are venturing in to. good luck!

 
HIGHBALL 1965
Member # 2593
 - posted
HEY GANG, I HAD AN INTERESTING EXPERIENCE. I WAS ACCEPTED INTO THE CONDUCTOR TRAINING PROGRAM AND HAD ALREADY AGREED TO ATTEND. THEN 2 WEEKS BEFORE CLASS, I HAD A CHANGE OF HEART. YES, I WANTED TO DO THIS BADLY; A LIFELONG DREAM AND AT AGE 37 WAS MAKING A CAREER CHANGE FROM A JOB I HAVE BEEN WITH FOR 12 YRS. BOTTOM LINE FOR ME WAS THE REALITY THAT I WOULD HAVE THE POTENTIAL FOR 3 TO 4 DAYS AT A TIME AWAY FROM MY FAMILY WHICH INCLUDES TWO BOYS, AGES 3 AND 9 MNTHS. I HAD TO PUT FAMILY FIRST;I'M VERY DISAPPOINTED BUT GUT FEELING GOT THE BEST OF ME. MAYBE AFTER THE BOYS ARE OLDER, i may take another stab at this madness. I also heard the horror stories associated with the railroad but I persued hard anyway but family won out. Just my story; thought you might like to read it.
 
jrw249
Member # 2414
 - posted
Interesting. I feel the same way you do but I
have not decided yet whether to go to the school or not.
 
trainman2b
Member # 2572
 - posted
I am fixing to start my 3rd week in the conductor training program. It is not as hard as what I was trying to make it be! I am averageing 96% on all weekly test and made 100% on all weekly exams! of course that consist of a minimum of 5 hours of motel study every night! I am having a great time and learning alot! looking forward to train service as soon as I get the training and OJT out of the way!
 
conrailkid
Member # 1898
 - posted
keep up the good work and let us know when you've passed. if you need any questions answered, i would be glad to help. good luck!
 
rr_conductor
Member # 2590
 - posted
Hi Guys,
Working on the RR is not the same thing as chasing a train thru yards taking pictures, its a dedicated lifelong job that takes you places you never thought you would be and the initial training in the classroom may only take 2 weeks but your real training will never end.
Kiss your family goodbye because once the RR has you in its grips they never let you go and never stop controling you. The RR employee has a great big chance for divorce so if your maried think it thru first.
Working as a Conductor you may have to work with a Engineer that has NO business being in the cab who will tie on to hard and knock you around possible hurting you and working as a Engineer you may have to work with a Conductor who is as brainless as the Engineer as I described above... its not sideline railroading its the real deal with ALOT of potential for getting hurt by a fellow employee or even equipment that is sub-standard... if you deside to work in the industry then good luck and be very safe.
lots of luck.
Stan (18 yr Conductor)
 
trainman2b
Member # 2572
 - posted
Conrail,

Passed the CSX Conductor train-ing Start OJT Monday morning! finished with 97% average,Thanks for your responses! see ya on the rails... trainman2b
 

conrailkid
Member # 1898
 - posted
trainman2b-
hey there! good job! told you that hard work pays off. crazy yet? the best is yet to come. where are you going to ojt? good job and best of luck to you!

 
trainman2b
Member # 2572
 - posted
Conrail, I was wondering toward the last couple of weeks of school if was humanly possible for any one person to absorb,and retain that much information in such a short period of time! However it really was not that bad! As far as being crazy yet! If I had to go another week, I would be close to insane, HA HA! Everything is going to be fine. I'm headed to Jacksonville Florida for 1 week of OJT, Then home to Birmingham.

later. t2b
 

conrailkid
Member # 1898
 - posted
t2b!
well, i won't be seeing you in my neck of the woods, but i am happy for your success. i thought when i was training first on conrail, then csx, that it would have been easier if humans were bred with lids on their heads, like a jar, so that one unscrews the cap, pours the information in, and rseals the jar. if it were only that easy. but one thing you will see on your ojt, as well as once you are marked up, is that all those rules and regulations all come together. while i am not familiar with the yards down south, please take this advice... listen to what your mentors tell you, and above all else, be careful. if you take what you have learned already, with what the mentors show you, mix that with some real common sense, you will enjoy a long and safe railroad career. best of luck to you, and keep us posted on your progress.
 
emdman1959
Member # 2687
 - posted
You guys want the real skinny on a railroad job.
I have been employed by Conrail and now csx for the past 13 years. And this is wht I tell all the new hires. YOUR LIFE as you knew it is over
you will rarely ever have a weekend off your phone will be ringing every 8 hours to go back to work and sooner or later your wife or girlfriend will end up leaving you because you are never home to take care of her or the kids.
So while you may have a good paying job you will never be home and you will most likely end up paying out alot of money in support.
Railroading is a dangerous job and some people have what it takes and some do not and never will, so think long and hard about what you are getting yourself in to. The railroad could care less about you and it does not matter if you do a good job or a bad job because anybody with more senioriety can bump you off you job anytime he or she wants and the railroad could care less as long as they have a body.
I lost a good friend in an RCO accident last winter in Syracuse NY and I have been involved in crossing accidents 1 resulting in the death of a 14 year old boy. So if all this sounds exciting to you then by all means spend the money and get a job on the RR There are better jobs out there and there are worse.
I am the last remaining person in my family to work on the RR and hope to be the last.
 
VinUnleaded
Member # 2702
 - posted
So why do you and others work for 13 years or more if its so horrible?
If everything I have read is true, than either the "existing" employees are either "slaves" woth no choice but to work for such a horrible industry or the railroads will soon have no one but lunatics to work for them?
Whats the deal?
I cannot understand why so many people have stayed so long in such a suppoded horrible industry.
It doesnt make sense...whats the 100% truth?
 
rail op
Member # 2704
 - posted
Ah you know what? Guys who try to scare folks off of rail jobs are simply trying to protect their money. It's a cheapshite manner of protectionism because they're terrified of being pushed out of their jobs.

Feck em. If you want to be a conducter, BE A CONDUCTER! Be whatever you want to be and screw the naysayers. Any man who would stay thirteen years on a job that made him that miserable is NO MAN in THIS MAN'S book. Believe in yourself.

Rail Op
 




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