How many days of work can a railroad conductor reasonably expect until s/he is assigned a regular shift?

Question

The railroad websites I have checked emphasize that they will not guarantee any number of workdays during the period before conductors are assigned their own shift--while they are on the rotating board. This can go on for over a year. I would like to move into this field; the Norfolk Southern conductor trainee program sounds promising. But if you can't rely on making ANY set amount of money until you are off the fill in board, how do people break in? By being supported for a year or so by their significant other? By taking out loans as if you were going to college? I am 43 years old. Is considered too old to begin this line of work?

Answer 1

You will find, in short order, days of work are there for the asking. Time off is the trick. There is very little of it.

Regular assignments are few and far between, and include local freight and yard jobs. These are the only jobs with regular start times.

The rest of the time you'll be in "pool" freight or working an 'extra' board. These are rotating lists, with no set on or off duty time. When they need you, they call and you go.

The gentleman above is correct in that, most extra boards are "guaranteed" assignments. But not all extra boards are guaranteed. Those that are are what is known as a "company" board, meaning a carrier supervisor will regulate the number of people on an extra board. Those others are regulated my individual mileage, thought these are rare.

Maturity is a plus when considering an employee for train or engine service, so your 43 years shouldn't be too much of an obstacle, but be prepared to work until age 67.

Answer 2

that is not too old to begin a career as a railroad conductor as bnsf has been known to hire people atleast 50 years old (they did go through the NARS program at overland park ks though)

you could expect to be on the "extra" board for (just a guess) but lets just say a minimum of 10 years. now you may be able to hold a pool turn but those still will not have regular hours. The only jobs that have regular hours are the locals and switch jobs. (these are the trains that switch the industries outside of town, and switch the yard)

I was able to support myself financially because i don't have many bills and i don't need that much money. the training program for bnsf was paid, and i made about $2000-$3000 a month after taxes in conductor training. as with any job that you start at you will probably have a couple of weeks without a paycheck, and should plan ahead for such.

BTW, at bnsf (and i just use bnsf because i work for them, and do not know about any other railroads agreements) all of our extra boards are guarantee.... so if they guarantee that you will make $5000 a month, you will make $5000 even if you don't work at all. if you work enough to get more than $5000 then you will get that amount instead.

other than that i hope that i have answered your question.

Answer 3

NS has a great training program in McDonough Ga. I went there and now working out of Tilton IL. I'm on the extra board and work about every other day. Here is the training schedule for NS.
Phase 1
8 days
McDonough, GA
$100 per day

Phase 2
4 weeks
Division
$500 per week

Phase 3
2 weeks
McDonough, GA
$500 per week

Phase 4
8-16 weeks
Division
$500 per week

Entry Rates: After establishing seniority, train and engine service employees are subject to a 5-year rate progression, after which they will receive full rates. The rate progression is as outlined:

1st year
80% of full rate in class of service working

2nd year
80% of full rate in class of service working

3rd year
85% of full rate in class of service working

4th year
90% of full rate in class of service working

5th year
95% of full rate in class of service working

To progress to the next highest level in each step, employees must perform service a minimum of eighty (80) days during the preceding calendar period of 365 days.

BASIC DAY FULL (100%) HOURLY RATES OF PAY:

Conductor to Engineer

Yard Service
$175.78 per day to $191.56 per day

Through Freight Service
$157.22 per day to $181.83 per day

Local Freight Service
$157.58 per day to $182.39 per day