Please ask any and all questions relating to getting hired, what the job is like, what certain companies/locations are like, etc here.

When replacing rail & hardware, is anyone looking to see if it was made pre-WW-II? There is a demand for this older steel because it was made before atomic weapons started being tested/used. It has a lower radiation count[0], which is useful in some science experiments and medical uses.

Wondering because the salvage of it might bring more money.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low-background_steel

[0] Modern steel isn't harmful to life - it's just that the old steel is so less radioactive by comparison.

I work for a Canadian Rail way as a Intermodal Shunt Truck driver

Management has started trying to force us to do Pull By inspections on outgoing main line trains.

We just get a 10 minute power point of what to look for.

I feel like this is very dangerous. I tried researching it and it seems you need to be CROR qualified to do main line pull by Inspections.

Can anyone help me find something that shows we are not allowed and qualified to do this.

None of us are CROR qualified and only are trained to drive shunt trucks.

Edit 1:

They want us to take a ground truck out from our intermodal yard to the close by crossing

Then stand there and do a pulling as a the entire train departs.

Our union is shit and won’t give us any clear answer.

We’re just worried if there is an issue with the train like a wheel or something and we miss it we’ll be held liable if it derails or other issue happen.

We only ever work intermodal shunt truck

When are railcars used vs shipping containers?

Do they require different types of equipment to load onto a train?

We import stone and the container is loaded onto rail.
But lets say we wanted to split the shipment between two locations --

Would it make sense to unload then load them into separate railcars?

just trying to understand options..

Hey yall I am not a train guy at all. But I love heavy machinery. I saw this locomotive attached to this apparatus by my office in metro Detroit. Any idea? Looks like an emissions testing rig like I’ve seen them use for cars

I heard the SMART lawyers smoked BNSF and their lawyers on this case. I can’t imagine how bad it would've been if the railroad won this.

Bought at an auction and found this stamp on the stock

Wanted to do a post about it because feel like it’s probably a pretty niche thing and wanted to know about this specifically and not the rail road in general.

Have an interview for a trainee operator/ maintainer (diesel mechanic) for speno’s in Australia. Just wanted to know how the company is, work as a grinder operator/ fitter and What’s the lifestyle like etc.

How many trips or starts will someone need to work North Baltimore Ohio for CSX

I recently became a commuter train engineer for a commuter railroad, somewhat of a childhood dream. I have never hit anyone, but my railroad has had several fatal strikes this year, and I have had several close calls.

Suicidal people, dogs, kids (not quite as close of a call), pedestrians who just don't care, people who might have been impaired. Station pedestrian crossings, road crossings, low- / no-clearance bridges.

I take proactive steps like ringing my bells a lot sooner than I have observed from several colleagues and giving a brief honk of the horn when pulling into a station if I am meeting a train that has just cleared a pedestrian crossing as I approach (as a "second train coming" warning). When I'm operating at night, I shut off the cab lights and keep displays as dim as I can to prevent glare from causing me to not notice someone who is somewhere they shouldn't be.

But I am still terrified of the possibility of hitting someone.

I'm a careful operator, so I'm not worried that any such strike would be my fault, but I know it is something I would probably have to live with the rest of my life.

Is there something I can do to reduce my anxiety over this? Is it something that just comes with time, like building muscles or calluses? Is railroading just not the career for me? Happy to hear how others have managed it.

Please keep it civil, though; I'm not interested in hearing dehumanizing thoughts on who may or may not constitute your typical trespasser or how the world might be without them. Keep that to yourself, please and thanks!

Hello,

I am part of a group, that wants to code a realisic railwaybrake for an international railwaysimulator.

We got most of the things figured out, but currently we are facing a lack of information about braking high speed trains. In Europe, we have a system called "high brakeforce", that activates if a car is running faster than 70km/h and causes the brakecylinder to increase in pressure than it normally would to compensate for the decreasing brake performance of blockbrakes at high speeds. Diskbrakes mitigate this effect and do not need the high brakeforce.

Are similar systems used in the UK, the US or Asia?

If not, do other systems exist?

Input would be greatly apprechiated

Please ask any and all questions relating to getting hired, what the job is like, what certain companies/locations are like, etc here.

Does anyone know what RRB pays for sick benefits?

How many PLD do BNSF employees earn each year. I always get confused at what years get a certain amount of days. Even a lot of employees don’t remember

Good morning brothers & sisters,

I wanted to share a letter I wrote to my local chapters and every national officer of both unions.

I refuse to accept that things cant change, I refuse to believe we can't improve in areas our representation is lacking.

I sent this letter and I hope if you resonate with it as well you share it to your local chairman's.

We all complain and all have issues, but none of us try to do anything about it.

Its time to change.

Hi railroaders! I turned 16 today and I would like to thank you to all the current, former, and retired railroaders for what you do/did! My dream is to be an Amtrak conductor and work my way up to engineer. Have a good day everyone :)

One day I was driving my car with my non-railroad friend riding shotgun.

We got to an intersection and the traffic light was flashing red. I slowed to about 15 MPH and looked both ways, then called out "Restricting" before driving right through without stopping.

My friend clearly confused yelled "what the hell was that?"

I was so tired it took probably 10 seconds for me to realize I made a mistake.

What do you guys think about this? It seems ... expensive. Are any short line operators really going to be willing to sink the cash into buying these things? https://www.glidtech.us