Locomotive Engineer Q+A!
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- Опубликовано: 18 мар 2021
- Here's a little Q+A I did about my day job as a Locomotive Engineer at an American Class 1 freight railroad.
If you want more videos like this, or if you have a question that I didn't answer, feel free to leave a comment!
Contact:
Email: thefourfoot8@gmail.com
Twitter: @TheFourFoot
Instagram: @TheFourFoot
Patreon: www.patreon.com/thefourfoot?f...
#LocomotiveEngineer #Freight #QandA
3,533
Due to the recent interest in this video, I’m thinking about doing another Q&A. Leave your questions below!
Perfect timing! Do you know what the typical requirements are when changing crafts on the railroad, specifically how long you have to wait before doing so? I asked because I'm _finally_ getting somewhere with Amtrak. I passed the strength test last week and have an interview this Friday! I applied for Trackman, but my end goal is to be a locomotive engineer, so I was curious what that path would look like. Thanks for making these videos!
Do you have to be in great physical condition in order to work on the rail road? How do you find the time to workout working long hours consistently?
do locomotives have bathrooms on them?
what railroad do you work for?
Do you think it would be better to do railroad repair rather than driving a train? Or is the schedule just as grueling?
this was an awesome Q@A! definitely would be interested in more in the future. Your content is great
Thanks a lot! I really appreciate it!
Another excellent video!
Thanks man!
Great video and Thanks for sharing the info. 👍🙏
Here in 2023….. just wanna say u explained everything pretty well as humanly possible 😂. Thank you ❤❤❤
Way way back when Trip Optimizer first came out the company I was working for was tasked with integrating our hardware and software with it, I have many fond memories of crashing the Windows XP machine it runs on (also causing the crews to hate it lol)
glad it got better!
also loved your comment about the Denver electrification and BNSF complaining, so typical of the class 1s!
keep up the good work! love your content even though I'm no longer in the industry
Wow this was super interesting. I know nothing of being a train engineer, so this was pretty cool. Nice job on the video
Thanks a lot!
Find a nice class 3 shortline. 5 days a week, 8 hour days, no furloughs, pays better most of the time.
I thought about it
what...24,000.00 a year....thankyou but no thanks....you can make a better career at HomeDepot...been there and done that....17 years with CCP/IC and 4 with illinois railnet...
Electrification is very expensive !
I live right next to the HQ of one! I plan on working there.
@@roscoepcoltrane5499 It's around 40k to 60k for railroad engineers
Awesome video, man!!! I see that Mt. Fuji you got rocking in the background, haha.
Thanks a lot man! And yeah I sure do lol
Great video; Thanks for Sharing
Hello! Great video and really Enjoyed your Q & A. You sound very Conscientious & Professional.👍
Thanks a lot!
Was my bench talk the inspiration for this? haha. Great insight, especially into how hiring works.
Ha, not exactly. I’ve been wanting to talk about my job for a while, and this seemed like the easiest way to generate some content lol
@@TheFourFoot what is your favorite classic diesel locomotive? And steam one?
Favorite classic diesel has to be the EMD E5. Its way sentimental for me and beautiful to not be my favorite lol. As far as American steam locomotives, it doesn’t get much better than the NYC 4-6-4 Hudson, although the SP 4-8-8-2 cab forward is pretty awesome too, just for the weirdness lol.
@@TheFourFoot I agree with the E-class , but I’m going to go with the U.P. Big boy
It’s understandable lol
When you were a conductor , how often would you have to get off the train and walk it when it was the middle of the night, pitch black out and in the middle of nowhere? Is it scary being out there all by yourself?
More of this please!
Informative, thanks
I'm actually excited I can't wait to start... this job is for people that like Adventures..
Really enjoyed this, Hobsons always bustling with action. My friend said he saw taking an omax down the arbor. Such a cool line. I’d definitely love another Q&A. I’d hate taking emtpies over the Creston and Ravenna, constantly stopping to let trains pass or holding at waverly to wait your turn into the yard
I know what it says on the sign at the the entrance to the Arita overpass, but only recently installed terminal superintendents call it "Hobson." It's "Lincoln Yard" in the timetable and to everyone who works there ;-)
Yeah coal trains are pretty low priority all the way around lol
A great indicator of the economy is the trains and railroads.
To a certain extent, yes lol
I live in Grand Island and travel a short stretch of Hwy 2 everyday by the railroad line to go to work. Now, every time I see a train in that area I am going to be wondering if you are running! Great video btw!
Thanks a lot! I’m sure I’ll be there lol.
Great video, new subscriber
Thanks a lot!
Great informative video!
Footnote that is not intended in any way to upset anyone, but let me shed some light regarding "electrification" on American railways to our foreign friends.
It likely will not happen. At least not any time in the immediate future on a Class I American freight line. Reason why? The length and tonnage of our trains would make it very expensive and difficult to move trains efficiently. Especially given the modern PSR program that Class I railways are using. Trains are getting longer and heavier with fewer prime movers.
Electric locomotives are typically much lighter than diesel-electric locomotives. Lightweight locomotives on steep grades don't work well with freight. Steel freight cars are a very good chunk heavier than lighter weight aluminum passenger coaches that you see on Amtrak's famous electrified Northeast Corridor. The size and weight of modern American freight consists would make electric operations on current lines nearly impossible.
You want your freight units to have a high weight when hauling big tonnage and big footage trains. This aids in preventing wheel slippage under high tractive effort situations; I.E, 2.1% inclines with lots of train behind you. The modern day EM units are simply not built or designed with that in mind. Electrified freight was tried in the states many years ago and for these outlined reasons plus many more, it did not stick around long, granted this was decades ago. The point still is relevant today.
This would also make upgrading the lines very expensive and would not be very profitable without causing massive inflation on shipping costs for clients which would in turn cause our general merchandise costs to go even higher. Lines would not only have to accommodate electricity to power the units, but the lines and topography would have to be completely re-examined, re-engineered, and rebuilt. A project of this scale would require re-routing tracks and rebuilding complete lines along with topography changes in the form of eliminating or "flattening" grades to make the right of way easily passable by electric units with a long freight behind them. All of this would not be a profitable operation currently.
Let it also be known that it's not because "Americans don't care for the environment". We do. It's just not currently in the best interest for Class I railways from both financial and efficiency points of view. Besides, thanks to recent exhaust particle restriction systems found on most Tier 3 and 4 units, the soot and blow-by that is exhausted from the diesel prime movers pose no severe threat to ozone, as those particles are dense and fall back to Earth.
Could we see Class I freight electrification? Maybe at some point. I doubt it will come any time in your lifetime or mine. Anything is possible though.
Thanks for the great video!
Thanks for answering my question. I’ve been applying with Amtrak in Boston with no luck, but I won’t stop.
Hope I could help! If you get hired on, I might hit you up for a reference lol. I should have talked about my attempts to get hired by Amtrak. If you want to learn more, hit up my email!
@@TheFourFoot I would love to know more. What’s your email address?
thefourfoot8@gmail.com
If you're willing to relocate out of state to work for a freight railroad, CSX is currently hiring conductors in the New England states, and BNSF (rumor has it) will be doing a new-hire conductor class in either Los Angeles or San Bernardino this year. (I am a locomotive engineer for BNSF as well, and I do it out of Los Angeles). However, they do not pay for your relocation or housing. If that's something you'd be interested in, you can sign up for career alerts on the BNSF.COM/CAREERS page.
Are Amtrak trains operated by engineers employed by the 'host railroad'?
I’m a light rail operator and you nailed it perfectly! I’ve never done heavy rail but I would think it’s a bit more challenging overall. Each side has its challenges but we don’t have to worry about a mile long train, don’t have to worry about buff or draft forces. And yes, the idiots that drive or walk in front of the train are the bane of my existence. Lots of street running in my city so downtown is definitely its own beast compared to the outskirts of our lines that are mostly dedicated, high speed territory. No zoning out at my agency. Signal trips and rule violations are very easy to get 🤪 I’d love to pick your brain more sometime
Yeah that sounds obnoxious. I'd love to learn more about LRT operations some day, but I'm not sure I'd like to do it for a job lol. When I worked out of LA, there was a lot more pedestrian/grade crossing incidents. I can't imagine what it's like running only through urban areas lol
@@TheFourFoot I hate downtown for that reason. It’s all street running for probably 20 minutes… it certainly forces you to be on your toes. You can’t “think” that pedestrian or car aren’t going to do something dumb, you have to KNOW. You get really good really fast at predicting what’s going to happen.
Interesting video. I have been retired from BNSF for 10 years, I was an engineer for 38 years. I saw a lot of changes (and mergers) in my career. It’s a great job to be retired from. We seemed to be away from home much longer earlier in my career. I enjoyed my work but I can’t really say I miss it, better to get to sleep in my own bed every night.
Absolutely. Even in the 10 years since I hired out, the job has changed so much...none of it for the better lol. I’m glad you’re getting to enjoy retirement!
Hello sir... Where can we can study railway engineeringn ormi want to be a locomotive engineer
LOL...You beat me on the time at the hotel. I spent 37 hours, and 10 minutes. I was really ready to go home. Longest I ever spent on a train was 22 hours + 2 hour ride to the hotel. Boards were slammed, and had trains dying all over the place due to broke rail. Only had two dog catch crews, and dispatcher forgot about us...it sucked. Good video on what RR life is really like. My non rail road friends just don't understand I don't have set days off. They always ask "how do you plan anything" I just tell them "I DON'T"
Lololol, yeah that sounds about right. I love making code 30, but after a point, it’s just ridiculous. Yeah planning basically only ensures that you’re definitely going to miss it lol
@@TheFourFoot Y'all call it Code 30? We call it Held Away...all the same nothing but money...lol.
Nah we call it held away too, I know at other terminals, people call it code 30 though lol
As a ex renzenberger driver in have many trips to barstow I have also have drove out of Kansas city great information also always work safe
Thanks! I should actually do a video on van drivers some day. I know how hard the job is and how under appreciated they are!
Very interesting..Do you have to do the Initial brake test prior to starting, or is it done for you..Thanks
2014 UPRR 🙋♂️ It was tough at first….Home everyday 🙏
Thank you for all that great info. My son wants to work for the railroad, and more specifically wants to be on the train crew. I sent him the link to watch the video.
Awesome! I hope it discourages him though lol
@@TheFourFoot yeah, I don't know. He is pretty set on wanting to work for UP.
There’s definitely nothing wrong with it, I hope he has success!
There is a resort in Hawaii that has a Tram to get around and I think it would only be fun for the first 3 times around the track if you where driving.
nah i live in Hawaii due to work and that line is not even close to done and Hawaii sucks balls
To me freight trains versus light rail trains is an apples and oranges comparison. Both have their strengths and difficulties but there are so many differences between the two. I wouldn’t say one is harder than another, maybe just different.
I do know most light rail networks don’t have as much automation as the railroads, as they currently aren’t required to have things like PTC in place. Anywhere where there’s street running complicates matters, and with any kind of public transit there’s a lot more of an emphasis on on-time performance than there is with the railroads - like you said the trains aren’t really on a schedule, so that can add some stress to the job as an operator.
For sure.
I like this guy
I notice the local class three railroad in my area seems to have banking hours, they never operate on the weekends and dont really seem to operate at night. I imagine only a select few seasoned railroaders get to have those jobs. Before Progress Rail took over their line, their web site listed 6 or 7 employees.
Do you have anything to do with ECP braking? Although it’s a good system, it’s one reason why a 42,500 tonne BHP iron ore train was force derailed in Western Australia a couple of years ago. The connecting electric cable broke on a 1.5% grade and the train braked to a stop automatically. When the train finally stopped, the engineer should have dumped the air in the brake pipe (put it into emergency) but didn’t. He was told to wind on as many hand brakes as he could. Unbeknown to him the ECP system was programmed to release the brakes after one hour and the train took off while he was on the ground winding on the hand brakes about 50 cars down the train. The hand brakes and independent brakes on the SD70ACe locos wouldn’t hold it. Train control had to switch tracks and force derail it.
How did you get the job? I just started with a statewide passenger railroad and feel incredibly lucky.
I like this video, I do wish it showed more what the engineer was doing, I wanted to see how he handle the train to keep it smooth ride. I am class A truck driver and I try my best to operate the truck like the engineer . I am retired now and I have 50 years in the freight business with 28 years of save operation. I wanted to work for the railroads at the beginning about 50 years ago. I do notice the my working is pretty close to yours, it took me 5 years on the extra board before I had any choice. Yes I do have railroad in operation at my house.
What’s the hurry? Lol! Nice catch!
WHEELING & LAKE ERIE RAILWAY OR R.J. CORBIN BOTH ROCKS
Another way of explaining the blue flag is that the carman has his work to be done before the train can leave. So the carman "Joe" goes up into the cab with the blue flag and places in the most obvious location. So now if a crew member comes up into the cab, all that the train crew can do is sit and wait until "Joe" and only Joe can come up and remove the blue flag and get off safely and go to his next job.
I don't work for a railroad but I also use a blue flag in the work that I do. I'm a corner marshal at a race track. When I display my blue flag, it tells the slower racers (drivers) that their is a faster car coming up on him and he needs to make room for that faster car.
Great video! From 1982 until 2007 I was lucky enough for 5 interviews with different railroads. Get your paperwork together and leave early just in case anything happens. I was so excited about my interview that I was almost half way their and realized that I had forgotten my paperwork. What to do? Risk on being late with possible speeding ticket or have no documentation? I decided to turn back and drive aggressively and grab it then fly to my interview. I was under 5 minutes late and had nothing to do with me. I was "sick" for days because of being complacent. What hurt me was finding a parking spot and then hustling to the right building. To the young ones out there chasing your dream, stay clean, stay fit and and try to do better and always remember"Saftey First" and good luck to you.
I live right near a train yard and I always wondered why they have blue lights on the trains. Now that I work for the same railroad I know.
Couldn't agree with you more....my father was in Vietnam so he had that to his advantage...we had a family farm so I was operating heavy equipment since 13....I got my CDL and drove a semi dump for 3 months when I was 18...I got hired on a regional same day.
I found it interesting that Union Pacifics map shows that they will not have PTC on their mainline track on the former Western Pacific tracks Feather River route. Was it exempt?
35 hours at the hotel are normal for us. I bought another car and left it at the AFHT just so I can get out of the building
yeah that's unfortunate lol
11:51 Reporting cattle on the ROW is a VERY BNSF thing to do. :D
Conway PA to Elkhart IN is a slightly longer pool job than what you were talking about. If I remember correctly it paid like 375 or 378 miles. High priority van trains, US Mail, UPS, that sort of nature. The company dissolved that pool about 3 months ago. It ran for several years, like at least 3. I can remember seeing crews with on duty times of slightly under 8 hours on that pool. Yeah, that's booking it for almost 400 miles. But they did it. Wouldn't say that was the norm by any means, but it was possible. I always wondered if there were any better paying jobs in T&E in the entire country than the Elkhart pool. Engineers were, and did, gross over 200k in that pool.
Yeah that’s insane lol. But I can see how it could be possible with intermodal trains. It’s much more plausible that with slow coal trains lol
I went to the National Academy of Railroad Science, part of Johnson County Community College in Kansas City and was hired on with BNSF quickly. It's a great route to go. Just be prepared to be on call for possibly your whole career and plan your mark off sick days. Sometimes you'll get lucky and catch a dogcatching call. From what I've gathered, BNSF and Canadian National are the most employee friendly railroads to work for. CSX and Norfolk Southern are considered less employee friendly.
Not anymore, they're all terrible
Hello The Four Foot, I am really interested in the driving and operating aspect of the railroads. However I am not sure my health will allow me to go into the workforce. I am worried of dropping school for the railroads and my health becomes my Achilles heel so to speak. What advice would you give me?
liked Q+A video 🚄🚄👍
I’m glad! Thanks!
I applied for Roanoke VA Freight Conductor, will I get that position or whatever is available and if that's not available anymore will they ask me if I can go somewhere else or will they just deny me? Do I need to apply for same position in multiple places or is just 1 fine?
they wont electrify the freight lines until there is absolutely no other option
Costs too much !
Thanks, Very Informative. 2 questions, 1.You mentioned your "Hours of Service" as we refer to them in the trucking industry. Do you have to keep a "Log Book" and if so are they automated like ours are? 2. For a word, Potty Breaks. Is there a toilet on board? I can hit a TruckStop or rest area for such things it's not like you can whip into a gas station and run in and go & Grab a Coke on the way out the door lol.
Railroaders have to abide by federal laws just as truckers (we can only “work” as in drive the train for 12 hours, used to be 16) but the railroad manages all of the records of our working time via computers, (railroaders have never kept laws for federal regulations, but many keep paper time books to keep track for their own purposes and to keep track their earnings, as it’s different every day). Railroaders tie up their working tickets on computers at the end of the day, located in the yard office, not on the train.
There are toilets on locomotives that are very similar to ports potties, and as such, they’re often disgusting. Usually you try to use them as little as possible. You’re obviously allowed to stop the train to use the toilet if you need to, but that rarely happens, as we just want to keep, so you hold it lol.
Can you not work part time? Like if you just wanted to work 3 days would that be possible?
Great video. What do you think your favorite engine to run is?
ES44AC. Although C4's may be a little newer, the wheel slip issue is really annoying, particularly in wet conditions. When Trip Optimizer is linked with PTC (and actually works) it's quite an enjoyable experience lol.
lol. Thanks for sharing
@@TheFourFoot
Is the C4 pretty much all BNSF is buying these days except a small number of ACe?
Lol I remember my first time taking a train to port huron through the tunnel, guy comes up on the engine with a flashing blue light I'm like tf is that hahaha
How many applications did you fill out before being hired? Did you go through any railroad conductor training program (NARS, NWRI)?
I applied a few times (got 1 interview, but ended up not going), but once my brother started, I got in the next class.
I have been wanting to ask about separation; Not a railfan I am a mechanic and wonder about how the electronics are "usually programmed" ( read procedure ) for what I view as a computer-programming challenge … not pressing in any way it is an engineering question not an operator question
im glad i hired out on Chicago Central back in 1993 out of highschool....of course my father was a help....i put in 17 years, and from 1993 to this point im glad im done....if i had to do it over i wouldnt...
I don’t blame you lol
@@TheFourFoot my sister to this day is still a engineer for BNSF....my fathers last years was with the BN...you are 110% correct, my sister was a flag girl and later a semi dump driver for aurora black top...her heavy equipment experience carried her on as well help from my father....my father hired out with the Rock Island after nam....with tank duty and such no one would hire him except the railway....my dad carried on to CNW and then the BN....when i say im glad im out its no offense to guys like you keeping our nation going....what makes me angry is DPU and such running trains times 5 the regular size....in arizona we now have trains X5 their average size, as well as utah, cali and washington.....the train crews do not matter to the major 6 anymore, but the keep hiring the office personal and executives.....the people who keep the wheels turning dont matter like they did with in the last 10 years....heck i can recall working for CCP back in 1994 and delivering 4 hoppers to a farmer, as me the conductor i had to help them load the cars.....customer assistance in the rail industry as well as train crews is a dead concept....my sister is so glad she is into the suburban rail passenger service vs freight...im 42 years old, i have been pushing carts at HOME DEPOT and to be frank id rather do this then working for the railway....i know im going to work at 5 am, off at 3 pm....the railway gave me a 600,000.00 buy out, took it and invested this into TD ameritrade...i will be retired at 47 years of age...
@@roscoepcoltrane5499congrats, interesting stories
I’m a first time viewer. Sounds like your BNSF. I’m a retired Santa Fe engineer out of Richmond California. I hired on in 1977. My run was from Richmond to Calwa (Fresno) and also worked trains to Bakersfield. I’ve hit everything you can imagine and some I would like to forget. Unfortunately many engineers have gotten way too reliant on PTC and less on situational awareness. Just my opinion however. My personal favorite to have as a lead was a 40-2. They rode and pulled great. My least was the GP-60m. They were horrible.
40-2?
SD40-2 Santa Fe 5020 class
Where’s Boss Hog. I know what happened to Daisy. Luke is in jail and not mentioning names that helped him. I think Enos was in on it and Cooter was driving. I heard that Jesse died of a broken heart.
Over reliance on PTC is definitely a problem. Obviously running a train isn't as complicated as flying a plane, but with TO and PTC, there's a lot of skill being lost for sure!
what are my possibilities of getting a job working for the railroad if I'm legally blind? or what are the possibility of someone from making a big mistake of hiring me knowingly that I'm legally blind. I worked at Walmart back in 2009 running the train of carts. the manager hired me knowingly that I'm legally blind.
We burned Powder river basin in Someret NY.. Nasty stuff.. burned by itself.. 11 day turn around...
Great video!! What happens when mother nature calls and you need a bio break? Do you need to stop the train or can your conductor take over for a few minutes?
You have to stop the train
You can pee on the fly but it's a little hard to do the other. Stop, unless you have a set back hoghead that's willing to run while you handle your biz!
It's great when you have a conductor willing to give you a hand!
I am from Canada about to start as a conductor with CN. Any comments about the job?
Save your money. Seriously, Conductors aren't going to be riding freight trains forever, so enjoy it while it lasts!
I would like to see another q&a please. I have two questions.
1. What is the hardest train to control? An intermodal, manifest, or a coal drag? Why is it harder than the other trains out there on the system?
2. I was watching a video on Norfolk Southern one day and I heard someone mentioned a “Red Fence”. In PTC, what does that term mean for class one railroads such as Norfolk Southern or Union Pacific?
Any train has the potential to be difficult to control depending on tonnage, weight distribution, effectiveness of each brake, placement of DP, cushioned drawbars, etc. But in my experience, the most difficult trains to control are solid loaded auto racks, and the steel coil train. Manifests can be difficult if there are lots of heavy loads in the rear and light empties in front of them.
The "red fence" on PTC is an area where your train does not have authority to proceed. For example: the next governing signal is red, or you're approaching a Form B limit in which you have not received clearance to enter by the gang foreman. Hope this answers some of your questions!
I second what Kensington said about the cushioned drawbars. Those things are really annoying lol. Intermodal trains have a lot less slack because of the articulated cars, but their brakes also tend to be less effective than say coal trains, despite being much lighter. The majority of what I run is coal and grain, and they behave the same. Oil and ethanol trains have a lot of sloshing action, so you have to be aware of that too. As far as why one train is harder than another would be slack action, and yes whether the train has distributed power. On the whole, DP makes train handling easier, but sometimes it's nice to run a conventional train and not worry about it.
@@TheFourFoot it took me awhile to warm up to running DP because I was used to conventionals, but after I figured out that putting up the fence made running them smoother, I started preferring DP haha. I get crap from the old head engineers for running with the fence instead of constantly married up, but they always quiet down when my train handling is smoother than theirs haha. I always just tell them not to be afraid of the fence lol
No absolutely, running with the screens split is a must on most of the lines I run!
Do you work for BNSF or UP?
What happens if you hit a car because they try to go around the gates, do you get in trouble and would you be taken off from driving trains until it's resolved and would it keep you from getting a permanent route?
Not a damn thing we can do when we're rolling along at 50 mph and someone runs the gates. All you can do is pray for them. The only way you're gonna get in a pinch is if there was something you didn't do correctly such as blowing the horn, or speeding. If you killed someone while speeding excessively you could catch a case and get locked up, its serious.
Hey thank you so much for your excellent expanaitions about the locomotive engineer job because i am at the locomotive engineer school in Germany after many yrars of long haul trucking in north america.
Its very interest to see how it is working out in the united states in this job especially when you have seen many times the trains there.
If you like to know anything about to be a locomotive engineer here in Germany so it will be a honour to help you oit,many greetings and stay safe out there
Thanks a lot! I hope you succeed as a train driver over there! Going from trucks to trains is making the right move!
@@TheFourFoot Thank you very much i hope it as well and let you know when finished (maybe in december is the last test) have a good day and greetings
That’s awesome! How long was the training program?
@@TheFourFoot the training programm is going over 9 Months for experienced people (my former education was electrician in the end of the 80,s) so i was permitted for this programm.
So the first 5 months you learn lots of theory with a couple of driving training days and the last 4 months is more driving and after finishing i will come to passenger trains departement for intercity train.
Interesting! I guess they want you to actually know what you’re doing lol
I came across your video by way of the RUclips algorithm. As for electrification, Norfolk Southern and CSX has a somewhat higher chance. They have most of the former Pennsylvania Railroad low-grade freight bypasses. And, some portions still have the poles intact from when the PRR moved freight with electric locomotives. Even if the poles still provide power for Amtrak's 25 Hz Transmission System, they can be re-strung with catenary. Only the Port Road from Columbia, PA to Perryville, MD would need new poles as NS cut them down, and most of the Enola Branch from Columbia, PA to Enola Yard in Enola, PA across the Susquehanna River from Harrisburg. The Trenton Cutoff from Conschocken to Morrisville would also need new poles. CSX would need the ex-PRR West Philadelphia Elevated Branch and the 26th Street Branch to Greenwich Yard in South Philadelphia re-electrified. Also the Landover Sub, in Maryland, though with Potomac Yard now gone, the wire would have to go to Richmond, VA. The only existing place on the Class 1 network where NS and CSXT can use electrics is Amtrak's Northeast Corridor, and to a degree the Keystone Corridor but, as you said, they'd need diesel units so they can be cut off at the end of the wire and the diesel units continue.
Good point. I work up in the NE and alot of the customers are on amtraks corridor of we need to cross it to get to other shared rights tracks.
I’m surprized nobody’s mentioned the Northern Pacific and their Little Joes. If Class 1 electric freight really was viable, the lines would still be strung up.
If you mean the Milwaukee road, only a portion of their mainline was electrified, prohibiting through running of transcontinental freight, which is the what the railroads were transitioning to by the time they ripped up their electrification (which wasn’t maintained because they were never a very profitable railroad because the line was largely redundant and wouldn’t have been built if the network were nationalized). But yes, they’re awesome locomotives.
@@TheFourFoot I'd recommend this article on trainweb. It's quite the read. www.trainweb.org/milwaukee/article.html#:~:text=The%20ICC%20concluded%20that%20the,was%20the%20end%20January%2C%201980.
@@JessicaKasumi1990 that’s really interesting, thanks!
Remember, a lot of lines WERE electrified along the west coast, and ALL of them were torn up during the move to diesel. Many of the Hydro-Electric Dams in Washington State were originally built by Great Northern for the Electrified Lines over the passes.
Electrification works in the east, where everything is crammed together like sardines. Its very poor for long distance hauling across the vast midwest, and is susceptible to high heat or low freezing temps. Diesel-Electric Locomotives do not have this problem at all, as everything is self contained. Now BNSF has experimental (and started to implement) Battery Operated Locomotives in a consist (no not by themselves). Having a battery locomotive in the middle of a train makes it more efficient by allowing the train to store energy from the Dynamic Breaks when stopping or slowing down, rather then burning it off as heat (hence those massive radiators on the backs of locomotives). Then when accelerating the locomotives don't have to spool their engines up as high in RPM's (thus saving fuel) and can pull from the battery loco instead.
Western 'Milwaukee Road' was electric?
I think of electrified lines as lines with 'frequent' passenger trains. Electric caternaries to industrial sidings seems like too much trouble.
Does PTC or Trip Optimizer blow the horn at grade crossings automatically?
No.
port of Long Beach to Yuma AZ 288 miles and lots of traffic.
You work out if Dolores yard?
Recently retired airline captain here. When I flew the 727 (about 100 years ago) in BHM (Birmingham, Alabama) we had the same layover hotel as the NS crews. Lots of fun chats in the hotel bar. When I was junior and on reserve (extra board I guess) I would go "high". I lived in CHS and was based in ATL. Reserve stunk being away from home and doing nothing. Best bet was to get flying and out of the hotel (paid for by yourself in that case). On reserve you could go high- 1st called for a trip in seniority order, go low- last called in reverse seniority or just do nothing and see what happened. Does your contract go into that? How often do you guys get check rides? We had at least two company checks/year plus whatever random FAA guy shows up at the gate before push-back. Anyway, it's great having a job with an office with windows and being on the move. Cheers
Wow! The FAA does random check rides? That’s insane lol. The FRA I suppose can, but the only FRA inspectors I’ve ever dealt with were mechanical inspectors. Their office is in Council Bluffs and they have a field day with the junky KCS grain trains that get filled there.
As far as call order, it’s always based on your place in line, which remains static; seniority has no affect on it. So you go to the bottom of the list when you tie up and keep working your way to first out. If you’re rested and first out, you’ll likely get called right away.
I’m sure those guys were full of crazy stories lol. It must have been a while ago if you could even go to the bar! Hahaha
Also, we have check rides once a year, and a sim run every other year.
@@TheFourFoot On average an FAA inspector would ride in the cockpit once or twice a year. It was random. About every other month an FAA inspector would do a "ramp check"- check your pilot certificate, FCC license and current medical certificate (Captains need a physical every 6 months, first officers annually) check to see that you had two functioning flashlights in your kit, two sets of eyeglasses if your medical certificate indicated, check the aircraft logbook and accompany whichever pilot did the walk around. You can have a drink or two on long layovers. Zero alcohol at report time and "not suffering from the after effects of consuming alcohol". There's a big emphasis on alcohol awareness. Alcoholics will break the rules so it's on other crew-members to vigilant. Beyond the FAA company check airmen would show up unannounced and ride along. That plus 4 days of recurrent training which was 2 days classroom training/testing and 2 days in the simulator. The scariest part of being an airline pilot is the numerous opportunities to lose your job. It's worth it- office with a view, on the move (like your job), no heavy lifting and there's air conditioning.
I worked as a locomotive engineer (now retired) for the Soo Line/Canadian Pacific in the Chicago area. We always had a "check ride" for about an hour (if yard service) from the local "traveling engineer" once a year. You never knew in advance when you'd have that visit. Also, a "traveling engineer" could at any time perform an "efficiency test" from the ground by checking your speed with a speed gun, drop a flare in advance of your train to see if you stop properly, tell your foreman/conductor to "stop giving car counts" to see if you'll stop for lack of those counts and so on.. On rare occasions an FRA inspector would show up on your locomotive usually to just make sure you had your engineer's license in your possession and proper paperwork to allow your train on the mainline. This happened to me a few times, but never had one actually ride with me. Our railroad did not allow any alcohol consumption at an away from home terminal where the company paid your lodging. Random "whiz quizzes," as we called them, could take place even while waiting for your next train at this away from home terminal. The railroad recertified our engineer's license every three years. This initially took five days with a written exams and simulator test at the end of the review period. Years later this was cut back to only three days with no simulator test. Written exams for engineers included locomotive operations, operating rules and knowledge of the territory were you run trains (this also includes exams on foreign railroads where you ran on "trackage rights"). We had a company physical exam every three years.
@@WAL_DC-6B Thanks for the info. I like your handle. I was hired by Delta in '88 one year after the WAL merger. Flew with lots of WAL guys.
When a bnsf freight comes out of San Diego, where is the next crew change point from San Diego?
San Bernardino
The train may also go to Barstow to crew change. The crew will deadhead from LA to SD. Rest out, the take a train (or deadhead) to Barstow, rest out, then train back to LA.
@@TheFourFoot We don't run trains between LA and San Diego any longer, with the rare exception of the Geo train, and all of our trains between San Diego and Barstow crew change in San Bernardino. Under extraordinary circumstances a crew can be routed all the way to barstow, but that tends only to happen when there are no rested crews in San Bernardino, and even then the A- yard will almost always tie San Diego trains down and re-crew them once someone gets rested.
Watching this after my 7th start. Wild to hear you say you don't mind Trip Optimizer, but I guess with notch restrictions otherwise it must be tolerable. Our TO runs absolutely horribly. I've never gotten a knuckle running, but I've gotten two with TO running. I spent 12 hours getting beat up by TO today, which wouldn't have happened if I was able to do the job they actually trained me to do. As far as cameras, 90% of our power has them now and they watch the footage constantly. It's grueling being stuck on camera for 12 hours, not being allowed to touch the controls, and then expected to be completely upright and wide eyed the entire trip. Less than 90% usage on a trip is considered a failure, and not submitting a report on why utilization was less than 90% results in a charge...for one single occurrence.
Ha! Yeah we’ve got no power over 40 mph restrictions most places, so TO makes a huge difference. That’s crazy to hear though about the reports. Fortunately my railroad isn’t that crazy (yet). We’ve still got a few people that claim the bs that “they are qualified to use TO.” I’ve never gotten any knuckles with it, but for a while they had it locked down so even TO was running with no power over 40 (that was really cool). But you’re right about how ridiculous it is to expect 100% attention 100% of the time when you’re literally not running the train. Obviously the carriers don’t care, but it will probably catch up with them at some point.
They've tried to put cameras in airliner cockpits. The airline unions have prevented it so far.
I was not much a fan of TO. My personal opinion. It takes an engineer "out of his element" behind the controls. Meaning, you loose the feel for your train. Then, when some unexpected situation arises, and you do have to take control of your train. Well, you haven't been running for the last 127 miles, the computer has.
Similar with remote control locomotives. Sure, RCO locomotives work and I've done some pretty cool things with them. However, I have always said, and stuck by it, that a GOOD engineer can not be replaced by a RCO. It's just a fact, the computer does not have the same "feel" for the consist or awareness of what work is actually being done. There have been one or two engineers though that I would much rather run the box then have them in the seat. Those guys were just "special." And if you ever worked that job you would completely understand.
For sure…
How do you shuttle between the trains and the hotel? Do the railroads still use like rail xpress, etc? Or do you just hitch an Uber 😛
Some railroads use actual cabs in some terminals, but around here it’s all rail crew express, etc. Riding in buses buses gets real old because it’s usually the most dangerous part of the job. The drivers have worse hours than us and get paid little more than minimum wage. It’s criminal.
Hey four foot guy, I hope you are taller than that. LOL! I am a Locomotive Engineer for Canadian National Railway in B.C., western Canada, so this was pretty interesting to hear about railroading in the United States. My run is 143 miles, usually between Prince George and McBride BC. I'd love to chat with you sometime about railroading. Anyways, I don't like to talk too much on here about work because you never know who's reading it. Great video! Take-care, have a safe day!
Ha, the four foot is a British term for the space between the rails (even though it’s of course 4’8.5”), but yeah I totally get it! I hope to make my way up to BC someday! Thanks!
@@TheFourFoot hey. I should of known that. Lol. Track maintenance was never my thing. As long as we stay on the rail, that’s all that matters to me. Piles of snow up here now, it’s beautiful but crazy deep snow. Lots of animals on the tracks, deer, moose, elk wolves. Ugly scene some days. Black Bears and grizzly are all hibernating now. You must get some CN cars every now and then? What railway are you with?
Haha I’m sure that makes for some interesting viewing! And yeah, I also prefer to stay on the tracks whenever possible! I work for the one that just bought MRL. We very rarely get enough snow to warrant the use of our rotary plow (usually only that deep because of blowing snow drifts), but I’m sure your plows operate pretty frequently…
@@TheFourFoot hey 4 foot, the track maintenance does quite a bit of snow clearing, most of our mainline switches all have propane heaters that the dispatcher puts on before train meets and melts the snow. Sometimes they run us in & out of sidings with our train, especially when the sidings haven't been used for a while. This helps keep the snow from building up on the rail. Often we can't see even see the rail head because its under a foot of snow. It's probably much different where you are at. It’s warmed up here this week but the last 3 weeks has been super cold, like -30c (-22f) on the average. It sucks for the conductor if he/she ever has to walk the train for whatever reason. The snow can sometime be almost up to their waist and can take hours and hour to fix a problem on the train. We get trees that fall across the track, snow drifts, switches get iced up or packed with snow, and lots of air problems with our trains in the winter. Glad I'm the engineer!
Are engineers qualified in multiple states or only the state they originated from? If you look at old Milwaukee rd videos of the Little Joe's electric engines pulling freight, you might change your mind on electric running/vs freight load.
Engineers are only qualified on the runs that originate out of their terminal. The runs are typically only 100 to 300 miles in length. What do you mean about the Milwaukee? I'm for electrified freight, but I know the realities of railroad economics
@@TheFourFoot Well the video's of the Milwaukee rd show nothing but electrics pulling gobbs and gobbs of freight within their operating system. I understand your point on the installation of catenary wiring, and can only imagine how much the rr does not want to invest. Perhaps uncle sammy will give the rr a kick back due to emission standards reduction. Im sure its only going to be a matter of time before EMD and GE builders will be required to install egr valves, DOC and DPF filters on engines, along with new software requirements to maintain a suitable soot burn for the amount of weight the engine pulls. As a diesel mechanic myself, I really feel bad for the guy who would have to change out those filters given the amount of soot most engines burn. Electric engines have tremendous pulling power. Spotlight the GG1 of the PRR in the 60-70's. JMO
Indeed. Electric locomotives are better in basically every way, except the cost of electrification, which I’m totally for. You’re right, if the government ever decides a to get serious about climate change, or if fuel becomes ridiculously expensive, there may be some government money available to electrify.
Is there even a caternary system that works with the double stacks?
Only in India right now, on one rail line
Yes, there definitely is.
Do you work for BNSF?
This guy must be with BNSF. I once had a new Train Master try to get me to remove a Blue Flag from some bunk cars with crews asleep inside. I had to explain why I could not do that to the guy on the radio. Wait till you hit a heard of hogs. They will rock the locomotive. The 8 Run Throttle, Reverser, and Dynamic Brake Look the same but we had RL24 and 26 Brake Valves. No Flat Screens all analog gauges. We Power Braked to keep slack action down but I understand you new guys can not do that. Stay Safe Brother.....
I see you have LGB trains on your back shelf. Are you of fan of LGB?
Yes lol. I was fortunate enough to have some as a kid. I’m sure I’ll never have the dream outdoor layout, but they’re awesome!
I'm a long haul trucker out of Toronto and my truck is equipped with a 1500W inverter and fridge. Do you guys have the luxury of a microwave and a coffee maker on board, or are you stuck with a brown paper bag and a thermos?
Cheers,
Ha, actually the the CN locomotives have those luxuries! The pre-privatization ones were really pretty decent, but most CP locomotives have hot plates, but no microwave (usually). Most American railroads have neither a hot plate or microwave. It would be really nice to have one or the other, but I know some people probably trash them. Most locomotives do not even have 110 outlets, usually only 74 volt, so you either use the low voltage plug, or buy your own locking plug adapter to plug into the fridge’s outlet, although not all American railroads have refrigerators. So yeah, lunch boxes are a must lol
I couldn't even..
Do you have a toilet and running water in a freight locomotive?
No schedule? I live off no schedule
Why did you edit the Engineer out And put Casey Jones ? I'm curious
Yes! Good catch lol. You’re the first to notice, although it is admitted too small lol
I noticed that too 😂
how do you deal with hobos that hop your train?
yep...I knew someone
"Furouded" = Railroad for Laid Off
My late buddy Kevin Farlow was the engineer on that Amtrak train that hit all those cows. If you want to see the video of it let me know.
He killed all those COW'S 🐄
ALL ABOARD AMCRASH !!!!!
I wanna see it lol. Feel free to email it to me. The address is my video descriptions!
It’s Al from tool time.
Why train engines hooked up bk the front
What do you mean bk the front?
Thanks for the video. What, in your estimation, is the route which is most desperately in need of double tracking?
What railroad/state we talking? Lol there’s a lot of places that could use it. Unfortunately there’s a couple subdivisions that I run over in the Midwest that used to be double tracked and we’re single tracked in sections in the 70’s to save money on taxes smh...
@@TheFourFoot Personally I was thinking of the LOSSAN Corridor. There’s so much traffic from San Luis Obispo all the way to San Diego it’s a crime it’s not at least double tracked. Imagine if there was double tracking in 2008? We likely wouldn’t be talking about Chatsworth or possibly PTC.
For sure, that corridor needs to be double tracked. And you’re right that accident may well have not happened, but ptc was definitely necessary. The NTSB has been calling for it since the early 90’s, and since then there have been hundreds of fatal collisions and derailments.
@@TheFourFoot You're right. PTC was absolutely necessary. However. it unfortunately took a crash the size of Chatsworth to go against the opposition in order to make it happen. I think if Chatsworth didn't happen, we still wouldn't have it today.
You’re totally right lol
This guy is the Donut Operator of Trains.
Talk how you feel about PSR
I've gotten a lot of questions about that, definitely worth a video...
I have a question: is "it" in fact what it is?
Yeah I did say that a lot lop
Sounds like you work for Union Pacific
19:50 - Near me, *light rail* uses a diesel Stadler GTW diesel railcar. ;) Operating it looks easier than driving a bus. (no steering and in a private cab)
These trains run in the street in Camden city,. ruclips.net/video/hsO06IkoIhc/видео.html < Also in Burlington street-run signals are used.
Thoughts on precision scheduled railroading?
It’s like Cracker Barrel trying to serve Michelin star meals. I’ll talk about it more extensively at some point lol
@@TheFourFoot interesting. That's a video I would love to see sometime.
Hunter Harrison was the most toxic thing that could've happened to the RR......for the individual that has little to no senority......you may as well find another career
PSR= Pretty Shitty Railroading.
@@TexasAlabamaBoi205 FACTS!!!
I thought double stacks were too high for electrified lines.
I guess they just started running them in India last year.
@@TheFourFoot it was explained to me the SD&AE line portion from San Ysidro to SD would be more effective if BNSF could run double stack. And the trolley blue line is the only way to go from San Ysidro to SD unles you do a fly over into the Chula Vista portion of BNsF’s tracks and revitalize the old Coronado branch section. And the SD& AE line could work but it’s impossible to get built again. So much corruption already and MTS isn’t budging much. Maybe BJRR will do something whim knows. But if the electrified lines are high enough why couldn’t you run electric engines with double stacks? 🤷♂️
Pretty sure there are parts of SEPTA’s regional rail (which is 100% electrified with catenary wires) which run double stacks just fine.
When there is more than one engine at the head of the train, why are they arrange the they are? Also, how is the engine in the middle of the train syncised with head engines?
The arrangement is usually just however the locomotive was sitting at the time it was taken (added) to the consist, only the lead locomotives orientation matters. Multiple Unit system, MU for short, is a mirroring system. With computers its easier to manage but it basically means if the engineer puts his locomotive at notch 3, all the other's in the MU do the same. DPU's (ones at the back or middle of a train) are controlled by remote radio tied to the lead locomotive, it can be automated by a computer to mirror what the lead loco is doing, or manually be controlled by the Engineer if going over a hill.
@@SirLANsalot thank you for your response.
My preference was always an EMD over a GE. For several reasons. GE's are 4 stroke diesels, where as EMD's are 2 stroke. Translating to quicker response to the throttle with the EMD. The cabs of the EMD's I generally found more comfortable. And if you have to run long hood lead the radiator "wings" sticking out on the long hood end of the GE are particularly annoying as they do obstruct your vision. My personal opinion anyway, from my experience.
B23-7s forever.....
You need to make sure that you're clear that questions that you answer pertain to your carrier only. Thanks.
What skills tests they do
Basic reading and writing, and a bizarre personality test. One of the questions I remember is would you rather mow or fertilize your lawn? Apparently to show initiative the correct question is fertilize, because mowing is the bare minimum, but in day to day life, the railroad really doesn’t want you to show initiative, so I have no idea what answer they wanted. There’s absolutely no railroad knowledge required to get hired. The quickest way to an interview/job is to be related to someone that works there and isn’t a total screw up. It’s not required obviously, I’m just saying that’s what they care about, because then they figure you have an idea about what the lifestyle is like.
@@TheFourFoot what about math
There was probably some basic arithmetic, but I can’t really remember.