Can't decide where to work

[Alex]

I am seriously interested in becoming an assistant passenger conductor for Amtrak. I see listings for New Haven CT, Boston, and DC. I am curious about the differences in the day to day job that each site would offer. I am more interested in customer interactions and have read that New Haven may not be my best option if I want to be on the train with guests. Can anyone enlighten me on the differences in the job based on Boston VS New Haven. I have the ability to live near each location so non-work related concerns are not an issue.

 

[Hal]

I am seriously interested in becoming an assistant passenger conductor for Amtrak. I see listings for New Haven CT, Boston, and DC. I am curious about the differences in the day to day job that each site would offer. I am more interested in customer interactions and have read that New Haven may not be my best option if I want to be on the train with guests. Can anyone enlighten me on the differences in the job based on Boston VS New Haven. I have the ability to live near each location so non-work related concerns are not an issue.

Your post indicates you don't understand the job.

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[Bob Dylan]

Agree with Hal, who is an Amtrak "insider"!

Instead of being a T&E Employee ( Conductor, AC, Engineer) it sounds like you would be better suited to being an OBS ( On Board Service Employee),ie Train attendant,LSA,SCA.

 

[Triley]

Just know it takes a while for most to get in here, unless you know someone that already works here. It took me five years of clawing at them before they took me in.

That being said, keep in mind that when you start (and are released from training) you will be relegated to the extra board, meaning you will work on call. You will be on call for up to four hours per day, and you need to live within two hour's drive time of the crew base you are working for. For OBS we will typically get called the day before with our assignment, but it is possible to receive an assignment same day, literally with little as two hour's notice. The is more likely in the larger crew bases, such as NY and DC, due to them having more jobs/people based there. In Boston it rarely happens (I'm hoping it doesn't happen in the morning, as I go on call at 5am!). As OBS, after you work an assignment (which can be up to three/four days away from home, being based out of Boston, NY, or DC), you receive rest time equal to however many hours you worked, up to a max of 48 hours. So if I work ten hours down to DC, go to the hotel for eight hours, and work ten hours back to Boston, I will receive 20 hours off before I go back on call. This makes it easier to push the distance out living further away from the crew base.

For T&E many of the same principles apply, except you can only actually work no more than 12 hours at a time, and most notably, if you're on call, you're on call, that's it. And you go back on call exactly 8 hours after your train arrives back at your crew base. So if you work say...train 67/66 out of Boston, you essentially work from 8:30pm to 8am, and you'd go back on call at 4pm. Now say it takes you an hour to get to/from work, you'd only be back home from 9am to 5pm, and that's saying you're out of the station the instant you get in. So it's generally advisable you live close to the station/crew base for this craft.

Don't get me wrong, it is a great job to have. Lots of security, great benefits and pay too. But don't underestimate how demanding the job can be. Take a look at jobs that are close by, unless you are planning to move. Also, consider creating an account. I'm sure if you are seriously interested in working for the company, there are some members around, myself included, who would be willing to give you a more depth look in to what the jobs entail!

 

[Triley]

Also, just so your question gets answered... Absolutely any crew base in the country will be the same in the respects of general duties. Collecting tickets, operating doors, etc etc. As far as more specific?

Being based in Boston you could be assigned to an Acela (primarily BOS-NY-BOS round trip.) You could be assigned to one of the few BOS-NY-BOS Regionals, where as more are currently BOS-New Haven-BOS (New Haven will be abbreviated as NHV after this). You could also be working a yard job, switching consists around the yard from one track to another, moving them to South Station, etc.

Being based in NHV would lead to more variety, for sure. You could be on a Regional that runs either NHV-NYP-NHV, or from NHV-BOS-NHV. You could also have to recrew any train moving in any direction, if the current crew is going to run out of time to work. You could also be on the local CDOT commuter trains from New Haven to New London. You could also operate a Regional or Shuttle train up to Springfield. Of course there is their yard jobs too.

 

[Alex]

aTruly, that answers my question 100%!! Thank you. For everyone else, yes I am fully aware of the job difference between OBS and conductor. I have debated OBS but living in CT limits the LD opportunities. I feel that if i was based in Seattle or Chicago, I would love to be OBS, but being in the NEC limits the true LD experience. I had read elsewhere that conductors from BOS and WDC are the only ones who ride the NEC from end to end, and it indicated that NHV conductors were more yard workers and work train conductors. I love the idea of yard work but also love interacting with customers. I have probably read the asst. conductor job description 1000 times now.

Also, would NHV conductors ride the Vermonter or are they strictly NEC? You guys are awesome to "listen" to and I am waiting for the admin to approve my member account. It was actually experiences I had back in April that led me to want to work for Amtrak. All the employees I interacted with were really great people and while they all had one common complaint about Amtrak (I'm sure you all know which one) they all said they loved their job. I am young and don't have family so the demand of the first 5 years or so seems manageable. Like I said in my original post, I could move to Boston tomorrow if it meant getting a better opportunity but from what you are saying, seems like NHV isn't given any short stick so to say.

 

[Triley]

No conductors ride the corridor in its entirety anymore. That use to happen, waaaaay back. Now if you work zone 1 you only work in between NYP and BOS. Zone 2, you work only between NYP and WAS. You could be qualified to work all of it if you were NYP based, but you couldn't work interchangeably between both zones while on the extra board. Under an "emergency" they could send you out on to another zone.

NHV conductors would also ride the Vermonter, but if I recall correctly, they bring it no further than Springfield where another crew takes over. And there certainly aren't more yard jobs in NHV than BOS, NHV has a tiiiiny yard. There are always work trains though, which I forgot to mention.

I just want to throw it out there that you almost sound like you want to work for Amtrak for some wrong reasons. It's great to have people working here who enjoy train travel, because they're more likely to enjoy their job and put the effort in to do it well. However, having someone who wants to nit pick because of the "true long distance experience"...that's not good. Your job needs to come first and foremost, not the scenery or "feeling" of working a long distance train. Managers tend to pick up on these vibes (or being a train buff), and tend to be pessimistic about hiring someone with these vibes because they're afraid they're more interested in the train itself than doing their job properly and safely.

Anyway, if you're from New Haven you'd still be within the drive time to work out of NY, though it really does sound like you'd be better off waiting for an OBS job, as there is a lot more variety of destinations you could end up at.

Working out of Boston there's not much, but we work trains to NYP (well, one per day, Monday-Friday), DC, Lynchburg, two to Richmond, two to Newport News, and on Saturdays one to Norfolk/Virginia Beach.

Out of NY you could Boston or DC of course, then there's also two trains to Chicago, Niagara Falls, Pittsburgh, Rutland, Montreal, or Savannah.

If people mark off (call out) enroute, or if a train was sent out without an LSA you could also end up working any of the Boston, DC, New Orleans, or Miami jobs, which means in addition to Boston's destinations, you could also be "stuck" on the Vermonter up to St Albans, or either Silver Service to Miami, or even the Crescent to New Orleans. Of course this is rare, and rarely happens. There's also been very rare cases during service disruptions that Boston LSAs have had their train terminate in NY (or most recently Philly), and have had to take it up to Springfield, or even turn in to the Vermonter and run its schedule. You never know what'll happen.

 

[Albo5000]

I wont argue that I love trains, but I also love the idea of taking tickets, interacting with the customers, resolving problems (mechanically, inter-personally, or logistically). I like the idea of having to feel the train for its speed and know what signal is coming up and know which station is next and determining if a customer has an emergency can we stop at the next station or is the train moving too fast to safely stop here. I love the idea of getting on and off the train, switching tracks, coupling and decoupling, etc. Is that too much railfan for Amtrak to actually hire. While I love trains, I don't think it would distract me from the job. Not to mention, I already work in an industry with strict government oversight, so I am fully aware of how strict things can get on the job.

If I lived in Seattle for example, I would think OBS on the Empire Builder would be amazing, also, you would have a chance to build rapport with customers, probably build stronger relationships with co-workers, etc. But I don't think I would have the daily challenges and responsibility that would motivate me for many years.

I have already thrown out Engineer on my list of dream job because there is no customer interaction, that is why I am leaning towards conductor. Also, someone mentioned it took 5 years to get hired. Is that typical? In reading any job description, it looks like i could be over qualified for some jobs and certainly meet the expectations for most.

 

[Hal]

I wont argue that I love trains, but I also love the idea of taking tickets, interacting with the customers, resolving problems (mechanically, inter-personally, or logistically). I like the idea of having to feel the train for its speed and know what signal is coming up and know which station is next and determining if a customer has an emergency can we stop at the next station or is the train moving too fast to safely stop here. I love the idea of getting on and off the train, switching tracks, coupling and decoupling, etc. Is that too much railfan for Amtrak to actually hire. While I love trains, I don't think it would distract me from the job. Not to mention, I already work in an industry with strict government oversight, so I am fully aware of how strict things can get on the job.

If I lived in Seattle for example, I would think OBS on the Empire Builder would be amazing, also, you would have a chance to build rapport with customers, probably build stronger relationships with co-workers, etc. But I don't think I would have the daily challenges and responsibility that would motivate me for many years.

I have already thrown out Engineer on my list of dream job because there is no customer interaction, that is why I am leaning towards conductor. Also, someone mentioned it took 5 years to get hired. Is that typical? In reading any job description, it looks like i could be over qualified for some jobs and certainly meet the expectations for most.

The first priority is safe operation of the train. Interaction with the passengers is important but safe operation and passenger safety is paramount. If a passenger has an emergency the dispatcher will decide the station to stop at. Taking tickets is part of the job but is a lower priority. You seem to put that as high priority. Get that out of your head. It is part of the job but safe operation and safety of passengers is the highest priority.

As far as how long it takes to get hired. Who knows. I don't think there is any typical amount of time. If you get turned down the first time chalk it up as experience and apply again if you are still interested.

As far as the crew bases you mentioned. They are all similar. After you are hired you won't have much say initially as to whether you are working passenger trains or yard jobs. Any of those crew bases might be hiring to fill yard jobs. Or commuter jobs. You will likely start out on an extra board and can be called for any type of job. You must answer any call and take any job called for as long as you are not outlaw under hours of service. Passenger, yard, commuter, work. When you get enough seniority you can bid on regular job assignments that are all passenger, all yard or all work trains. Also if you hire at any of them you are not stuck at that crew base. So get hired and you can change after your probation period. You can move easily to the other Zone 1 and 2 crew bases after you get hired when there are vacancies. You will also have National Seniority so it will be possible to move to other Zones at certain times.

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[Albo5000]

Thank you Hal, Triley, you guys are great!! Any more info you can enlighten me on about conductor jobs, the NEC, and other routes I would be more than interested in hearing about it.

 

[FormerOBS]

Alex ---

This is probably going to sound harsh, and maybe a bit nit-picky. It's not intended to be that way.

Some of the little things you say raise red flags. The use of the term "decouple" is a bit jarring. I know the French have used "decouple" or some variant of it for years, but I've NEVER heard a North American railroader use the term. The word is "uncouple". I'm 70 years old and have been exposed to railroading since childhood. I never heard the term at all until the past 20 or 30 years when it has been applied (mostly by politicians and reporters) to concepts, ideas, legal provisions, etc. The term has no place in North American railroading, and use of it will get you some stares with the hairy eyeball from veteran railroaders.

I agree that the OBS job is probably closer to what you envision, although you may not think so right now. The Conductor's job is twofold: Revenue for the Company; and getting the train over the RR safely and in compliance with all rules. Those Social Worker functions that you cite are pretty far down on the list of priorities, although I will admit they sometimes come up. However, OBS is where you are more likely to find those things happening.

You can certainly get to know the physical, geographical railroad in any job on the train. As an OBS attendant, I was often asked where we were, especially at night when landmarks weren't visible. I remember serving breakfast before dawn on the eastbound Capitol Limited. This would have been early 1987. A lady asked me where we were. Outside was utter darkness. No lights were visible. I could see no landmarks, but I knew about what time we had passed previous stations, so I guessed we were near Confluence, PA, which was not a stop and not on the timetable. About 5 minutes later the lady announced to one and all in the diner that I was right: She could see that we were passing the well-lighted Confluence Lumber Company.

In onboard service, you can get by with minimal knowledge of the route, as many do, or you can learn a lot and thereby be a bigger asset and helper for your passengers.

Right now, you frankly don't know as much about the job(s) as you think you do. That's actually OK. You're young and you can learn. But take it more slowly.

Tom

 

[Thirdrail7]

I am seriously interested in becoming an assistant passenger conductor for Amtrak. I see listings for New Haven CT, Boston, and DC. I am curious about the differences in the day to day job that each site would offer. I am more interested in customer interactions and have read that New Haven may not be my best option if I want to be on the train with guests. Can anyone enlighten me on the differences in the job based on Boston VS New Haven. I have the ability to live near each location so non-work related concerns are not an issue.

I'm going to cut to the chase and bypass the buff rhetoric and deal with the operational side.

I would pick Boston over New Haven for the simple fact that they have downsized New Haven over the years. It is a vulnerable crew base and the last one in is the first one out.

For longevity, I'd go with Boston because if you pick New Haven, you may end up in Boston or New York in a few years anyway.

 

[Hal]

Right now, you frankly don't know as much about the job(s) as you think you do. That's actually OK. You're young and you can learn. But take it more slowly.

Tom

It is not surprising that someone who is not employed on a railroad would have misconceptions. Or might not use railroad lingo. Having misconceptions does not mean they should not apply for assistant conductor. Or that they should take it slow. As you say they can learn.

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[Dan O]

What are the differences between yard and work trains? I think I have an idea of what commuter and long distance trains are.

Thanks.

 

[OBS]

A yard crew works at assembling trains, removing shopped cars and placing them in repair facility, and moving trains between yard and station. A work train involves taking M of Way equipment and/ or trains on the road to where work is being done, and often involves picking up or dropping off train at M of Way facility.

 

[Dan O]

A yard crew works at assembling trains, removing shopped cars and placing them in repair facility, and moving trains between yard and station. A work train involves taking M of Way equipment and/ or trains on the road to where work is being done, and often involves picking up or dropping off train at M of Way facility.

Thanks!!

 

[shelzp]

I think many OBS don't live near where their train originates. I've had one Empire Builder room attendant tell me he lived in Philadelphia and another mentioned she lives in Miami and flies back and forth to Chicago. Have had one on the SWC that lives in Albuquerque.

 

[ScouseAndy]

when I rose the CS the PPC SA (is that the right terminology?) worked out of LA but lived in Salt Lake City at that time but told me due to her husbands work she could live anywhere in the states and commuted by plane to LA for the start of her shift

 

[Triley]

I think many OBS don't live near where their train originates. I've had one Empire Builder room attendant tell me he lived in Philadelphia and another mentioned she lives in Miami and flies back and forth to Chicago. Have had one on the SWC that lives in Albuquerque.

The difference is..they have enough seniority for a regular assignment, so they can manage commuting in at set times, and unless they get bumped, they will know their entire schedule for six months at a time.

As it has been mentioned in this thread, when you are on the extra board (meaning you don't have a regular assignment aka set schedule) you absolutely must live within two hours of your crew base.

Also, the people who work those long distance Chicago-westcoast trains as their regular assignment receive up to eight days off following their trip, so they're not flying that often. Maybe five times a month. Being on the extra board (for OBS anyway) you receive the amount of hours worked or 48 hours off for rest time, whichever is less, before you can be called again. So they'd be flying a lot more, even if it were allowed.

For example, if I work the train 95/94 roundtrip, I work approximately 28 hours. I get back in to Boston at say 10:30pm on Friday, so my rest time would end at 2:30am Sunday morning, and the next call period for Boston is 5am, so I'd go on call then. A person who holds that job as a regular gets three days of relief after their trip, so they wouldn't go back out on 95 until Tuesday morning.

 

[Acela150]

Triley, FRA mandates the rest periods for T&E. If you work 10 or more hours crews must have 10 hours of rest before being able to receive calls again. If you work 8 hours, you can be off 8 and work again after those 8. Anything over 10 hours requires 10 hours of rest at a minimum.

But being any type of Conductor isn't just interactions with riders. It's ensuring safe movements, along with safety of passengers, knowing signal indications, reading bulletins, knowing any restrictions to your train. In freight it's a whole different ballgame. It took my some 6 or 7 years just to get an invitation to test for Assistant Conductor! I've passed all the testing and I've called HR in DC for jobs saying I've passed all the testing and they tell me to get in line with everyone else. I've worked freight and my suggestion is to TRY to start there. Not many RR's are hiring as the oil decline left thousands of guys furloughed.