OK more questions about railroad jobs?

Question

OK please help

If you work for the union pacific railroad. As a conductor.

What is your trip rate ?

What is your annual yearly income (salary)

What is your average mouthy pay?

How is your home life how much time off between trips?

Thanks

Answer 1

As for trip rate, I'll let someone answer this if they are so inclined.

As for the others, it's very unpredictable.  Being that jobs or "turns" come and go and with low seniority, you may be "bumped" from a job and have to find another job thats the same craft (position) in another division or area.  The company expects you to find an open positions on another "pool" or availability of positions within the company and this means that you may end up having to move out-of-state from anywhere to a few weeks to many months.  A friend of mine has been three crews out of a call and been bumped.  Being a new guy, you will get the jobs that everyone with more seniority doesn't want (unless they really like that particular job).  Locals are the prime jobs to take and only those with long tenure will get stabs at these jobs in most cases.  Also keep in mind that engineers that can't hold a engineer job within their pool may be able to "mark up" as a conductor.  Conductors would be able to mark up as brakemen and so on.

If you haven't guess it, your home life is nil to nonexistent for about the first five years of employment.  Hours-of-service laws require you to have a certain amount of time off between shifts but this is usually held to the limits if your pool is thin or busy.  If I'm not mistaken, Normal regulations require eight hours off of work.  But the company may call you within six for a assignment.  This can cut into sleep time and other domestic issues.  

I've also heard horror stories of divisions being short crews and crews "dying on the clock" (running past hours of service limits for a given shift) and being stuck on a train out in the middle of nowhere and not being relieved of duty for hours due to the lack of relief crews.  This seems to be easing with the railroads being able to hire more crews but it can happen.

Pay can be very erratic due to being bumped, having to move and the pay being different in other areas.  The best advice is to speak with a union representative about what to expect.

This is just a summary but it's a glimpse into what you'll deal with as RR employee.

Answer 2

I know from North Platte, Ne to Cheyenne, Wy the trip rate @ 80% is $239.00, and from North Platte to South Morrill is $140.00. The Mileage between the  two is 222miles to Cheyenne, and 166 to morrill. Where are you laid off at and how much senority do you have? Going to Cheyenne You are ther about 16 hours and at home 50 hours at a time.

Answer 3

It's not about $$$. It's the passion for the job. If you like the job, even they pay you peanuts it is still ok. Give it a try. If it does not work out then try something else. The most important is that you enjoy working in the position. Good Luck.

Answer 4

You might want to obtain the November 2007 issue of TRAINS magazine (just leaving bookstore shelves as the December issue just came out).  It has a major article about Uncle Pete's handling of the Sunset route, including some stuff about the crew crunch on that corridor and the hiring they did to correct it.