becoming a train conductor?

Question

Anyone know how one becomes a train conductor? I recently was talking to someone who says it might be perfect for me. He doesnt know how to do it and the websites I look at are vague. I currently live in northern N.J. and am asking if there is anyplace in particular I have to go to fill out a form or application.

Answer 1

The eastern class 1's (CSX and NS) only hire through tech college programs at the current time. Check out their websites or look for Marshall University tech programs online.

Answer 2

Go directly to the company
Business is on the rise and RR traffic is quite healthy so most carriers are hiring, I read that BNSF is expecting to be hiring umpteen thousand people in the next three years.
I dont remember the numbers but it is impressive.
You should be willing to relocate, that is one of the first things they are going to want to know.
There is no formal ecucation that will help much, no other job in the world is much like this one so for that reason most railroads prefer on the job training rahter than to trust someone else's experience.
The railroad academies are quite expensive and for the most part all they do is demonstrate a desire to work inthe railroad industry. That does look good on a resume but I know it is quite possible to be hired directly.
You can expect to be working nights, weekends, holidays, birthdays, etc.
But the other side of the coin is, you are not stuck in an office or cubicle, you wont see a supervisor every day, and you are (usually) treated like an adult and given credit for knowing how to do your job.
Good Luck with it.

Answer 3

http://www.bnsf.com/careers/jobs.html?newwin=true

this is the careers page of bnsf. I just looked on there, and there is about 5 openings around the country for conductors. If you apply for one that says "primary recall location" be prepared to work in that location for the next 5 years, because they've got you for that long. BNSF has "system wide seniority" for their conductors.

Lets say that you wanted to work in Needles, Ca. Well, the only conductor class that is available is in Gillette, Wy. The best thing would be to apply for the Gillette class, and get your seniority established. Gillette is a former BN terminal, so there is no primary recall, you could work anywhere on the BNSF system that you had enough seniority to hold (with exception or oregon, and washington state because they never went into the systemwide seniority.)

One thing that I do want to let you know about is that the RR has odd hours, and depending on what job you have, it could be lower paying than what you currently make (because you would have to probably work in the yard at 85% of your wages until you could hold a foreman/conductor job)

Understand that i can only speak for what i know about BNSF, i do not know the agreements with any other company.

The only railroads that i know of that may be in your area would be
Norfolk Southern
Canadian Pacific
Canadian National
CSX
KCS (kansas city southern)

Otherwise moving would be your option i know that BNSF does not go any further east than Tennessee, but do not know how wide UP has territory.

Good Luck

Answer 4

I never heard of a school course in Railroad Science prior to any employment with a railroad. It might be out there, but I've never heard of it. Most railroads hire people like any company would. Then the railroad trains (no pun intended) employees for conductors. Usually they receive engineer's training after that, in time. Many years ago when I was hired by BNSF (BN then), they tested applicants for mechanical aptitude. Not that you'd have to work on anything, but many times you'll have to figure things out on your own - cause and effect of mechanical forces as an example. I don't know if they do that anymore. Anyway, many railroads have on-line applications, but usually applying at the State Employment Office is more effective, and many railroads have accounts with many of these agencies.

Answer 5

Yes, the obsession is not a rare thing. It may have been caused by the model railroading and not having a girlfriend. In model railroading, you want your trains to look as realistic as possible so you watch the real ones and tapes and photos of the real ones so you can get an idea of what yours are supposed to look like. Don't worry, for many men it's a phase that passes. Also, meeting the right girl will cause a man to forget everything else in his life. I went through a similar phase. I used to do "Chinese food by the train tracks" on Sundays where I would go buy a huge plate of food and go watch and listen to the trains at the local rail yard. It passed for me cause I became obsessed with aviation and that led to my carreer in aircraft maintenance. I'ts bad, yes- you get it bad when you get it and it's good that you worry for him but he should be fine at the end.

Answer 6

csx is currently lookin for conductors in s kearny nj .....

with this company you have to go to school for 7 weeks in atlanta ga... you will have a take a test every week and a quiz everyday , and you have to get at least an 85%. you will be doin alot of reading (you have to remember alot of rules )...they will also pay u $350 a week and i think a $100 meal allowance while in atl... ( when i was in school last year they paid nothing) ... go to the csx website... or an emolyment agency ..

very demanding job ... on call 24\7...

Answer 7

njtransit.com uses monster dot com for jobs.
the njtransit is located in Maplewood if you want to go ther personnel office. 180 Boyden Avenue.
Good luck.

Answer 8

if becoming a rr conductor and then to an engineer, you have to goto school and get a degree in railroading science. The best school that all railroads look up to is in overland park KS ( a sub of Kansascity ).... It's rr college. Go to bnsf.com and look for becoming a railroad employee and going to school. Good luck