re: Has anyone worked on choo choo trains before?

How fast can a locomotive run by itself ?

quote:

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The rail road is not a job, it is a life style and takes a very understanding wife.
You will miss Christmasas, birthdays, and about anything else you can think of.

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All of this.

If you work in a terminal you'll likely sleep in your own bed most days, not nights, starting out. If you are fortunate enough to work out of crew change point out between major terminals you'll work road trains a lot. (There are usually some local jobs at these locations held down by old heads. You'll only catch these off the extra board, where you will live, if they mark off.)

Working the road you generally lay over at the away from home terminal and then come back on another train following your rest. Or well after you are rested. Sitting in the hotel for 20+ hours is not unheard of while you may only be home for 10 before the phone rings. (Used to be 8 hours from tie up to back on duty.)

The hours "off" can vary as different railroads, and even terminals, have different call times. I think UP is a 1.5 hour call, meaning they call you 1.5 hours before you have to be to work. I've worked pools with 2 hour and 3 hour calls, with 2 being the norm on my railroad.

You can work up to 12 hours, however that doesn't mean you are always off the locomotive after 12. It just means you can't turn a wheel. I've sat waiting for a recrew/cab for 16+ hours before.

Locomotives do not have sleepers, but they do have toilets. You usually do not want to shite on the locomotive and never shite on the lead locomotive. Get your stinking arse back to the trailing unit.

Pay varies a lot by railroad. Even the class ones. I was making over 100K 10 years ago as an engineer. 130K+ isn't unusual these days but you will be working a lot to get that. Some have gone to straight hourly pay while others are still mileage based, generally with what are called trip rates.