As someone who wants to get into railroading and railroad preservation, what would be some good skills to learn for either/both?

What I have going for me so far is machining and welding, the former of which I'm being educated in. The latter of which I've done a couple of times before, though I wouldn't say I'm all too good at.

I've also done a minimal amount of track work. (Thank you Wilmington and Western summer camp!)

But, besides what I know already, what would be some good skills to learn, knowledge to obtain, and things to improve on?

Thank you in advance! -Corey

Hello Corey, A great deal of the skills required in railroading are such that OJT is the only way to acquire them. I'd suggest you contact an active short line tourist railroad near you and see if they have a entry level volunteer program where you could begin to get some hands on experience.

There are several in Bucks County that might work for you.

Good luck, Ross Rowland

Materials science and enough math and engineering to calculate basic stresses in the sorts of things you are likely to have to repair / replace / qualify.

Take some business and management courses- you may wind up running an organization, not just a locomotive. Mechanical and/or civil engineering courses would also be very useful.

And, consider this: I have often thought that some psychology courses (or a degree) would more useful than knowing how to weld!

Howard P.

Get some business education. Things like accounting, basic finance, data and costing analysis, purchasing and contracts, human resources, etc. When I look at most failures in preservation (any type), it is the basic business management that seems to fails most often.

It doesn't matter how good the work can be, if there are no funds, no proper management of the operation, etc., the preservation efforts will probably not receive the support necessary or be completed in an organized manner.

Right now, some railroads and machine shops are trolling what vocational/technical high schools and colleges are left for their "best and brightest." If you are a competent machinist or technician (be it diesel engines or woodcraft), and can demonstrate not only competence but aptitude, pass drug screening, (some may even be ignoring that now), etc., you can effectively "write your own ticket." Railroads, machine shops, garages, even public works shops will all be fighting over you. Then you can decide whether to live in Lancaster County, Williams, Cumberland, Altoona, Chattanooga, or Lindenwold.

Getting the math, business, and science is all about elevating yourself above "trained monkey" status. Places need people with not only the intuition to think for themselves, but the "common sense" to be flexible as well. Short lines are infamous for needing people that can work on a diesel in the morning, drop everything to rerail an errant car in the afternoon, and then spike track and lay ballast the next day. County workers, similarly, may be grading a road on Monday, fixing a dump truck the other guy rolled over on Wednesday, and doing 12-hour snowplow shifts on the weekend.

Anyone who's been there can tell you: The easiest way to end up hating the railroad is to work for them full-time. Diversify your training and skills sets so that if railroading or the management turns you off (seemingly inevitable in 2022), you can side-step into manufacturing, electronics, or whatever.

As an example of the way we have to think now: There's a company down the street from me that manufactures top-competition-grade archery equipment--arrow points, grips, wrist braces, you name it. I'm told that right now, about half of their production work is making proprietary custom machine parts, castings, extrusions, etc. for other companies regionally, most of which have nothing to do with archery or even sports--just because they're so good at it.

Do you want to be management or skilled staff? It is an old question, that was equally valid 30 years ago. If you want to focus on the workshop, then welding and machining skills are the highest priorities. If you want to manage the museum, then business skills are important. If you can manage a McDonalds restaurant, then you can manage a museum.

Casting iron and/or steel seems to be a dying industry IMHO I think there will be a big calling for people who can master the new 3D printing techs and machining that will allow obsolete parts to be built and repaired for a reasonable cost in the future. I don't think it's long before things like compressors, injectors, maybe even really high stress parts like side rods, etc can be 3D printed. At worse you will be well prepared because there is going to be a huge demand for this kind of work outside of preservation.

The #1 thing you need to do, is learn anything that takes more then a week or two to train someone else to do your job. Don't mistake 2 or 4 years of school as proof your replacement can't be trained in a week.

3D printing of patterns, cores, and molds is already here. It has been here for at least five years, probably pushing ten.

The foundry supplying one of the railroad air brake manufacturers was able to utilize 3D printed cores to reduce casting defects stemming from core assembly issues. Further, I would not be surprised if there were air flow benefits realized by the process over the multi-piece core assembly.

The casting process won't be impacted too much by the 3D printing process. One still has to accommodate the shrink for various metals. One benefit is that you can do a prototype at the click of a button, and if it doesn't work straight off the bat, make a quick tweak to your model and click for another print (after waiting in the print queue). In most cases, though, that may take a lot longer than taking the pattern back to the pattern shop to add a gate, riser, etc and put right back into production.

About casting, I believe the EPA, OSHA, and the rise of other techs others will continue to push foundries out of the USA. And 3d printing patterns is a no brainer, but I am talking about 3D printing parts directly.

I am assuming that you like working with your hands. Business management classes may not be for you in that case.

The most important skills that I developed were more in line with attitude. I am naturally curious about how things are done and learn a lot by watching others and then trying things. I have learned that delayed gratification is super important. Have the ability to take a large daunting project and break it down into manageable tasks and then keep accomplishing those tasks. Probably one if the biggest things that sink people is looking at a big project and getting scared off because of the enormity of the task. Just break it down and do a little bit at a time and eventually you will get there.

Becoming goal oriented is a good way of staying "on track" on anything that you want to do, and it too is a skill.

An important skill is learning how to be resourceful. Don't get caught up in the excuse of "thats how we have always done it". Find different, more effective ways of doing things. Be a "Macguyver", the guy who can turn a cement mixer into an airplane (so to speak) and you will become the kind of person who will always be in need.

When I started out in this hobby/business/obsession 25 years ago I had a big dream and no money or any real skills, but I had the drive to make it happen. So along the way as there were things to be done to advance the goal, I figured out how to do them. From running equipment to pouring concrete, doing electrical, welding, fabricating, metalcasting and rigging, I learned what I needed to get the job done when I needed to. I am still doing that today.

Depending on your attitude and level of commitment, you may find that working under the restraints of existing organizations to be a bit stifling. I had to form my own nonprofit because it was not possible for me to do what I wanted under the leadership of others who had no vision or drive.

Oh, one last thing. You may find that you can't do it all. If you want to make a major impact in the world of rail preservation, you probably can't do it if its a sideline secondary to family and career. I have seen so many ambitious young skilled people get sucked into marriage, home ownership, career and kids, never to be seen again. Sure if doing the identical thing that everyone else is doing, living identical lives working identical jobs and living in identical subdivisions appeals to you then great, but its been done to death. In this one life, dare to do something different and interesting, lest you want to settle for a life of quiet desperation in your identical existence.

I would tend to disagree with Rick when it comes to mixing real life events such as home ownership and family versus interests in rail preservation. It does not need to be one or the other. Over a period of 50 years (starting at age 11), I took about ten years off in the 1980s when first married and the kids were little. When asked by the local newspaper why I volunteered my stock answer was always that it was a great way to meet girls, and in truth, it was. Key, later on, was to ensure that the family participated in some way, whether it was simply enjoying a ride in the cab or in actually helping out. Both my kids were Santa’s elves at one point or another with my son making the move as a volunteer. Yes, there is a balance that is required, but it is doable.

To me, the bigger issue is distance. I’d like to do more at the J&LNGRR but its six hours away. Today, I do my own thing with a few friends and its close to home so it gets most of my preservation attention.

Whatever the case, enjoy it. That is key.

J.R. May

As a volunteer myself, I can toss out a few thoughts. A lot of times, whatever you do in your career can translate into something useful for an organization whether it be on the business office side or in the shop or in the field. If you want to get dirty, find out what kind of dirt appeals to you by trying everything. Don’t be afraid to ask a lot of questions about why and how. Learning a little something about everything will give you feel for how different aspects are integrated into the whole and an idea about what you like to do the most. And if that’s a skill that is in need, educate yourself in that skill.

With most small organizations, you’re probably going to be doing different things at any given time depending on what the pressing need is at the moment. Become a jack of all trades with a focus in one or a few tasks that you’re good at. And by all means, enjoy what you do.

This right here is the most important thing I would tell you about considering a career in preservation. My training/education in welding, pipefitting, boilermaking, ect prepared me for working on steam full time, but these skills are also highly valuable outside of the industry too, and allowed me to transition to other lines of work when I decided I didn't want to do that anymore. I am still highly active in preservation even if I don't get paid to do it, and I think it has let me enjoy it more because I WANT to do it, not because I HAVE to do it. It's good to take a day or two off from volunteering when I get frustrated with it- you can't do that with your job. It can absolutely lead to resentment of what you love doing.

Find what area (i.e. trades vs business management) interest you, and volunteer and learn as much as you can in AND out of it to prepare... and don't let anyone tell you you can't make good money at a tourist railroad. Plenty do, and I can attest that I made a decent living at it myself. Certainly other places/jobs will pay more, but when isn't the grass greener somewhere else? Also understand that the possibly of having to relocate across the country to take a job at whatever railroad makes you an offer. My desire to return home (halfway across the country from where I worked) was a motivator for leaving "the dream job".

Not trying to scare you off, but these are all real things you should consider about a career in this industry. It's a small world and not everyone who wants to work in it gets to. Make sure your education and training can apply to more, so if it doesn't work out, you don't get screwed.

-Sam

Before you read my reply to all the responses I have got, I should mention that I replied to everything one paragraph or even sometimes one sentience at a time, so it might seem a little choppy. Essay writer, I am not.



Thank you Ross, could you point me in the direction of the ones you're talking about in Bucks County please? I kind of knew already that a good amount of volunteer experience would be needed, but something almost always gets in my way when I try to volunteer, weather it be distance, schedule, or something else.



Thank you Dave, I'll have to look into learning a bit more about that.



Howard, thank you for your response. I've always been a bit more of a mechanical hands-on guy, but I'll see if the college I end up going to has any courses on those.



You make some good points. Along with Howard P.'s earlier post, I will definitely try to get a couple business classes. Bartman, thank you for your response.



Thank you, I can certainly vouch for your first sentence, I'm in a technical high school, and plenty of places want me (at least from what my teacher says). I believe that I'm a competent machinist, and unless metal chips count as a drug now, I think I'd be fine passing a screening for them. I certainly hope that some day companies will be fighting over me, and not me fighting to work at a company.

Diversifying and improving skills is the point of my original post, because someone brought it to my attention the various different tasks that a short line would assign me.

I have never thought about that, but it does make some sense to me. I have several certifications already in machining, so thankfully I can go into machining/manufacturing fairly easily (and might even start there).



Skilled staff is much preferred, though I believe it's important to have at least basic management and business training (especially after some of the previous posts). Thank you for your response Steven.



Casting has been on my radar for a bit, but I don't know of any places that teach iron or steel casting. I've 3D printed a bit, though I don't know much (if anything) about 3D printers capable of making such parts.

If I can't use how many years of school it took me to learn something, how should I measure that? I'd personally think being a competent machinist, welder, caster, etc. would take more than a couple weeks to learn each of, but I'm not sure.
Thank you for your reply.



Thank you for your response Rick, and you're spot on. I very much like working with my hands, and "Hands-on" learning is certainly my preferred learning style.

Delayed gratification is something that I've been working on for a couple years, and I can say I'm much better at it now then when I started. For anyone like I was back then reading this, I did it with some spikes, tie plates, and paint. My eventual goal is to have a nice stack of nicely ""restored"" tie plates and spikes, though each one by itself I treat as a goal. Goal orienting myself would be something I still need to work on.

One good thing about learning that now is that in most cases, I haven't ever done it before.

Learning stuff along the way is certainly one way to do it, and I believe it can work well, but for me, I would like to learn plenty of skills ahead of time.

My attitude and level of commitment right now are very positive and high. I cannot say what I will think once I actually get started with the hands-on stuff somewhere, though I like to think it will turn out good, if not even better. I cannot really respond to the rest of this section of your message, as I have almost zero experience in preservation related activities. I will keep it in my mind, however.

At least for right now, railroading and railroad preservation has a permanent reserved spot at the top of my mind. As for doing stuff identical to the majority, I doubt that I'll chose such a path, unless railroads and preservation stuff is identical to a lot of others these days...



Thank you for your reply. In my quite literal "one track mind", trains come before most other things (for better or for worse). Though, I very much understand how balance is a factor when it comes to rail preservation and other things. Distance, while currently an issue, shouldn't be a huge issue for me personally once I get the weird thing known as a "drivers license".
I hope I will enjoy it, and I've very much enjoyed what little I've done so far.



Good to know. I'd love to get out there and start trying a bunch of things now, but as I touched on in some earlier replies, that's a bit difficult right now. My current plan is to try and volunteer somewhere on or shortly after my 18th birthday this year, because that's when almost all places will accept me as a volunteer. "jack of all trades with a focus in one or a few tasks that you’re good at" is mostly my reasoning for this thread. I plan to and hope I will enjoy what I do. Thank you for your response Eric.



Thank you, I will keep it in my mind. As I mentioned earlier, I have the ability to switch over to machining/manufacturing if needed.

Out of the two examples you gave, I'd definitely say trades interest me more. Learning is something that I'm ready to do, and was the reason for my original post. As for the money, in terms of the age-old question "Doing something you love and make little money or do something you hate and make tons of money", I will always go for doing something I love. Relocating is something I have thought that I might have to do, though I have to think about it more before I can give my true opinions on it.

Don't worry about scaring me off, I've been thinking about this for years and I'm determined to AT LEAST give it the "good ol' college try", and I have made sure to make a good number of backup plans for if things don't work out.