Crew Car Question

[ScottC4746]

I just applied for Assit Conductor. What are the crew accomodations like? Would I be required to sleep in one of the coaches? What would life on the rails be like for me?

 

[EB_OBS]

Conductors do not sleep on the train. Rules of service require that engineers and conductors must be off-duty, off the train in order to "rest." At turn-around points they are put up in hotel rooms.

 

[ScottC4746]

Conductors do not sleep on the train. Rules of service require that engineers and conductors must be off-duty, off the train in order for "rest." At turn-around points they are put up in hotel rooms.

So for example we would not work from Los Angeles to New Orleans ( a two night trip)? After 8 hours they put me off in a hotel and catch the train back from somewhere?

 

[AlanB]

Conductors do not sleep on the train. Rules of service require that engineers and conductors must be off-duty, off the train in order for "rest." At turn-around points they are put up in hotel rooms.

So for example we would not work from Los Angeles to New Orleans ( a two night trip)? After 8 hours they put me off in a hotel and catch the train back from somewhere?

More or less correct. You would work from LA to a point around 8 or 9 hours away, depending on the stops. Then spend the night in the hotel room, before working the westbound counterpart back to LA.

 

[EB_OBS]

Conductors do not sleep on the train. Rules of service require that engineers and conductors must be off-duty, off the train in order for "rest." At turn-around points they are put up in hotel rooms.

So for example we would not work from Los Angeles to New Orleans ( a two night trip)? After 8 hours they put me off in a hotel and catch the train back from somewhere?

Pretty much. Most Amtrak long-distance train conductors work 6-10 hour runs. FRA maximum is 12 hours on-duty. If that point is reached the train stops until a fresh "rested" crew takes over.

The conductors in my area work from their crew base east or west for up to 10 hours. There's a little padding in their schedule in case the train is delayed. If the crew exceeds the 12 hours rule then another crew is sent out to meet the train and get it into it's next crew change point. Once you arrive at the furthermost east or west crew change point, you rest at a hotel room and then return on the next train going back to your crewbase if you get your minimum rest. Sometimes you work the 2nd train back such as in Spokane. In SPK the T&E crews have around a 24 hour layover.

 

[ScottC4746]

Conductors do not sleep on the train. Rules of service require that engineers and conductors must be off-duty, off the train in order for "rest." At turn-around points they are put up in hotel rooms.

So for example we would not work from Los Angeles to New Orleans ( a two night trip)? After 8 hours they put me off in a hotel and catch the train back from somewhere?

Pretty much. Most Amtrak long-distance train conductors work 6-10 hour runs. FRA maximum is 12 hours on-duty. If that point is reached the train stops until a fresh "rested" crew takes over.

The conductors in my area work from their crew base east or west for up to 10 hours. There's a little padding in their schedule in case the train is delayed. If the crew exceeds the 12 hours rule then another crew is sent out to meet the train and get it into it's next crew change point. Once you arrive at the furthermost east or west crew change point, you rest at a hotel room and then return on the next train going back to your crewbase if you get your minimum rest. Sometimes you work the 2nd train back such as in Spokane. In SPK the T&E crews have around a 24 hour layover.

Looking at SS Ltd schedule out of LAX, 8 hours would put me in Yuma, AZ (6 hrs) or Maricopa, AZ (10 hrs).

 

[ALC Rail Writer]

Remember that LAX may put you on Surfliners, yard work, the SL, the SWC, or CS. The LD jobs, as I've heard, are highly desired and you may have a very hard time getting a job without any seniority.

Also your work includes the time it takes to walk the train, perform brake tests, ect, and then also board pax. So boarding train 2 will take some time, your turnaround point would be Yuma.

At a large base in LAX you may spend a few years on the Extra Board until you have enough seniority to get a perm. position on any route. Your schedule will be variable and you must be flexible on days (including nights, weekends, and holidays).

EDIT:

And remember it is a very competitive job market. The last time I heard LAX call for ACs they had over 1,000 applicants for five or six positions. IIRC twenty or so were actually called in for interviews and testing. I don't know how many were then taken to training, much less made it past probation and hired. Several of those who didn't get called in were OBS who were well liked and very good employees but were doing a turn in SEA during the testing dates-- so they didn't make the cut.

"Cut throat" could be used here.

IF you are hired after training there is a 90-day probation period. You'll have a one-year contract to fulfill before you can bid out to any other jobs within the company, including the same job at other crew bases.

You have to be HIGHLY motivated and HIGHLY flexible. If you are serious about becoming an AC I suggest you be willing to relocate and apply for positions outside of SoCal. Also consider Class II RRs, and light rail.

 

[ScottC4746]

Remember that LAX may put you on Surfliners, yard work, the SL, the SWC, or CS. The LD jobs, as I've heard, are highly desired and you may have a very hard time getting a job without any seniority.
Also your work includes the time it takes to walk the train, perform brake tests, ect, and then also board pax. So boarding train 2 will take some time, your turnaround point would be Yuma.

At a large base in LAX you may spend a few years on the Extra Board until you have enough seniority to get a perm. position on any route. Your schedule will be variable and you must be flexible on days (including nights, weekends, and holidays).

EDIT:

And remember it is a very competitive job market. The last time I heard LAX call for ACs they had over 1,000 applicants for five or six positions. IIRC twenty or so were actually called in for interviews and testing. I don't know how many were then taken to training, much less made it past probation and hired. Several of those who didn't get called in were OBS who were well liked and very good employees but were doing a turn in SEA during the testing dates-- so they didn't make the cut.

"Cut throat" could be used here.

IF you are hired after training there is a 90-day probation period. You'll have a one-year contract to fulfill before you can bid out to any other jobs within the company, including the same job at other crew bases.

You have to be HIGHLY motivated and HIGHLY flexible. If you are serious about becoming an AC I suggest you be willing to relocate and apply for positions outside of SoCal. Also consider Class II RRs, and light rail.

Thanks for the heads up. The job posting says "Position type: Permanent" Is that still extra board?

 

[ALC Rail Writer]

Yes.

Note it doesn't say anything about where you will be working, besides LAX. That includes the yard, the LDs, and the Surfliners.

 

[amamba]

To further discuss this subject, I know for example that New Haven is a crew change point on the NEC. Do crews ride there from Boston (or NYP), get off, and then ride the next train north (or south) back to their base?

 

[ALC Rail Writer]

To further discuss this subject, I know for example that New Haven is a crew change point on the NEC. Do crews ride there from Boston (or NYP), get off, and then ride the next train north (or south) back to their base?

Depending on how many hours it takes them they may take one train out and one train back in, or one train out and have to overnight. New Haven also takes care of the Vermonter, remember.

 

[Green Maned Lion]

I would think the most desirable positions would be ones with same-day turns.

 

[chuljin]

I would think the most desirable positions would be ones with same-day turns.

As I understand it, a position at LAX considered particularly (the most?) desirable is actually an overnight: 785 LAX-GTA, overnight in SBA, 768 GTA-LAX. The Tu/W, Th/F, Sa/Su version of this is held by the most senior conductor in the whole of Amtrak. BlueJeanGirl, an LAX-based conductor who frequently contributes here once explained why it was so desirable, but for the life of me I can't remember enough of the explanation to pass it on.

To the OP's follow-up question, one example out of LAX (occasionally held by BlueJeanGirl) is:

#4 LAX-KNG, Dp evening of 'day 0' and arriving in the wee hours of day 1

rest during the daytime on day 1

#3 KNG-LAX, Dp just before midnight on day 1 and arriving the morning of day 2

AFAIR, this can be repeated on days 2,3,4 then 4,5,6.

 

[MikefromCrete]

I would think the most desirable positions would be ones with same-day turns.

As I understand it, a position at LAX considered particularly (the most?) desirable is actually an overnight: 785 LAX-GTA, overnight in SBA, 768 GTA-LAX. The Tu/W, Th/F, Sa/Su version of this is held by the most senior conductor in the whole of Amtrak. BlueJeanGirl, an LAX-based conductor who frequently contributes here once explained why it was so desirable, but for the life of me I can't remember enough of the explanation to pass it on.

To the OP's follow-up question, one example out of LAX (occasionally held by BlueJeanGirl) is:

#4 LAX-KNG, Dp evening of 'day 0' and arriving in the wee hours of day 1

rest during the daytime on day 1

#3 KNG-LAX, Dp just before midnight on day 1 and arriving the morning of day 2

AFAIR, this can be repeated on days 2,3,4 then 4,5,6.

Maybe the overnight accommodations in Santa Barbara are nicer than your usual crew motel room. LOL!

 

[Bob Dylan]

I would think the most desirable positions would be ones with same-day turns.

As I understand it, a position at LAX considered particularly (the most?) desirable is actually an overnight: 785 LAX-GTA, overnight in SBA, 768 GTA-LAX. The Tu/W, Th/F, Sa/Su version of this is held by the most senior conductor in the whole of Amtrak. BlueJeanGirl, an LAX-based conductor who frequently contributes here once explained why it was so desirable, but for the life of me I can't remember enough of the explanation to pass it on.

To the OP's follow-up question, one example out of LAX (occasionally held by BlueJeanGirl) is:

#4 LAX-KNG, Dp evening of 'day 0' and arriving in the wee hours of day 1

rest during the daytime on day 1

#3 KNG-LAX, Dp just before midnight on day 1 and arriving the morning of day 2

AFAIR, this can be repeated on days 2,3,4 then 4,5,6.

Maybe the overnight accommodations in Santa Barbara are nicer than your usual crew motel room. LOL!

Maybe the conductor has a girfriend! :lol: ( or to be fair a boy friend!) I know Santa Barbara is a nice town, guess dealing with Movie Stars and rich people going up from LAX is easier than a load of commuter pax in the City! :lol: I notice if he's the Senior Conductor his day off is on Monday, what do you have to do to get weekends off as a Senior employee, be Joe Boardman? I agree with WC Fields, on the whole I'd rather be in San Diego!

 

[Chatter163]

I agree with WC Fields, on the whole I'd rather be in San Diego!

Yikes! I think the folks from Philadelphia have a legimitmate bone to pick with you, co-opting their traditional phrase like that...

 

[Bob Dylan]

I agree with WC Fields, on the whole I'd rather be in San Diego!

Yikes! I think the folks from Philadelphia have a legimitmate bone to pick with you, co-opting their traditional phrase like that...

Ill apologize when Im there for NTD! Actually he's a favorite of mine, interesting guy: My all time favorite quote is when he was dying and Bing Crosby came to visit him and found him thumbing through a Bible and said to hiim: "Why Bill, I thought you were a non-believer?" and Fields looked up and said:

"Looking for Loopholes Bing, just looking for Loopholes!" :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[ALC Rail Writer]

I would think the most desirable positions would be ones with same-day turns.

Think about it, you get on... No need to deal with the yard, you don't need to board two hundred pax. You go on boarding and detraining a few pax at most stops, handle a few bags, move on. Especially if it's overnight, nobody coming up to ask you every question... Sit in the lounge and walk the train every few minutes. Enjoy the quiet, get off and go to bed. Get back on. Wash, rinse, repeat. You always know you are going between here and there, the likelihood of being assigned another route is low. It certainly would appeal to some...

 

[ScottC4746]

Maybe the overnight accommodations in Santa Barbara are nicer than your usual crew motel room. LOL!

Crew MOTEL room? You mean Amtrak won't put me up in the Ritz Carlton or a Hilton? HA!

 

[AlanB]

Maybe the overnight accommodations in Santa Barbara are nicer than your usual crew motel room. LOL!

Crew MOTEL room? You mean Amtrak won't put me up in the Ritz Carlton or a Hilton? HA!

I don't know about Hilton's, but in Boston the crews are put up in a Doubletree, which is part of the Hilton family.

I've stayed at that D-Tree many times myself, but one night as I'm checking in someone says hello to me. I look over wondering who the heck knows me in Boston and would be at this hotel to boot. Turns out it was the First Class attendant who less than 20 minutes earlier had been serving me on my ride from NY to Boston.

 

[had8ley]

I would think the most desirable positions would be ones with same-day turns.

Only trumped by a four hour engineer only Meridian to NOL run laying over in NOL. They have a lady engineer named Tina that could put most the her male counterparts to shame. Best of all it's a six day assignment and if you get the Saturday off turn you pull into Meridian on Friday morning at 11 a.m. and don't go out again until Sunday at 3 p.m. If I had to run an engine again that's where I'd want to be...

 

[BlueJeanGirl]

Good luck! Yes, there is hot and heavy competition for the few positions available, and yes, Amtrak is currently in a position to take only the cream of the applicant crop, as it were. (I'm unfortunately not in a position to influence the hiring powers-that-be, less so now due to temporarily being on mgmt's poop list for reasons I won't go into here )

Once you've been tested, interviewed, offered a job, gone through your DOT physical, successfully completed 7-9 weeks of classroom training, been on the road qualifying 12-16 weeks, then marked up (to begin your 90 days' probation) you can expect to be called with 2 hours' notice to show up for work. You will be called to work a Surfliner run LAXSAN, or LAXGTA, or LAXSLO, or perhaps you'll catch LAXKNG. The LAXSAN runs are day trips, 8-10 hour days. LAXGTA can be a day trip, 8-11 hours, or overnight with a very short stay at a hotel. LAXSLO is another overnight, with a very short hotel stay. LAXKNG is a 3-day run, starting the evening of day 1, most of day 2 in a fleabag hotel in KNG, then overnight day 2-3 back to LAX. It's a tough run, but definitely one of my favorites!

You will also have to be prepared to work yard jobs, taking trainsets to and from the depot and the yard, and putting trains together. I've worked the yard in the middle of summer in the middle of the day, and also in the middle of the night in the middle of a torrential downpour. It's gruelling work, but part of railroading.

Your day on the road will consist of taking tickets, remembering to call restrictions to the engineer, assisting passengers with baggage (within reason) answering a million times the questions, "Where are the restrooms?" "Where is the cafe car?" and "What time will we get to (insert station here)?" There is a certain rhythm to each train, which, being on the xboard, you will eventually learn.

Start riding now. Watch the operating crew (we're the ones with the radios), observe, ask questions (but don't be offended if the Conductor/s don't have time to go into a lot of detail...ask if the C can come back, you're interested in the job) and see if it's right for you. Remember, though, there's a lot that goes on behind the scenes, before passengers board, and out of passengers' direct line of sight.

Good luck. I know it's tough, having worked with a dear friend through 50+ applications in the past year or so, just to get hired by the company. I'm still hoping he gets hired.

Travel light!

~BJG

I just applied for Assit Conductor. What are the crew accomodations like? Would I be required to sleep in one of the coaches? What would life on the rails be like for me?

 

[BlueJeanGirl]

Chances are you won't get onto the Sunset/Eagle. It's a different zone, with extremely high seniority.

The crew change point is Maricopa, for Los Angeles crews, on that train.

Travel light!

~BJG

Conductors do not sleep on the train. Rules of service require that engineers and conductors must be off-duty, off the train in order for "rest." At turn-around points they are put up in hotel rooms.

So for example we would not work from Los Angeles to New Orleans ( a two night trip)? After 8 hours they put me off in a hotel and catch the train back from somewhere?

 

[BlueJeanGirl]

GML, desirable jobs also take into account passenger loads and characteristics. The job I'm on right now, a LAXSAN turn, is very low seniority due to the high commuter numbers, their destinations and general attitudes, and the fact that a lot of mgmt rides my train.

It's a pity, because it's otherwise a beautiful run

Travel light!

~BJG

I would think the most desirable positions would be ones with same-day turns.

 

[dlagrua]

I believe that conductors never sleep on board but SCA's (unless its the AutoTrain- nonstop) stay up to accomodate passengers at all stops until there are no more sleeper passengers scheduled to board or sleepers scheduled to be sold. Then they can retire to their bedroom.