Once hired on with a railroad company is it hard to relocate to a different state?

Question

Once hired on with a railroad company is it hard to relocate to a different state?

Answer 1

you in the union and need to build seniriity to move about the system.

Answer 2

totally depends on the railroad you are going to work for

large railroads like BNSF and UP have either very large or system wide seniority so transferring is not a problem providing you accumulate enough seniority.

Going to work for one railraod after working in the industry is usually reasonably easy, provided the location you are wanting to transfer to is hiring.

I am on my thrid RR (and hopefully last) but once you are certified and trained and have a good work history, other railroads will usually hire experienced applicants over other people.

When I hired out, they used to call guys that went from one RR to another "boomers".