This thread reminds me of prior threads where various people wonder what can be done to attract the "I-pod" generation. This thread provides a partial answer - treat those who offer help with kindness and respect and find a place for them that best suits their abilities, means and interests.

Tom Cornillie

You have to earn respect in this business and you have to prove your skills and abilities. I don't care how old you are, how many books you've read or how many years you worked for a railroad before you came to the museum. Until you prove to me that you have these skills and abilities you are just a greenhorn to me that needs to be watched. This is a very dangerous business and not just anyone can do the job. Just because you read it in a book doesn't mean you will be able to do it in the field. There is a BIG difference between BOOK smart and FIELD smart. Now I am in no way saying that you are not qualified to do these tasks I am just saying there is little room for error in railroading. People just need to be sure you understand the dangers and are able to perform simple tasks before letting you move on. The simplest task is listening to directions and doing as you're told. If you cant do this then in my opinion you have no place on a train with a responsibility of the safety of the passengers and the trains operations. Just my 2 cents.

Eric B.
17 years old.
five year member NJMT
two year member WW&F Ry Museum

Do you you mean that the automatic brake should have been placed in the running position?
heh.

I've run with the headlight on dim. I have slipped the wheels. I have missed the platform. I have stalled on a hill. I have run low water. I have run high water. I am human, we are not robots. The best thing to do after you are qualified is to always learn more.

As someone who is currently challenged with giving a novice driver increased road experience while not wrecking cars or costing lives, I can fully sympathize with the difference.

But, ah, there's the rub.

You can't get the "field smarts" unt il you get a large build-up of total time at the throttle/brake wheel/etc.

You can't get the time unless there's either a training program or an apprentice program.

And you can't qualify for said programs without the experience.

It's all too much like the dilemma of teenaged drivers--the parents are torn between riding with their charges until they are cmfortable (and having their hair turn grey in the process) or just turning them loose and getting them out of their hair. In that sense, how many lives have been sacrificed for convenience?

There is one operation with which I have a passing acquaintance which has a "covert" training/induction program, where "certain" folks--say, for example, a visiting NRHS chapter group charter, or the local civic organization/Chamber of Commerce--get a chance to run the equipment. It's all done somewhat slyly, with no advance notice and sign-up sheets when the folks arrive. The runs in question are done in VERY controlled circumstances, with a qualified operator/engineer right there to correct any mistakes, as large a margin of error as the place will allow. They also attempt to steer the novices towards a carefully-chosen level of expertise--for example, railfans tend to have some appreciation of how much more mass a locomotive has than a car.

One director of the operation said to me during one of these "outings": "This is our future. There's no use in saving this stuff if no one cares twenty years later. This makes them care."

.

A few years ago, I served as pilot for member streetcar operation during a summer evening member event. The car was a wooden car with one-man safety features.

I was a little taken aback by the fact that the first half dozen people up the steps were all pre-teens -- boys and girls. Then I had a married couple also come on board.

Well, I quickly evaulated the situation and realized that I could give nearly everyone a chance to operate. After all, I was looking a interested youths who might become active in the museum or at least keep their parents coming back. I stood over to one side and operated the brake handle while the youths operated the controller. Then when the kids were done the married couple got their chance to operate the car -- they were back for our intitial contructor traning class.

There was only one that I did not allow to operate. He was a boy about six or seven years old. He was just too short to stand in front of the controller (we had no stool on the car) and see out the front window.

I read this thread with great interest as this was me a little over ten years ago. Right now I am 28 years old and I am a dispatcher but, I started as a conductor with NS when I was 20. When I was 14-17 years old I volunteered at a couple of railroad museums and learned the basics for my future career there. Much like you I dreamed about working on the railroad but, admittedly I was more interested in working on the NS Steam Program than anything else. Of course we all know that happened there....

I really want to offer some advice for you before you pay for CSX's school. Try to go to work for NS first, they will pay for your training, OR... look on CSX's website for where they are hiring conductors off the street. Since you already know many of the basics, paying for school is going to be a huge waste. Next, leave the foam at home. You might think that all railroaders have some interest in trains but, once you hear rails talking about foamers I think you will find that not everyone working for the railroad likes trains.

Lastly, and most importantly when working on a Class 1, please remember that it is not your job to tell your co-workers how to do their job or remind them of the rules. This will quickly get you a bad name that you don't want following you for the rest of your career. I know an engineer on CSX who followed every rule to the letter. He would acknowledge everything on the radio (i.e. "Engineer on 2743 understands, switched lined, shove 14 cars to a couple, over"). He would blow the horn and ring the bell before he made a move. He would come to a cattle crossing in the middle of the night and sound the hornd for the full 1/4 mile. This may sound like the model employee but, conductors began to dread working with him... soon he got the nickname "Toot, Toot, Ding, Ding".

In my honest opinon, I recommend that you wait a few years before you go to work for a class 1. The lifestyle is much more demanding than you can imagine. When most of your friends are out partying, you will be sleeping in a motel 200 miles away. If you have any commitments to the museum you are a member of now, forget them becuase the railroad is your only commitment now... besides you won't be interested in museum trains after working four 12-hour trips in a row. Take it from someone that has been there... enjoy your youth... go to college or get a no-stress job... get married... go to parties... spend time having FUN with trains at the museum. Once you are ready to really settle down, apply for a job with NS or CSX and start your career.

Well said jcmark611!! Like I always say, That's why there are three letters in "fun" and four letters in "work"....they are NOT the same thing!!