Passenger Engineer Trainee Questions!

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Joined
Oct 30, 2019
Messages
9
Location
New York, NY
Hello. I received a "Passenger Engineer Trainee" job alert from Amtrak. I have some quick questions. Any help I get is appreciated!

1. Are engineers on call 24/7 like conductors are?
2. Does Amtrak hire engineers from the outside who have no prior rail experience? (I have heard that 99% of the positions are filled from within.)
3. How complicated is the actual job?
4. I heard that you have to memorize a lot of stuff? Is it overwhelming or just normally difficult?

Thank you!
 
1. like Conductors, Engineers start off on the extra board and are subject to 24 hour call.
2. Yes, on occasion.
3. I have no specific experience.
4. Coming into an engineers job with NO railroad experience creates a much larger learning curve than just accepting a "promotion" from Conductor to Engineer. Not only are you learning to operate an Engine, you are learning all the operating rules, physical characteristics, etc that apply to the railroads you will be operating over. I would encourage you to start as a Conductor first, to learn some of the previous stated rules, as well as what you are getting into...

Good Luck to you.
 
It's hard to answer #4, because what is simple and logical for one person is overwhelming for another. But, basically you have to learn at least one, likely several operating rule books (depends on where you are based and the railroads you'll be operating over). You'll get tested on these rules not only during your training period, but during recurring training, and even while at work when they might do certain controlled tests just to make sure you remember (and if you get it wrong, you get taken out of service on the spot).

Then you have to qualify on your territory, which includes knowing where every switch, signal, curve, speed restriction, track type, etc. is along several hundred miles of track (because the rules that apply to track 1 may not apply to track 2, the speed on track 2 might be different from track 1 at the same location, etc.). And depending on the railroad, there may or may not be any prompts informing you of these speed changes, upcoming signals, track types, applicable rules, etc. are. You basically have to know what's two miles in front of you regardless of whether or not you can see it.

If you're the kind of person that needs a GPS to get from home to the store and back, then this probably isn't for you.
 
I was qualified as a conductor on a short line railroad right out of high school. We would occasionally operate on NS yard track so we had to take the NS test each year. You have to memorize the signals and a lot of rules. As others have said it may or may not be overwhelming. I was a train geek so already knew many of the signals.

You will be tested. I would come up on red flags being held up by foreman when doing a shove move. It’s my job to talk the train down to a stop before the flag. That’s on a short line where top speed is 20.... I can’t imagine how things get cranked up intensity wise for a Mainline.
 
Hello. I received a "Passenger Engineer Trainee" job alert from Amtrak. I have some quick questions. Any help I get is appreciated!

1. Are engineers on call 24/7 like conductors are?
2. Does Amtrak hire engineers from the outside who have no prior rail experience? (I have heard that 99% of the positions are filled from within.)
3. How complicated is the actual job?
4. I heard that you have to memorize a lot of stuff? Is it overwhelming or just normally difficult?

Thank you!

1. Yes, until they have the seniority to hold a job.

2. Yes. But it's extremely rare. It's more common for Amtrak to hire outside Engineers who already are Engineers for other Passenger and Freight RR's.

3. For someone who has no RR experience? IMO, very hard at first. You'll need to learn train handling which is one of the most crucial jobs of an Engineer.

4. Yes, you do. Conductors do as well. It's part of being qualified on the Rule Books, Signals, Physical Characteristics of the Railroad, and more. Everyone is different on how they handle it.
 
Alex,

I recommend you apply for the job if that’s something you are truly interested in. Amtrak is a great company to work for if you’re willing to put in the time away from your personal life & family, and put in hard work to learn your job. You’ll never know until you try it. I had no idea anything about the railroad before I started working here, only thing I came in with was a work ethic and enthusiasm to learn. This company has given me some great opportunities, amazing benefits and more-than-fair pay for someone who came in with no prior knowledge, experience or education. If you want to go for it, go for it. Define ty worth a shot. A lot of people try several times to get in here, sometimes it takes months / years. Sometimes it doesn’t. But you won’t know unless you submit the application.
 
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