Not to wax philosophical, but I'll add this to the discussion as a member of a younger generation of railroaders. Railroading doesn't suck, having AIDS sucks, gang rape sucks, carrying around a colostomy bag sucks. Railroading is hard work; back breaking, inglorious work. But as men, hard work is our obligation, and should be a source of pride. Rembember, our country was built by men who worked as hard as they could. I'm sure Jefferson, Edison, Penn, Holmes all had crappy days, but what would their contributions have been if they had taken an attitude of indifference and just said, "this sucks, might as well make the best of it."

Just think, no matter how much indignation you suffer shoveling snow out of switches, shifting cars in the rain or driving rivets, it could always be worse. You could have a flesh eating bacteria take up residence in your crotch.

Exactly what happened to me. Lasted for several years after I left. It wasn't the work so much, I really enjoyed railroading. But between the hours and all the company and union nonsense that came together to create a frequently hostile work environment, I was glad to give it up. Type A people should not be railroaders because you really need to be able to "go with the flow" sometimes. ;)

I love trains again and will continue to do so as long as my income is not dependent on being a railroader!

Let's keep in mind that keeping a railroad running takes an awful lot of carefully coordinated effort and strong-willed personalities which is common to every ultra-large scale corporate structure. It brings with it a lot of pressure and expectation to keep things running according to a plan. Without a plan and a goal, chaos ensues. It takes a lot of internal fortitude to know when to flex and go with the flow and when to hold a firm line to keep things from getting out of control. It's not for everyone. I spent a year working for a midwestern regional that still has a lot of the old-school militaristic management techniques hard at work. For someone born in the '70's, it wasn't for me.

Those of us who romanticize what railroading IS based on what we missed out on in the days of steam, and then jump into the industry today, can often get a rude awakening, regardless of what level in the corporate pecking order you are in; management or train crew or MOW, it's all the same. It's no fun to be accountable for a derailment when operations is pointing the finger at MOW and operations get access to the event recorder before you do on site. All the while, you're staring at 10 loaded coke hoppers on the ground on crappy industrial 10 MPH branch line that were dragged almost 1000'. You're wondering how many cars need to go on the ground before the engineer quits pulling out on the throttle and realized that maybe someone should stop and walk the train before tearing up 1,000' of track unnecessarily!

It takes a strong personality and stick-to-itiveness to survive a typical railroad job. A lot of shortlines have gotten the message and don't manage their people today like they were managed when they worked at the Class I yesterday.

But between the hours and all the company and union nonsense that came together to create a frequently hostile work environment, I was glad to give it up.

And there's a little rub that I'm sure most dare not speak of.. the union you pay to represent you contributes mightily to the environment, but hell you keep paying them, they keep telling you how THEY got you your pay and benes (its not you sitting by the phone or setting brakes in freezing rain or anything like that,its your "brothers", who'll bump you or worse, first chance they get) and you remain grateful to your collective bargaining agent for the conditions of a job that you can't wait to go to the internet chatboard to b*tch about.

I really don't get it. A lot of these "railroads suck" comments are almost caricatures of what most of the rest of the country sees as the downfall of industrial America. Tomorrow,my "garbage man" will collect my stinky salmon remains in freezing rain. Care to trade? I thought not.

Get it through your head, MOST INDUSTRIES have problems. Your job and your employer doesn't suck any worse than anybody else. I have coworkers that were pawns in a certain Governors game this summer and DIDN'T GET PAID FOR WEEKS.

BTW, I don't suffer enthusiasm born of ignorance. I had a Great Uncle I never met because he died in his early twenties in Penobscot yard of the CNJ. Five minutes before quitting time on a nasty day, he slipped off a car, to cut in half (transverse).

My grandfather (his brother) also on duty with CNJ had the job of going home to "get some sheets", so the mortician could deal with his remains. I never got to discuss this with my grandfather because in the lean years,he went into the hellhole that was an anthracite mine. Why? because his "brothers" wanted to keep working seven days after the war rush was over, so low man on the pole got "laid off".

By 50, the combination of mining and smoking pushed him every deeper into the joy of emphysema and asphyxia, so that every breath was a labor. He died at 52, 10 days after they slapped my bottom and tested my lungs.

I know NS gave guys baggies for toilets, but in the old days, you got a shovel and a firebox.

Time to grow up. Its work, not a paid hobby. I wish I had to share a "whisper cab" with only one other guy and no PC, phone, etc.

Brendan had it right!

Is railroading hard work? Depends on the definition. In T&E, the work isn't physically hard (unless you are out of shape). Mentally it isn't hard either. You do the same couple moves. Road freights are downright boring after you work industrial/local service.

The worst part is the life, or lack of. Extra board life sucks, plain and simple. Unless you are smart enough to find a small terminal that has a grain of predictability. The RR can rule your off time if you let it. Nothing worse then playing the "when should I sleep" guessing game.

But I enjoy the industry as a whole. I like to keep track of all the trains operating around my home terminal. Yes, I am a railfan as well and take the occasional photo. (not so much lately). But the job always has to come first. Foaming second. It's still better to be on the inside of the property line though. Will I be a RRer my whole life? Who knows. But it works for now.


PS> I always loved it when a plan fell apart and you made tons of OT and blew up in some oddball place. Just part of the fun.

There are times when railroading just absolutely SUCKS....but then there are the good days, when the power is right,the train is just doing exactly what you want it to,and you get to watch a beautiful sunrise......or sunset. Those are the days that keep me coming back to the steel, and although I'm not working for a railroad at the moment,I will be back as fast as possible when the situation allows me to.

My son says that there's not much in the world better than a couple of Evo's, a stack train, a thermos of coffee and a sunsrise.

Hmmm ... those are symptoms of a terminal case. I'd say he'll be a lifer.

Railroading is one of the few jobs that has such devoted fans. You don’t hear of people standing on the sides of highways waiting for a certain model of Kenworth or people talking about the new policy forms at the local insurance company. Airliners have a following but I don’t nearly along the lines of RR interest.
Military stuff does have a strong following but when I was active duty I really liked people to stop us and ask questions when we were stopped on convoys stateside or stuff like that. But I did notice that it was considered geeky to be into military stuff when you were serving. People thought I was nuts driving my WW2 Jeep around Ft Lewis when I was still in. I’ve been told that RR employees who are also train buffs run into the same mindset with their coworkers.

With the reluctant blessings of my wife I went railroading full time in 2002 as a loco. engineer for my good friend Jerry Jacobson on his Ohio Central System. Being a"real" railroader had long been on my wish list of jobs I'd like to experience. Others still unfullfilled on my list are: Helicopter pilot, over the road tractor trailer driver,and verterinarian. As I'm approaching milepost 70 it's probably unlikely that I'll get to do them all before the good Lord calls me home??

Anyway, I worked full time for nearly a year and certainly got a deepened appreciation for all who labor on the railroad as a profession. Spent many of my days unloading a 54 car coal train at the power plant near Coshocton usually an all-nighter, quite boring and repetitive. Most fun was when assigned as helper engineer on the unit coal train which ran daily. That job took a bit of handling skill in both directions and was far from boring. Being out there trying to get a switch thrown onto the NS main at 0200 hrs. with a wind chill of minus 25 and a frozen lock that won't respond to being torched by a fusee gives one a new appreciation of the job of getting a train over the road.

One of the strongest lessons I came away with was a strong feeling that EVERY candidate for eventual executive position on every rr should spend at least a year in the trenches before they start thier climb up the organizational ladder. I'm pleased to see that at least 2 of the Class 1's have instituted such a program!! Having an MBA from Wharton is fine, but getting your arse frozen off is of equal decision making value!!!



Glad I did it!! Loved railroading before, loved it after, just with a broader perspective!!

Happy and safe 2010!!

Ross Rowland

I'll add a bit to Brendan Zeigler's comment:
One of my steam mentors in my younger days was J.K. Byrne of Shreveport LA. J.K. worked as master mechanic steam for the KCS and later the Reader RR, and ended his career as a wreckmaster running the "big hook". J.K. is now deceased.

I recall having a terrible day, a rod brass was loose and pounding, a crankpin collar was loose and getting worse, and the air compressor governor was not working correctly. Injector issues, air brake problems, hot journal. I called J.K. on the phone in hopes of picking his brain, and laid all of my problems on him. I was really upset. I told him I was having a horrible day.

After my dissertation, he was dead silent on the other end of the phone line.

Then, he said:
"Did anybody get killed today?" -- No, sir
"Is your train upright and on the rail?" -- Yes, sir

"Then damnit son, you ain't even begun to have a bad day!" "Call me back when you learn better!"


The next day, he called and helped.

I remember Mr. Bryne very well. He used to come to the Texas State Railroad and run every now and then and I would get to fire for him. That man was an encyclopedia for steam knowledge and when he and our other "mossback" Jaye Morrison would get together it was indeed an education that was worth more than any college I atended. They were patient with my many questions and I learned a lot about handling steam from both of them. Both are gone now, but I'll bet they are trimming injectors and hooking er up in Heaven as we speak.

I wouldn't say that. Here's a book by a guy who bought lottery winners out of their winnings, and it's clear winning the lottery was not a happy story for any of them:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/006128 ... 0061284173

The above item on games of chance reminded me of the fellow who was saying his prayers one evening and added, "And Lord, let me prove to You that winning the State Lottery won't turn me into a total jerk."
There's a common "if only" among railway preservationists that starts out, "Well, if I won the Powerball, I'd ______________ (fill in the blank)" Such dreams as "commission the construction of a New York Central Art Deco Hudson", "rescue and restore the Pacific Electric 1100 class cars from South America," and so on are fair game. So far, among all the winners of big jackpots, I have yet to hear of anyone in our community taking home a payout and funding a new carbarn or boiler overhaul. Maybe we're smart enough to realize how long the odds are.

I used to tell people if they want to buy a winning Powerball ticket, they should stand outside in the street until they are struck by a meteorite and then go inside to buy their winning ticket. Some of them didn't get it....

Disclaimer: I buy a Powerball ticket occasionally. My personal fantasy is to use the proceeds to set up a foundation to fund worthwhile railway restoration projects around the country, based on an application process.