Great list Mark, especially walking on ballast, early calls, and getting all the training you can. I've always done better over the decades by giving them more reasons to keep me. Technology's not as hard to learn as all the railroad rules and processes, IMO. The different switches, retarders, signals, and sensors are amazing and all have to be "railroad strength" or they'll be trashed soon. The folks I've gotten to know on the roads I've worked for have been some of the best part. I've still got a while before I'm thinking of retiring, but my retired friends all make it look wonderful. Thank you for sharing more RR knowledge with us.
Thanks. I always told the guys coming up to make themselves an asset, not a target! Not that it would be a save all but it certainly makes them think twice about bugging or getting rid of you. Thanks for the comment and for checking it out!
I graduated highschool 6 months early, got hired at the Chicago Central at late 17, then threw mergers IC then CN, took a buyout and went to Railnet...said the heck with it ....shortlines hired guys off the street, some learned in a few days others weeks if not months....officially out and took 80 percent and started a trucking company, other 20 percent i own property in Florida texas and California...i dont like real railways but love model trains....
I'm so thankful for you and the job that you did. I watch your videos and hope and pray you have a safe, healthy and enjoyable life. I will keep watching your videos and support you.
I am a signal maintainer for Canadian Pacific Railway. I like seeing the different equipment you use in the states. We have a lot of the same too. Such as US&S . I will not miss getting called out at 3am Christmas morning or when it’s -37 degrees Celsius .
Very cool to hear from a Canadian signal brother! I really loved signal work but I don't miss working at all. I was on the other end of the spectrum. I won't miss getting called out at 3pm on Independence Day when it's 110° F! (43° C). Thanks for checking it out!
When I was still working that's what I told people. It's the nature of the beast in the global economy. UP certainly wasn't singling us out. I'm seeing this happen around the world. Thanks for the comment and for checking it out!
Mark, enjoy your retirement. I was a FOG (Omaha Guy) and worked in IT at the UP Center in Omaha. I also spent a lot of time with the signal guys at the Harriman center and I agree with you that Signal is the most important part of the railroad. I don't know if you got to work on Positive Train Control (PTC) but it would have made you even more sure that Signal was the most important part. I'm in awe of what you and all the other signal guys did out on the tracks and how it all works. I'm sure you point to a signal cabin here and there and say to your family that you used to maintain that crossing. Thanks for being a part of the Great Big Rolling Railroad.
We have what's called a "rapid responder" on the mountain who goes to trains in trouble to help. Is that the same thing? The one up here is a BNSF guy. They keep him running!
Worked for rock island and southern pacific for 16 yrs took a by out in 86” and I know that I was very luck to have for the railroad in those yrs the left alone and you did your job and enjoyed it, soon after things started changing for the worse and today I will speed to someone that still works there and the hate it ,safety safety safety ,vest remote control engines constantly being micromanaged and I doubt that things get done any faster or safer,all they’ve done is taken a job you loved and made it one you hate !!!!!!!!!!
I started on the Rock Island RR then went to the SP RR . I retired from the UP RR. 32 years all together. I worked on the M of W I did a lot of hard work all those years. The Rock Island was the best job I ever had. The SP SUCKED when the UP took over the SP I was hoping things would get better but it didn't . The UP was just as bad as the SP . I couldn't wait for my 60th birthday to come. When it did come I retired that day. The only thing I missed was the two pay checks a month. I retired in October of 2010. Good luck on your retirement Mark.
Excellent video. Good points/pro and con. Altho I did not work on the railroad, I had many friends that did. I've heard these pro/con discussions from them for years. It's amazing how many of these guys complained about the body aches after working many years of train service. Funny, even tho I worked another job, a lot of your comments can relate to non-railroad employment. Glad you had a good career. I'll be watching all your interesting videos. Thank you.
Mark Congratulations on your retirement. I can so relate to everything here. I retired in February as a signal inspector after 40 years BNSF. Had been off for a bit with knee replacement my lower half is wore out too. I loved my job. Was on transcon 100-130 trains a day till the COVID. Loved troubleshooting and about everything you talked about was so much the same. Maybe some day we can have a chat over a cup of coffee. 👍👊👊
You nailed it right down the line. I retired in July 2020 after 42 years with SP/UP. I maintained for 30+ years of that time. 29 years on one district. I left on my 60th birthday. Couldn't take 1 more day. I will miss the people and the work but not the company issues. I left maintenance because of the FSM or it's earlier version of the watchdog. I finished as gang foreman except for a short time as safety trainer until they decided to make us all nonagreement employees without the benefits. The only thing I can add to your dislike list is waiting on dispatchers not answering the radio. Give me a break, it's flashing right in front of his face! Also getting called out at 2:00 in the morning and arriving at the location and being told, call be after five! Nope, see ya in the morning!
Hi again Mark - I love this video - I had a big smile on my face as you recounted the things you would/would not miss about your job in retirement and despite the very obvious differences in our actual work, many of the things you had to endure that you would not miss are very similar to my thoughts - I lost count of the number of times during my 45 years when somebody came up with a "new idea" that we had tried so many times before they came on the scene - I can also see where some of their ideas came from!! It seems as though you had similar things to endure! I wish you a long and very happy, well earned retirement my fellow railman!
I did over 40 years on the railway in UK, the first 5 years or so I was a driver's assistant, then a train driver for the other 36 years, so my whole railway career was on the footplate.... I don't miss the job, or the getting up at 05:00 either, but I do miss my old workmates.... when I started my career in 1978, there were still many miles of railway in UK that were controlled by manual semaphore signalling and absolute block by signalmen using bell codes between wayside signal boxes situated a few miles apart... most of these have now been swept away and replaced by new signalling centres that control large areas with automatic signalling. The new signalling standard in UK is to use axle counters for train detection, rather than traditional track circuits, mostly because they are cheaper to maintain, but they aren't better or more reliable. Many of the things you relate to with your employment are familiar to me, like those who cannot be bothered to report things that are wrong, it being someone else's job, as the paperwork was too much bother to fill in. I also got increasingly fed up with Management B.S. I'm glad to be retired, the British Rail Pension fund being very good, though sadly not as good as the salary I was getting as when I was working.... now two and a half years gone. Retirement is the best job I've ever had...
Mark you remind me a lot of my dad. He misses the job as signal maintainer, he misses trouble shooting and the guys he used to work with at BNSF. He worked in both CTC and TWC . One weekend he was on call for his territory and the guy next to him. Due to inclement weather he got called out 7 times, power switches out of correspondence , lighting got into his electricode (burnt out boards) , burnt out light bulb (dark signal), crossing gate arm off got knocked off (shear bolt), he had primary battery go bad just to name a few. He was salaried as maintainer but after ten calls he earned overtime upon his salary, yes good money.
That's a lot of OT! I was hourly and got 3 hr min for callouts. If there were multiple problems on one call I was paid for whatever time I was out and not 3 hrs per problem. I was a Maintenance Foremen for over half my career and rarely worked OT. I always put myself at the bottom of the list.
Dad loved his job and troubleshooting, he used a motor car and hi rail truck to do his job at BNSF. Most often trouble calls to go to work happen at the wrong time (storming, sleeping, family time). One night he got called out inTWC. Had red signals on both main 1, 2 tracks. He had to sit and wait for 8 trains. The train dispatcher finally got him on the track, with a track warrant, but took over two hours. The signals were out in the middle of no where. That was 2 in the morning. They ran about 40 or more trains a day. Love those trains Mark, keep it coming.
Enjoy your retirement, Mark..! I spent 40 years with the airlines and retired in 2008, went through 3 mergers and share your feelings, good and bad everywhere one works. I didn't know UP used Lunar white, I grew up in Wheeling WV and the B&O used color position signals along with Lunar. PRR also had a line through Wheeling, I think they used amber position sigs. I miss those days when there were foundries, steel mills, coal mines and passenger trains. There always was something interesting to see, especially walking the tracks and getting scared in the tunnels. It's all gone now, kinda sad....!
I retired from the local public school here system four years ago after 22 years of service. I had planed to go until 25 years, but we got "new management" that changed my mind. I was an electronic/PC hardware technician for them. Lots of things in your list really "strike home" ..I do indeed miss using my brain to troubleshoot issues and solve problems....I don't miss the "drama" at all however. Great video!
Very interesting video Mark! I really appreciate you sharing your opinions and views about your job. It really puts everything into perspective! I am going to start working for the Norfolk Southern railroad in July as a railcar repairman. Now that all my paperwork is done now all I can do is wait.
I retired from the paid fire dept. Baltimore County. . After 30 years. The pay cut was big.. I miss the guys I worked with and helping people in trouble. But other than that getting old sucks ..
Mark, I must chime in on one of your findings. Hope it helps explain things. There are two ways to manage. Manage by leadership, or manage by intimidation. The latter is more common. It is management of the lowest order. Threats. Intimidation. You know the drill. The manager that uses the latter just doesn't get it. He throws authority around. In the process, he hurts those who actually are doing the job best. As a fire captain, I led by example. I knew my crew individually, I knew their personal quirks. My job was to keep them safe, and support them. Bad managers in the civilian world just don't get it. If you manage by intimidation, you relish negatives. You make your people nervous. You make them second guess. The mistakes multiply, and safety goes to hell.
well congratulations upon your retirement, it is a wonderful thing to be able to get to that point. i hope that you have a good pension and saved a bunch. to be able to enjoy your self and your wife. i have enjoyed all of your videos they are well done and make the complex understandable for the layman. the Co. I work at has CSX feed our raw materials we obtain in bulk quantities, here in western NY. once was the NY Central section of rail. wishing you all the best on a long and amazing retirement take care and keep up the videos. barry
Great video! I'm interviewing with UP in a few days and this gave me great perspective. When you spoke of employee moral, I shouted YES! Why don't management get this? Its them that make workers love or hate their job. If they love it, they are much more productive! If they hate it, you'll get the bare minimum. Thanks for this video.
Well, there is the Harbor Freight Lines Who shuttle cars about the LA and Long Beach harbors. Well, there was an incident. Somehow, they misjudged the length of a spur at our marine terminal and backed the cars all the way off the end of the tracks, busting a lube oil line (small bore) and narrowly dumping cars into the drink. Not too too long after that incident, they overran the spur at our LPG loading rack within our refinery. I don’t know if the bumpers are on a short link of track, but, regardless the rail car busted through it winding up with its trailing end up in the air with the rails broken off (there must have been a link there). The rail car knocked off a 4” LPG and 6” LPG from the pipe rack, severely bending these steel pipes. It’s a miracle that flanges didn’t separate and cause an LPG release. I live just blocks from the ATSF Watson yard in Wilmington. Naturally, in the damp night air, sound travels pretty well. So, you can hear the trains honking their horns at the crossings. Back and forth switching tracks realigning cars. Plenty of horn honking in the middle of the night. And I don’t live right next to the yard. Well, I could be wrong, but, it seemed to me that the engineers were being a bit considerate to the neighbors by keeping their horn blasts to short, softer blasts. But, after these PHL incidents, I swear I heard the change at the yard crossings. Nobody wants to get caught in a collision with an automobile, or be disciplined by a supervisor for not dolling the protocol at crossings. Yes. The blasts were longer, louder, and, I forget the pattern. Is it long, long, short, short and and a final long one all the way through the crossing? Or something like it? But, I definitely could hear the difference. I can take only so much of watching a train go by. I do enjoy seeing routes with distinguishing landmarks or conditions that I don’t see every day, such as the Tehachapi loop, Cajon Pass, the turntables like you showed in your video. Oh, and those snow blowers are pretty cool too. One other thing, I follow Railfans channel. The Fort Madison is where I got off to visit my grandparents and uncles and cousins in Keokuk, Ia. At the Mississippi River. I remember taking the train back to LA’s Union Station. Somewhere heading into Albuquerque, NM, some passenger was pacing up and down the car mumbling about meeting someone for dinner and he was going to be late. He got louder and louder and more belligerent. I was thinking “you’re taking the train. Chill! If you needed to get there earlier, maybe take a plane”. I got to thinking that this is the same exact line I used to take probably 50 years ago with Union Pacific and then Amtrak. The same schedule as I recall. What happened? Did they build mountains where there never used to have the,? How could the train schedule be off so much? What would cause the delays? Well, I recently saw a video on how the train systems were controlled. And there was this room like an air traffic controller’s. The big screen display showed the lines, the traffic and, if I recall correctly, the sidings where trains had to pull over to and let another train pass. Well, no wonder. There IS train traffic that needs to be controlled. Not just where the trains go, but, when they go. Fascinating stuff! I still don’t quite get why locomotives keep their engines running when there’s nobody in the, and running for a long time before they are en route. Well, by now, after my dumping all this on the comments, I have forgotten what all you talked about. I’m sorry for going off kilter with so much garbage. But, I’ll watch your video again and make any SHORT comments I may have missed. Thanks for not only your videos in the field, but, I appreciate your expression of your career experiences. ✌️🤙
@@MarkClayMcGowan Ha Ha. Next time I get up that way, I’ll have to catch a video to show my son. Oh, gawd. I just remembered how he was when he was a little tot. He would emulate the horns with a pretty good impression. As far as the crossing guard flashing lights, he would stick out his tongue and slide it back and forth left-right in similar frequency. And, we had the Microsoft train simulator, which was pretty cool. As far as the abandoned running engine, I seem to recall something about stresses on it for a restart. But, I’m not sure what that entails. I can only imagine.
When I worked for Norfolk southern in the locomotive repair shop we also had the meetings where they went over injuries and what the stock price was bunch of other BS and the stretched. I might have been the only one who took the stretches seriously lol. Sorry Mark lol. Years of martial arts. I stretched every chance I could get. Sometimes that would include during the course of my work day. I would love the chance to get back into a railroad particularly as a signal maintainer. NS called the department communications and signaling. Not sure if you got into the communications side of it much
@@jdday1757 lol. No I've never worked for a RR. I' was just saying in general for my own personal health and mobility I stretch a lot. Believe it or not I"m more mobile and better OVERALL than I was in my 20s from me being proactive. I still hit my bad snags but overall better. I'm just a train buff but always learning!
I worked with 2 former Special Agents or Police Officers with Southern Pacific. Were with them years before the merger with Union Pacific. Had it not been for that they probably would had finish their career with Espee. One in particular echoed some of your same comments.
It was still a good place to work. It was as different for me from 79 to 2019 as it's going to be for those just coming on over the next 30 years. Thanks for checking it out!
I really enjoy your videos. I too work for a large corporation (phone company) and it sounds like there are some similarities in our work culture. I agree with the driving part; I will miss that too. It's a great way to leave a stressful workday behind. I too hate being babysat. If I'm productive, they'll know. If I'm lazy, they'll know. That's all they should need to know.
I couldn't agree more about them looking over my shoulder. I had a 35 year record of getting things done when they decided I needed to be watched. I'm so glad I retired. Thanks for checking it out!
FYI, unless UP specifically disabled the feature, the Drive Cams do record audio... Also just a quick rundown on how they work, inside is an accelerometer, and once an event occurs that exceeds the amount of G forces specified (which can be changed by the customer) the drive cam flashes red and green. What it does is it goes back I believe 15 seconds before the triggering event, and records 10 seconds after the event. The older ones did not have the ability to record remotely, or stream live video. I hear some new ones do, however the data costs using the cell phone network are expensive, so most companies don’t go for it. Also you can set other “trigger events” such as speeding, and making the camera more sensitive. At my former employer the stupid thing went off at every pothole and bump. At my current employer, I trigger it maybe 2-3 times per year. Personally I like the insurance of it. And since I deal with passengers, the ability to manually trigger it is great when you feel a situation start to “go south”. BTW, I hated them at first, but when set to only go off if there is truly an emergency, or if someone is a crappy driver, I feel better having it there...
They told us it was disabled. I'd probably have been fired had it been working! They showed us the videos if we wanted to see them. None of it matters to me now! Thanks for for the comment!
If the UP was using "Drive Cams", this would be true, but they don't so it's not. Kinda like they can't use the cheap car GPS units because they don't work in tunnels and don't give centimeter accuracy. The video has to be watermarked and a lot of data is recorded in the orange "black box" recorder, so don't think they'll run out of SD card space. The data transfers are logged as well. There's a lot of this that's mandated in the labor agreements and the cost of violating that would be severe. I wish more folks would stick to posting things they know rather than what they think might apply...
Ah, meetings. Where do I start? Look at football. The huddle. What do we need, and shared the plan? Done. In a meeting? Time for indirect insults, thumping your chest, and related bullshit.
Hi Mark, I recently got hired on at Union Pacific cleared to start. Assistant signalman position. I was wondering if we could have a sidebar conversation relating to working life. Email is fine. I just like to ask you some questions about what I'm getting myself into. Thanks for taking the time to make these videos they are helpful.
I have 7 years in in train service on the BN, 27 years to go until I’m 60. Love being an engineer, but I hate how micro managed BNSF is. Any little teeny tiny thing they can find to hold over your head they will. In fact I’ll probably get fired for leaving this comment. If anyone asked me how to get hired by the railroad I’d tell them not to even apply. It’d not worth it anymore.
Did you say driving out to the Lone Pine branch? Sierra Nevada Lone Pine? I should have taken note as I watched your video. So, I know I’m gonna miss commenting on some of your comments. I’m probably just going to ramble on in no particular order or consistency. Gosh, back in the ‘80s, I was going to a trade school learning electrical wiring and theory, motor controls and electrical codes. Just as I was finishing up, they were hinting at the new era to come with microprocessors as you called them. I was just about to join the IBEW and start my journey in the electrical field - no pun intended. But, I got hired on at a local petroleum refinery as an operator. I worked for one particular company for 4 years. I developed some true friendships back then. Young, dumb and full of xxx. I spent my off hours with my employees as much as I spent on shift with them. I got laid off due to budget cuts. Ironically, 1/2 year previously, we were on strike. They wanted to lay off regardless of seniority. Well, that doesn’t fly with the union brothers. So I made my picket sigh to read LAY ME OFF FIRST. 😂. Heck, I was still living at home with the parents. No worries. Oh, yeah. My dad worked there and was on strike with me. Lol. Cut to ~6 months later, and I got hired on with another company. Oh, wait. I gotta get this out: we were mothballing our process unit that I worked in for a “new” one to be shipped out from our closed down refinery in Texas. It was fairly new at about 5 years old. Ok. Cool, they’re bringing all this shit in my train, barge, ship, whatever. When I saw 2 hopper cars with loads of small bore spaghetti pipelines that were twisted up. It was a sight to behold. They are going to pinch pennies by saving the small bore piping that has been stressed by just piling it into hopper cars? Oh, god. I hope the inspection department does a good job. So, we had a few 12’000 bbl LPG tanks that had to be relocated to make room for the new unit. They dug out these holes and poured concrete over rebar which when done looked like donuts. They welded I beams to the bottom of the tanks, laid down steel plates, hooked up dollies and slowly towed the tanks to their new foundation, I turned to my boss who had nothing better to do than to stand by, like I did, marveling at the impressive move. I looked at him and said “Hey, would t it have been easier to fill the tanks with helium and wrangle the tanks over like the balloons in the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade?” He looked at me with this strange look and said “You’re serious, aren’t you? You’re serious.” Then I busted up laughing. He actually thought I was serious. In the (and I’m not getting political here) imfafous words of Joe Biden, I said “C’mon!” Lol. Finally, we got the new unit up and running, and we left behind our old asbestos corrugated walled control rooms for the state of the art central control room. It was in the training, and watching the construction, that I realized what my electrical teacher was hinting about. Solid state circuits, relays, instrumentation, motor controls alarms, etc. yep. It’s the new age.
I won't miss managers who know way less than the experienced work force. Telling them hey look the sky is blue. Them saying no its cloudy. Me saying it's clearly blue. Then them saying we think its cloudy were going with clouds. Then when it doesn't work I have to clean up the mess after I told them the sky was blue. Metafor.
Well, I made it to my new company and was working for some time. I showed up at my parents house, and my dad noticed my hard hat in my car. He was uneasy. I wouldn’t say he was pissed. More astonished that I made it into management so soon. After all, we were a pro union democratic family. In fact, my dad held office positions, was on the negotiating committee, etc. you see, where I worked, the operators wore gold hard hats. Pipe fitters wore green hard hats. Mechanics wore blue hats, electrical-yellow, health, fire and safety-red and finally, management wore white ones. At my new company,everyone wore white hard hats, except for Fire and Safety, which were, of course, red. So, I just let my dad stew in his disappointment a while before I told him what’s up. 😂. You see, I’m always a kidder. But, as far as working conditions were over the years, we would get some new hires that were good, intelligent, motivated people. Other times, wow! Where did they pick up these guys. For a while, they were doing some social work by hiring some kids who were taking some process industry class at the local Jr. college. They weren’t the brightest bulb in the box. A small minority made it to succeed, while the majority managed to get fired, quit, or never to be heard of again. Some people can’t appreciate such a good paying job. Especially in these times. They were more interested in socializing and partying. We did get one old guy, who would smoke the younger operators in the work performance, attitude willingness to help out all the time. Unfortunately, his wife passed away, and as you may know when one of a pair leaves, the other is soon to follow. He was so lost and heartbroken without her. He started hanging out in strip clubs, and took up with one of the strippers.she lived with him and just about cleaned him out, before we helped him wise up and kick her to the curb. But, soon after, he started abusing alcohol. His attendance was declining badly. He ended up testing beyond the limit for blood alcohol and was fired. Just by the good nature of him, the circumstances he faces, and all of us pulling for him, we managed to get his job back. On “probation”. He worked out great for a while, and everyone was happy he was able to get a second chance. Unfortunately, he fell into the alcohol trap again and got fired. He moved and we lost track of him. Some years later, a coworker passed away, and he attended the service. Wow! What a changed person.. went the born again Christian route. But, he was doing great. It was good to see the good old friend we once new. Then we started getting military veterans hired on as they were given first opportunity. They worked out pretty well. For a while one of them came in and threw his weight around, always resisting our ways of doing things. Thinking we should do his, don’t do that, he didn’t feel he should have to do this and that. He was intelligent., but, he was giving people a hard time.( had worked up to process supervisor of the unit.). I had told him that I appreciated his interest in doing things his way, but, he’s the low man in the totem pole, and needs to show reverence to his senior operators, who knew what’s going on in the place. He later chilled outs and survived. Then, there was another, short stature, well, let’s just leave it at that. He was very nice and respectful. He had the motivation to do well, but, lacked some experience and confidence. I had concerns for him, and sort of gave him more attention to help him succeed. I am now retired and hear everyone is working well with each other and moving up in the ranks. But, I hate to admit it, and I never followed their advice. But the older seasoned operators were truthful in saying “if you don’t do anything you won’t fuck up anything, and you won’t get fired. As it turns out, the operators like myself try well, not go the extra distance, rather just do our job. We would flush out a level bridle, and cause an upset in the unit, even though we do it properly. Maybe even break a valve. Over fill a chemical tank, because you topped it off and got distracted. Yeah, it would be their fault. But, if they left it for the other guy, they wouldn’t be the one getting fired. Things like that. So, I hear you about other coworkers not pulling their own weight whether limited knowledge or experience, or desire to do a good days work. I used to tell people I give 110 % effort each and every week. 20% Monday, Tuesday, W, T, F and 5% on Saturday and Sunday. I’d come on shift finding out I have to recharge a caustic drum because my test results showed it was weak. I’ve set up the titration equipment with a hidden telltale is someone has not pulled their sample and just “pencilled in” their readings. I don’t like to report it. I like to bring it to their attention and see if they fess up to it. Often they deny it, even they know I know what they’re up to. It’s not just not earning the money they are paid, but their pushing their work load on their fellow union brother. Tisk tisk. LolBy draining it, I run the risk of going too fast causing the flare to light up. It used to be a normal thing in the days of old. But environmental regulations now are able to measure the slightest flow coming out of the flares.. the AQMD Air quality management district) gets the live data in their headquarters (and for all I know, on the inspectors iPhones). Next thing, they are at the gate to find out why it happened. Was it mechanical failure? Was it emergency operations? Was it human error? And fines and reports often led to disciplinary action from verbal warning, written warning, suspension, terminations. So, I can appreciate big brother with their eyeballs on you in the truck or any aspect of your job performance. I tell ya. It’s like somebody somewhere feels they need to justify their position, by making sure that their subordinates can’t do their own work without them. I hear you about excessive meetings. How about having the, when there some urgency to change, correct or prevent some conditions. We get the bulletins, telling us our safety records. Our supervisors can reach us when something needs to be discussed. Sometimes it just gets out of hand..shortly before I left, I can’t tell you how many meetings we had in response to one of our male operators who has undergone hormone therapy, dresses like a woman, wears makeup, and requires the ability to use the woman’s restroom. I got along with him all along, but, he was an asshole with other operators, and this change didn’t mend any fences. I on a couple of instances called him by his male name instead of calling her by her female adjusted first name. She understood it was out of years of habit, and certainly understands this. But, with others, she throws around her attitude. As Bob Dylan sings, “these times are a changing”.
Mark: I have retired from working at NASA/JSC. As an investor in the railroads, I like to ride Amtrak. It give me a chance to see how my investments are doing.
I think office politics is just about everywhere. Drafted or forced overtime another thing I didn't like. Finally not conference call meetings per say for less important like me. Though we did had so called department meetings which honestly even our Chief made it appear like he was just going through the motions of having a meeting. Nothing was ever accomplished from them nor anything gained. If you were fortunate or less fortunate to have to come in on your days off for an easy 2 hour overtime paid meeting I guess so. However as you noted much better things to do with that money including manpower. Which Staff too can be called off their assignments just for something as dumb as this. Would volunteer to keep myself available for calls. Some even stayed @ their assignments or volunteered to as to not having to come to this meeting. Finally there will always yes sadly co workers we really like or not like. Those we stay in touch with. Many sadly have their own lives could care less.
They couldn't force us to work OT but they'd piss and moan if we didn't when things were hectic. I spent 10-20 years working with most of the guys and other than the one who is one of my best friends, not one has called me! Thanks for checking it out!
Brow beating employees makes them work just hard enough to not get fired. I guarantee it costs corporations money. Employee sees something that needs to be addressed. It will sit until it causes a problem requiring another dispatch (barring life critical stuff of course).
I'm willing to bet that they were recording what you would say in your service truck also. BUT, the reason they had cameras and monitors installed was for THOSE WHO DO waste time, or milk the clock, since the pay is decent, there are SOME people who just don't give a crap and will work the least for the most pay. Sadly, I have relatives who are like that. I turned my back on them, 'cause they just don't have ANY work ethics, or for life either. They're lazy. These types of people are like a boat anchor hanging out the back of the stern when you are trying to get somewhere in life and you happen to be working together with them. The best thing I did, was cut the anchor chain and leave 'em behind. 😁👍 Now, my relatives are mad and jealous 'cause I left them behind and don't want anything to do with them anymore. 😁
Mark, Since you've had the benefit of experience as a Signalman on the UP, I was wondering what your thoughts were regarding the Communications Department. Specifically, the Senior Electronics Technician position. I have the opportunity to apply for a SET job, and I was wondering what your thoughts/knowledge were on this position. In particular, how family friendly it might or might not be. Work at my current employer has become rather dicey, in particular concerning job security, and I'm just trying to consider my options. I welcome your thoughts.
The commtecs I know have liked their jobs. Ours are headquartered but they have large territories. I'm friends with the local one and he's home most of the time. As far as the equipment, I only know about the stuff that involved the signal department and it's all new stuff. I don't know which road you're looking at but most class 1 roads are in the process of downsizing so I'd ask a lot of questions. UP is stretched pretty thin in the comm dept already so they may be more secure. Good luck and thanks for checking out my channel!
@@MarkClayMcGowan The SET Position is with the UP, however I'm concerned about the job's longevity. The Intermodal Facility known as Global 3, which is located in the same town as the SET Position, is supposed to be closing. I don't know how much work the SET has, if any, at the Intermodal Facilities, so I'm not sure how this will impact the job. I’m only considering the UP jobs, because it’s a higher rate of pay ($39.60/hr.), it’s closer to my elderly parents, and my current employer seems to be in bad financial straits, which doesn’t bode well for my current job’s future, not to mention retirement. Either way, I'm reluctant to leave my job of 19 years, with 4-Weeks of paid vacation & 7-Days of paid time off. The interview with UP is still about a month away, but I have my reservations about the job transition, should they even offer it to me.
@@arbutuswatcher yeah, I don't know about the tech job at an intermodal and UP is pretty tight lipped about closures and job cuts until the last minute. I wish you luck!
Well, I went to their Structured Interview, with 3 managers & an H.R. Rep. It was a bit of a joke. They stated that it's a good job, and in the same breath proudly claimed that they furloughed 40 people in the very same department, just in the last 6-months! Then they outlined the many creative ways an employee could be terminated. And yes, they spoke very proudly about their GPS Tracking of Vehicles, On-Board Camera System, Cellphone usage, and Precision Railroading or Precision Scheduled Railroading (PSR). As my Union Steward once said, "the Company Kool-Aid was Free-Flowing." Mark, you are fortunate to have retired from there, when things were much better. Employees appear to be under the microscope just a little too much for my taste. The pay & benefits were decent, for the most part, but all the other B.S. left me with a bad taste in my mouth. I still have a high respect for railroaders, whether it's Signal, Comm., MOW, or Transportation. Too bad the company doesn't let employees, just do their job. Thanks for the advice.
@@arbutuswatcher yeah, it gets more sketchy all the time. One of my besties is a Signal Maintenance Foremen with five years left. We have coffee most mornings and I get a regular ear full of the shenanigans around there. It's still not a bad thing to have on your resume` but probably not worth giving up a good job for. I hope you find something that suits you perfectly.
You said you like jets??? If you have any interest in the mechanics of the jet engine, may I suggest the TH-cam channel of AgentJayZ? He, well, I can’t say enough. He overhauls them and tests them. I think you’ll like his videos. I believe he was also into jet boats, and jet cars. I’m sure you’ll find some videos that you like.
Hello sir. What do you think about this job for women? I’ve worked on a smaller railroad, I’m a welder, I currently work for the military.(this is something I want to do when I get out). What are your views on this? Thanks!!!
It can be a very physically demanding job and the work is rain or shine but if you're up for it I see no reason you shouldn't give it a shot! You have to take four "phases" of signal training within the first couple of years and pass a test at each phase. It's not rocket science but neither is it easy. There have been a few women in the signal dept. although never in my region so there's no barrier. It's a good job but the RR is a bit unsteady right now with the new "precision railroading" plans most class 1 roads are involved in. Good luck and thanks for checking out my channel!
Sounds a lot like CN Rail, hey wait do you not have a CEO from CN? I worked with that guy in the late 70s in Jasper. I used to hate how they started to run things then I figured out I was making twice as much money and physically doing half as much work. They called it scheduled or precision railroading. It never worked but I actually came to like it for the entertainment value. The last 20 years the managers/bosses seamed like they were right out of the movie police academy. It was bizarre and hilarious
Drives the big gang trucks on top of regular duties. However, most gangs have an assigned driver. The signal dept. also requires a CDL for new hires. Just in case, I guess!
Spot on Mark. I am quickly approaching my Retirement from the UP signal department and I totally agree with your likes and dislikes. Particularly with the @%*! FSM program.
Thanks! I think most guys feel the same way. I still have coffee with my buddy most days and he reminds of why I'm glad I left as soon as I could. Thanks for checking it out!
Yea I Do The Screeching And Yea I Still Ware Vest, And Now The Mask Are A Clever Disguise, Yea Iam The Lunatic From Arno, Some Place Wise, Wise County Va.
I Must Have Gotten Lucky, I Was A Trackman, We Knew The Signalmen, Worked With Them A Lot, Got Away With No Aches And Pains, One Supervisor He Said If I Had Ever Done Any Work, I Would Have Aches And Pains, Yea I Did My Whole Career Injury Free No FELA Claims, Just Was Called A Lot Of Names, Lunatic Stuck,Yea I Hooked Tie Plates On The Rail Gang, Yea Hoot Gibson, Told Me Once, I Want Men That Will Roll? WTF, Take The Tie Plates I Handled Load Them On A Low Side Gons You Would Break Axles.
Mark ... you are just one of those spoiled characters that just does not get it ... I would have dismissed you earlier .... you just are not a team player, do not know what your problem is ... but enjoy retirement, as sure your employer will ... you said it your self, everyone does things differently ... I have done the railroad thing the aviation thing and finally independent business and realized, in order to get things done, it comes down to team work and respect.... does not show with your dialogue .... hope I am incorrect. Good Luck. You would make a good Long Haul Truck Driver as all you have to talk to is yourself. Cheers.
lengthy retirement is the best revenge
Great list Mark, especially walking on ballast, early calls, and getting all the training you can. I've always done better over the decades by giving them more reasons to keep me. Technology's not as hard to learn as all the railroad rules and processes, IMO. The different switches, retarders, signals, and sensors are amazing and all have to be "railroad strength" or they'll be trashed soon. The folks I've gotten to know on the roads I've worked for have been some of the best part. I've still got a while before I'm thinking of retiring, but my retired friends all make it look wonderful. Thank you for sharing more RR knowledge with us.
Thanks. I always told the guys coming up to make themselves an asset, not a target! Not that it would be a save all but it certainly makes them think twice about bugging or getting rid of you.
Thanks for the comment and for checking it out!
Nine years on the Milwaukee. Thirty three on UP. I miss coffee with my buds!😎
I graduated highschool 6 months early, got hired at the Chicago Central at late 17, then threw mergers IC then CN, took a buyout and went to Railnet...said the heck with it ....shortlines hired guys off the street, some learned in a few days others weeks if not months....officially out and took 80 percent and started a trucking company, other 20 percent i own property in Florida texas and California...i dont like real railways but love model trains....
Thank for your effort and putting all this information out for us who are trained fans!!
I'm so thankful for you and the job that you did. I watch your videos and hope and pray you have a safe, healthy and enjoyable life. I will keep watching your videos and support you.
I am a signal maintainer for Canadian Pacific Railway. I like seeing the different equipment you use in the states. We have a lot of the same too. Such as US&S . I will not miss getting called out at 3am Christmas morning or when it’s -37 degrees Celsius .
Very cool to hear from a Canadian signal brother! I really loved signal work but I don't miss working at all. I was on the other end of the spectrum. I won't miss getting called out at 3pm on Independence Day when it's 110° F! (43° C).
Thanks for checking it out!
Thanks for sharing your passion, thoughts, and knowledge on your career and life.
I like this guy, straight shooter in my opinion
Union Pacific Railroad would not be better without you. Those were the days of the good-old train. As in life, all good things must end.
This 2020 plan is for every big corporation in America. I know I work for a big company. This sounds familiar but different dialogue.
When I was still working that's what I told people. It's the nature of the beast in the global economy. UP certainly wasn't singling us out.
I'm seeing this happen around the world.
Thanks for the comment and for checking it out!
Mark, enjoy your retirement. I was a FOG (Omaha Guy) and worked in IT at the UP Center in Omaha. I also spent a lot of time with the signal guys at the Harriman center and I agree with you that Signal is the most important part of the railroad. I don't know if you got to work on Positive Train Control (PTC) but it would have made you even more sure that Signal was the most important part. I'm in awe of what you and all the other signal guys did out on the tracks and how it all works. I'm sure you point to a signal cabin here and there and say to your family that you used to maintain that crossing. Thanks for being a part of the Great Big Rolling Railroad.
Totally get it. Im in the loco response dept. for UP. EVERY THING you said is spot on!!!
We have what's called a "rapid responder" on the mountain who goes to trains in trouble to help. Is that the same thing? The one up here is a BNSF guy. They keep him running!
We call it the same thing or Truck Desk. On that type of job now
Worked for rock island and southern pacific for 16 yrs took a by out in 86” and I know that I was very luck to have for the railroad in those yrs the left alone and you did your job and enjoyed it, soon after things started changing for the worse and today I will speed to someone that still works there and the hate it ,safety safety safety ,vest remote control engines constantly being micromanaged and I doubt that things get done any faster or safer,all they’ve done is taken a job you loved and made it one you hate !!!!!!!!!!
I actually plan to work this job so this was a big help.
I started on the Rock Island RR then went to the SP RR . I retired from the UP RR. 32 years all together. I worked on the M of W I did a lot of hard work all those years. The Rock Island was the best job I ever had. The SP SUCKED when the UP took over the SP I was hoping things would get better but it didn't . The UP was just as bad as the SP . I couldn't wait for my 60th birthday to come. When it did come I retired that day. The only thing I missed was the two pay checks a month. I retired in October of 2010. Good luck on your retirement Mark.
Excellent video. Good points/pro and con. Altho I did not work on the railroad, I had many friends that did. I've heard these pro/con discussions from them for years. It's amazing how many of these guys complained about the body aches after working many years of train service. Funny, even tho I worked another job, a lot of your comments can relate to non-railroad employment. Glad you had a good career. I'll be watching all your interesting videos. Thank you.
100% agree about the 1 hour long morning call.
Thanks for uploading this content.
14 years in signals and the industry gets hurt every time guys like you retire! But you earned it and enjoy!
I’ve got 27 more years of morning conferences to endure.... or at least until they fire me lol. Here on NS
Mark Congratulations on your retirement. I can so relate to everything here. I retired in February as a signal inspector after 40 years BNSF. Had been off for a bit with knee replacement my lower half is wore out too. I loved my job. Was on transcon 100-130 trains a day till the COVID. Loved troubleshooting and about everything you talked about was so much the same. Maybe some day we can have a chat over a cup of coffee. 👍👊👊
Hit me up at Motopoet59@gmail.com. we'll make arrangements! Thanks for checking it out!
You nailed it right down the line. I retired in July 2020 after 42 years with SP/UP. I maintained for 30+ years of that time. 29 years on one district. I left on my 60th birthday. Couldn't take 1 more day. I will miss the people and the work but not the company issues. I left maintenance because of the FSM or it's earlier version of the watchdog. I finished as gang foreman except for a short time as safety trainer until they decided to make us all nonagreement employees without the benefits. The only thing I can add to your dislike list is waiting on dispatchers not answering the radio. Give me a break, it's flashing right in front of his face! Also getting called out at 2:00 in the morning and arriving at the location and being told, call be after five! Nope, see ya in the morning!
Hi again Mark - I love this video - I had a big smile on my face as you recounted the things you would/would not miss about your job in retirement and despite the very obvious differences in our actual work, many of the things you had to endure that you would not miss are very similar to my thoughts - I lost count of the number of times during my 45 years when somebody came up with a "new idea" that we had tried so many times before they came on the scene - I can also see where some of their ideas came from!! It seems as though you had similar things to endure! I wish you a long and very happy, well earned retirement my fellow railman!
Thank you! I think most industries and professions go through the same kind of stuff.
Thanks for checking it out!
I did over 40 years on the railway in UK, the first 5 years or so I was a driver's assistant, then a train driver for the other 36 years, so my whole railway career was on the footplate.... I don't miss the job, or the getting up at 05:00 either, but I do miss my old workmates.... when I started my career in 1978, there were still many miles of railway in UK that were controlled by manual semaphore signalling and absolute block by signalmen using bell codes between wayside signal boxes situated a few miles apart... most of these have now been swept away and replaced by new signalling centres that control large areas with automatic signalling. The new signalling standard in UK is to use axle counters for train detection, rather than traditional track circuits, mostly because they are cheaper to maintain, but they aren't better or more reliable. Many of the things you relate to with your employment are familiar to me, like those who cannot be bothered to report things that are wrong, it being someone else's job, as the paperwork was too much bother to fill in. I also got increasingly fed up with Management B.S. I'm glad to be retired, the British Rail Pension fund being very good, though sadly not as good as the salary I was getting as when I was working.... now two and a half years gone. Retirement is the best job I've ever had...
“Drivers assistant” and “Driver”. I’m guessing this is the verbiage that is same or similar to the US reference to engineer and conductor?
@@glenarledge1825 every country calls them a driver except America Canada and mexico
Mark you remind me a lot of my dad. He misses the job as signal maintainer, he misses trouble shooting and the guys he used to work with at BNSF. He worked in both CTC and TWC . One weekend he was on call for his territory and the guy next to him. Due to inclement weather he got called out 7 times, power switches out of correspondence , lighting got into his electricode (burnt out boards) , burnt out light bulb (dark signal), crossing gate arm off got knocked off (shear bolt), he had primary battery go bad just to name a few. He was salaried as maintainer but after ten calls he earned overtime upon his salary, yes good money.
That's a lot of OT! I was hourly and got 3 hr min for callouts. If there were multiple problems on one call I was paid for whatever time I was out and not 3 hrs per problem. I was a Maintenance Foremen for over half my career and rarely worked OT. I always put myself at the bottom of the list.
Dad loved his job and troubleshooting, he used a motor car and hi rail truck to do his job at BNSF. Most often trouble calls to go to work happen at the wrong time (storming, sleeping, family time). One night he got called out inTWC. Had red signals on both main 1, 2 tracks. He had to sit and wait for 8 trains. The train dispatcher finally got him on the track, with a track warrant, but took over two hours. The signals were out in the middle of no where. That was 2 in the morning. They ran about 40 or more trains a day. Love those trains Mark, keep it coming.
Enjoy your retirement, Mark..! I spent 40 years with the airlines and retired in 2008, went through 3 mergers and share your feelings, good and bad everywhere one works. I didn't know UP used Lunar white, I grew up in Wheeling WV and the B&O used color position signals along with Lunar. PRR also had a line through Wheeling, I think they used amber position sigs. I miss those days when there were foundries, steel mills, coal mines and passenger trains. There always was something interesting to see, especially walking the tracks and getting scared in the tunnels. It's all gone now, kinda sad....!
I retired from the local public school here system four years ago after 22 years of service. I had planed to go until 25 years, but we got "new management" that changed my mind. I was an electronic/PC hardware technician for them. Lots of things in your list really "strike home" ..I do indeed miss using my brain to troubleshoot issues and solve problems....I don't miss the "drama" at all however. Great video!
Thank you!
Very interesting video Mark! I really appreciate you sharing your opinions and views about your job. It really puts everything into perspective! I am going to start working for the Norfolk Southern railroad in July as a railcar repairman. Now that all my paperwork is done now all I can do is wait.
I retired from the paid fire dept. Baltimore County. . After 30 years. The pay cut was big.. I miss the guys I worked with and helping people in trouble. But other than that getting old sucks ..
Can’t wait to put up a video of my own
Start a channel and do it! I'll subscribe!
Mark, I must chime in on one of your findings. Hope it helps explain things. There are two ways to manage. Manage by leadership, or manage by intimidation.
The latter is more common. It is management of the lowest order. Threats. Intimidation. You know the drill.
The manager that uses the latter just doesn't get it. He throws authority around. In the process, he hurts those who actually are doing the job best.
As a fire captain, I led by example. I knew my crew individually, I knew their personal quirks. My job was to keep them safe, and support them. Bad managers in the civilian world just don't get it.
If you manage by intimidation, you relish negatives. You make your people nervous. You make them second guess. The mistakes multiply, and safety goes to hell.
well congratulations upon your retirement, it is a wonderful thing to be able
to get to that point. i hope that you have a good pension and saved a bunch.
to be able to enjoy your self and your wife. i have enjoyed all of your videos
they are well done and make the complex understandable for the layman.
the Co. I work at has CSX feed our raw materials we obtain in bulk quantities,
here in western NY. once was the NY Central section of rail. wishing you all
the best on a long and amazing retirement take care and keep up the videos.
barry
Thank you for the kind words and for checking out the channel!
Great video! I'm interviewing with UP in a few days and this gave me great perspective. When you spoke of employee moral, I shouted YES! Why don't management get this? Its them that make workers love or hate their job. If they love it, they are much more productive! If they hate it, you'll get the bare minimum. Thanks for this video.
Thank you for the compliment and good luck with your hiring process!
How’d it go I’m also joining up 5/1/2023 kinda nervous
One thing for sure if I was called out before 11 pm I could come home and get a little shuteye but after midnight it was all over
Well, there is the Harbor Freight Lines Who shuttle cars about the LA and Long Beach harbors. Well, there was an incident. Somehow, they misjudged the length of a spur at our marine terminal and backed the cars all the way off the end of the tracks, busting a lube oil line (small bore) and narrowly dumping cars into the drink. Not too too long after that incident, they overran the spur at our LPG loading rack within our refinery. I don’t know if the bumpers are on a short link of track, but, regardless the rail car busted through it winding up with its trailing end up in the air with the rails broken off (there must have been a link there). The rail car knocked off a 4” LPG and 6” LPG from the pipe rack, severely bending these steel pipes. It’s a miracle that flanges didn’t separate and cause an LPG release. I live just blocks from the ATSF Watson yard in Wilmington. Naturally, in the damp night air, sound travels pretty well. So, you can hear the trains honking their horns at the crossings. Back and forth switching tracks realigning cars. Plenty of horn honking in the middle of the night. And I don’t live right next to the yard. Well, I could be wrong, but, it seemed to me that the engineers were being a bit considerate to the neighbors by keeping their horn blasts to short, softer blasts. But, after these PHL incidents, I swear I heard the change at the yard crossings. Nobody wants to get caught in a collision with an automobile, or be disciplined by a supervisor for not dolling the protocol at crossings. Yes. The blasts were longer, louder, and, I forget the pattern. Is it long, long, short, short and and a final long one all the way through the crossing? Or something like it? But, I definitely could hear the difference.
I can take only so much of watching a train go by. I do enjoy seeing routes with distinguishing landmarks or conditions that I don’t see every day, such as the Tehachapi loop, Cajon Pass, the turntables like you showed in your video. Oh, and those snow blowers are pretty cool too. One other thing, I follow Railfans channel. The Fort Madison is where I got off to visit my grandparents and uncles and cousins in Keokuk, Ia. At the Mississippi River. I remember taking the train back to LA’s Union Station. Somewhere heading into Albuquerque, NM, some passenger was pacing up and down the car mumbling about meeting someone for dinner and he was going to be late. He got louder and louder and more belligerent. I was thinking “you’re taking the train. Chill! If you needed to get there earlier, maybe take a plane”. I got to thinking that this is the same exact line I used to take probably 50 years ago with Union Pacific and then Amtrak. The same schedule as I recall. What happened? Did they build mountains where there never used to have the,? How could the train schedule be off so much? What would cause the delays? Well, I recently saw a video on how the train systems were controlled. And there was this room like an air traffic controller’s. The big screen display showed the lines, the traffic and, if I recall correctly, the sidings where trains had to pull over to and let another train pass. Well, no wonder. There IS train traffic that needs to be controlled. Not just where the trains go, but, when they go. Fascinating stuff! I still don’t quite get why locomotives keep their engines running when there’s nobody in the, and running for a long time before they are en route.
Well, by now, after my dumping all this on the comments, I have forgotten what all you talked about. I’m sorry for going off kilter with so much garbage. But, I’ll watch your video again and make any SHORT comments I may have missed. Thanks for not only your videos in the field, but, I appreciate your expression of your career experiences. ✌️🤙
The SJVRR guys are much worse with their horns than UP.
At UP if the locomotives will be vacated more than a very short time they shut them down.
@@MarkClayMcGowan Ha Ha. Next time I get up that way, I’ll have to catch a video to show my son. Oh, gawd. I just remembered how he was when he was a little tot. He would emulate the horns with a pretty good impression. As far as the crossing guard flashing lights, he would stick out his tongue and slide it back and forth left-right in similar frequency. And, we had the Microsoft train simulator, which was pretty cool. As far as the abandoned running engine, I seem to recall something about stresses on it for a restart. But, I’m not sure what that entails. I can only imagine.
When I worked for Norfolk southern in the locomotive repair shop we also had the meetings where they went over injuries and what the stock price was bunch of other BS and the stretched. I might have been the only one who took the stretches seriously lol. Sorry Mark lol. Years of martial arts. I stretched every chance I could get. Sometimes that would include during the course of my work day. I would love the chance to get back into a railroad particularly as a signal maintainer. NS called the department communications and signaling. Not sure if you got into the communications side of it much
That's cool. NW is one of my favorite roads. I know it's NS now. I stretch a lot too but not cause im in the RR business
@@rowsdower12 so you worked for them when they were still N&W or you worked for a section of NS that used to be N&W
@@jdday1757 lol. No I've never worked for a RR. I' was just saying in general for my own personal health and mobility I stretch a lot. Believe it or not I"m more mobile and better OVERALL than I was in my 20s from me being proactive. I still hit my bad snags but overall better. I'm just a train buff but always learning!
I worked with 2 former Special Agents or Police Officers with Southern Pacific. Were with them years before the merger with Union Pacific. Had it not been for that they probably would had finish their career with Espee. One in particular echoed some of your same comments.
It was still a good place to work. It was as different for me from 79 to 2019 as it's going to be for those just coming on over the next 30 years.
Thanks for checking it out!
Hallelujah!!! Cheers!!
Good luck with your retirement. I have been retired since 2003. It's better than the option.., being on the wrong side of the grass..
I really enjoy your videos. I too work for a large corporation (phone company) and it sounds like there are some similarities in our work culture. I agree with the driving part; I will miss that too. It's a great way to leave a stressful workday behind. I too hate being babysat. If I'm productive, they'll know. If I'm lazy, they'll know. That's all they should need to know.
I couldn't agree more about them looking over my shoulder. I had a 35 year record of getting things done when they decided I needed to be watched. I'm so glad I retired.
Thanks for checking it out!
FYI, unless UP specifically disabled the feature, the Drive Cams do record audio...
Also just a quick rundown on how they work, inside is an accelerometer, and once an event occurs that exceeds the amount of G forces specified (which can be changed by the customer) the drive cam flashes red and green. What it does is it goes back I believe 15 seconds before the triggering event, and records 10 seconds after the event. The older ones did not have the ability to record remotely, or stream live video. I hear some new ones do, however the data costs using the cell phone network are expensive, so most companies don’t go for it. Also you can set other “trigger events” such as speeding, and making the camera more sensitive.
At my former employer the stupid thing went off at every pothole and bump. At my current employer, I trigger it maybe 2-3 times per year.
Personally I like the insurance of it. And since I deal with passengers, the ability to manually trigger it is great when you feel a situation start to “go south”. BTW, I hated them at first, but when set to only go off if there is truly an emergency, or if someone is a crappy driver, I feel better having it there...
They told us it was disabled. I'd probably have been fired had it been working! They showed us the videos if we wanted to see them.
None of it matters to me now!
Thanks for for the comment!
If the UP was using "Drive Cams", this would be true, but they don't so it's not. Kinda like they can't use the cheap car GPS units because they don't work in tunnels and don't give centimeter accuracy. The video has to be watermarked and a lot of data is recorded in the orange "black box" recorder, so don't think they'll run out of SD card space. The data transfers are logged as well. There's a lot of this that's mandated in the labor agreements and the cost of violating that would be severe.
I wish more folks would stick to posting things they know rather than what they think might apply...
Note to MCM: "The least productive people are usually the ones who are most in favor of holding meetings". Prof. Dr. Thomas Sowell.
Ah, meetings. Where do I start? Look at football. The huddle. What do we need, and shared the plan? Done.
In a meeting? Time for indirect insults, thumping your chest, and related bullshit.
Hi Mark,
I recently got hired on at Union Pacific cleared to start.
Assistant signalman position.
I was wondering if we could have a sidebar conversation relating to working life.
Email is fine.
I just like to ask you some questions about what I'm getting myself into.
Thanks for taking the time to make these videos they are helpful.
Sure. Shoot me an email.
I have 7 years in in train service on the BN, 27 years to go until I’m 60. Love being an engineer, but I hate how micro managed BNSF is. Any little teeny tiny thing they can find to hold over your head they will. In fact I’ll probably get fired for leaving this comment. If anyone asked me how to get hired by the railroad I’d tell them not to even apply. It’d not worth it anymore.
Did you say driving out to the Lone Pine branch? Sierra Nevada Lone Pine? I should have taken note as I watched your video. So, I know I’m gonna miss commenting on some of your comments. I’m probably just going to ramble on in no particular order or consistency.
Gosh, back in the ‘80s, I was going to a trade school learning electrical wiring and theory, motor controls and electrical codes. Just as I was finishing up, they were hinting at the new era to come with microprocessors as you called them. I was just about to join the IBEW and start my journey in the electrical field - no pun intended. But, I got hired on at a local petroleum refinery as an operator. I worked for one particular company for 4 years. I developed some true friendships back then. Young, dumb and full of xxx. I spent my off hours with my employees as much as I spent on shift with them. I got laid off due to budget cuts. Ironically, 1/2 year previously, we were on strike. They wanted to lay off regardless of seniority. Well, that doesn’t fly with the union brothers. So I made my picket sigh to read LAY ME OFF FIRST. 😂. Heck, I was still living at home with the parents. No worries. Oh, yeah. My dad worked there and was on strike with me. Lol. Cut to ~6 months later, and I got hired on with another company. Oh, wait. I gotta get this out: we were mothballing our process unit that I worked in for a “new” one to be shipped out from our closed down refinery in Texas. It was fairly new at about 5 years old. Ok. Cool, they’re bringing all this shit in my train, barge, ship, whatever. When I saw 2 hopper cars with loads of small bore spaghetti pipelines that were twisted up. It was a sight to behold. They are going to pinch pennies by saving the small bore piping that has been stressed by just piling it into hopper cars? Oh, god. I hope the inspection department does a good job. So, we had a few 12’000 bbl LPG tanks that had to be relocated to make room for the new unit. They dug out these holes and poured concrete over rebar which when done looked like donuts. They welded I beams to the bottom of the tanks, laid down steel plates, hooked up dollies and slowly towed the tanks to their new foundation, I turned to my boss who had nothing better to do than to stand by, like I did, marveling at the impressive move. I looked at him and said “Hey, would t it have been easier to fill the tanks with helium and wrangle the tanks over like the balloons in the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade?” He looked at me with this strange look and said “You’re serious, aren’t you? You’re serious.” Then I busted up laughing. He actually thought I was serious. In the (and I’m not getting political here) imfafous words of Joe Biden, I said “C’mon!” Lol.
Finally, we got the new unit up and running, and we left behind our old asbestos corrugated walled control rooms for the state of the art central control room. It was in the training, and watching the construction, that I realized what my electrical teacher was hinting about. Solid state circuits, relays, instrumentation, motor controls alarms, etc. yep. It’s the new age.
Yes, that Lone Pine. The tracks no longer go all the way up there though. They stop at Searles about 45 miles from Mojave.
I work out of proviso.....10 more years
Hang in there! It's worth it!
And thanks for checking out my channel!
I'm at Proviso. 9 to go.
Good👍
I won't miss managers who know way less than the experienced work force. Telling them hey look the sky is blue. Them saying no its cloudy. Me saying it's clearly blue. Then them saying we think its cloudy were going with clouds. Then when it doesn't work I have to clean up the mess after I told them the sky was blue. Metafor.
Fortunately, my last two were the only ones like that. One out of arrogance the other out of ignorance.
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Well, I made it to my new company and was working for some time. I showed up at my parents house, and my dad noticed my hard hat in my car. He was uneasy. I wouldn’t say he was pissed. More astonished that I made it into management so soon. After all, we were a pro union democratic family. In fact, my dad held office positions, was on the negotiating committee, etc. you see, where I worked, the operators wore gold hard hats. Pipe fitters wore green hard hats. Mechanics wore blue hats, electrical-yellow, health, fire and safety-red and finally, management wore white ones. At my new company,everyone wore white hard hats, except for Fire and Safety, which were, of course, red. So, I just let my dad stew in his disappointment a while before I told him what’s up. 😂. You see, I’m always a kidder.
But, as far as working conditions were over the years, we would get some new hires that were good, intelligent, motivated people. Other times, wow! Where did they pick up these guys. For a while, they were doing some social work by hiring some kids who were taking some process industry class at the local Jr. college. They weren’t the brightest bulb in the box. A small minority made it to succeed, while the majority managed to get fired, quit, or never to be heard of again. Some people can’t appreciate such a good paying job. Especially in these times. They were more interested in socializing and partying. We did get one old guy, who would smoke the younger operators in the work performance, attitude willingness to help out all the time. Unfortunately, his wife passed away, and as you may know when one of a pair leaves, the other is soon to follow. He was so lost and heartbroken without her. He started hanging out in strip clubs, and took up with one of the strippers.she lived with him and just about cleaned him out, before we helped him wise up and kick her to the curb. But, soon after, he started abusing alcohol. His attendance was declining badly. He ended up testing beyond the limit for blood alcohol and was fired. Just by the good nature of him, the circumstances he faces, and all of us pulling for him, we managed to get his job back. On “probation”. He worked out great for a while, and everyone was happy he was able to get a second chance. Unfortunately, he fell into the alcohol trap again and got fired. He moved and we lost track of him. Some years later, a coworker passed away, and he attended the service. Wow! What a changed person.. went the born again Christian route. But, he was doing great. It was good to see the good old friend we once new.
Then we started getting military veterans hired on as they were given first opportunity. They worked out pretty well. For a while one of them came in and threw his weight around, always resisting our ways of doing things. Thinking we should do his, don’t do that, he didn’t feel he should have to do this and that. He was intelligent., but, he was giving people a hard time.( had worked up to process supervisor of the unit.). I had told him that I appreciated his interest in doing things his way, but, he’s the low man in the totem pole, and needs to show reverence to his senior operators, who knew what’s going on in the place. He later chilled outs and survived. Then, there was another, short stature, well, let’s just leave it at that. He was very nice and respectful. He had the motivation to do well, but, lacked some experience and confidence. I had concerns for him, and sort of gave him more attention to help him succeed. I am now retired and hear everyone is working well with each other and moving up in the ranks. But, I hate to admit it, and I never followed their advice. But the older seasoned operators were truthful in saying “if you don’t do anything you won’t fuck up anything, and you won’t get fired. As it turns out, the operators like myself try well, not go the extra distance, rather just do our job. We would flush out a level bridle, and cause an upset in the unit, even though we do it properly. Maybe even break a valve. Over fill a chemical tank, because you topped it off and got distracted. Yeah, it would be their fault. But, if they left it for the other guy, they wouldn’t be the one getting fired. Things like that. So, I hear you about other coworkers not pulling their own weight whether limited knowledge or experience, or desire to do a good days work. I used to tell people I give 110 % effort each and every week. 20% Monday, Tuesday, W, T, F and 5% on Saturday and Sunday. I’d come on shift finding out I have to recharge a caustic drum because my test results showed it was weak. I’ve set up the titration equipment with a hidden telltale is someone has not pulled their sample and just “pencilled in” their readings. I don’t like to report it. I like to bring it to their attention and see if they fess up to it. Often they deny it, even they know I know what they’re up to. It’s not just not earning the money they are paid, but their pushing their work load on their fellow union brother. Tisk tisk. LolBy draining it, I run the risk of going too fast causing the flare to light up. It used to be a normal thing in the days of old. But environmental regulations now are able to measure the slightest flow coming out of the flares.. the AQMD Air quality management district) gets the live data in their headquarters (and for all I know, on the inspectors iPhones). Next thing, they are at the gate to find out why it happened. Was it mechanical failure? Was it emergency operations? Was it human error? And fines and reports often led to disciplinary action from verbal warning, written warning, suspension, terminations. So, I can appreciate big brother with their eyeballs on you in the truck or any aspect of your job performance. I tell ya. It’s like somebody somewhere feels they need to justify their position, by making sure that their subordinates can’t do their own work without them.
I hear you about excessive meetings. How about having the, when there some urgency to change, correct or prevent some conditions. We get the bulletins, telling us our safety records. Our supervisors can reach us when something needs to be discussed. Sometimes it just gets out of hand..shortly before I left, I can’t tell you how many meetings we had in response to one of our male operators who has undergone hormone therapy, dresses like a woman, wears makeup, and requires the ability to use the woman’s restroom. I got along with him all along, but, he was an asshole with other operators, and this change didn’t mend any fences. I on a couple of instances called him by his male name instead of calling her by her female adjusted first name. She understood it was out of years of habit, and certainly understands this. But, with others, she throws around her attitude. As Bob Dylan sings, “these times are a changing”.
Mark: I have retired from working at NASA/JSC. As an investor in the railroads, I like to ride Amtrak. It give me a chance to see how my investments are doing.
I think office politics is just about everywhere. Drafted or forced overtime another thing I didn't like. Finally not conference call meetings per say for less important like me. Though we did had so called department meetings which honestly even our Chief made it appear like he was just going through the motions of having a meeting. Nothing was ever accomplished from them nor anything gained. If you were fortunate or less fortunate to have to come in on your days off for an easy 2 hour overtime paid meeting I guess so. However as you noted much better things to do with that money including manpower. Which Staff too can be called off their assignments just for something as dumb as this. Would volunteer to keep myself available for calls. Some even stayed @ their assignments or volunteered to as to not having to come to this meeting. Finally there will always yes sadly co workers we really like or not like. Those we stay in touch with. Many sadly have their own lives could care less.
They couldn't force us to work OT but they'd piss and moan if we didn't when things were hectic.
I spent 10-20 years working with most of the guys and other than the one who is one of my best friends, not one has called me!
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About to start working as a groundman for UP.......Any advice?
Work hard, be safe, don't convince yourself, or let others convince you, that you hate your job!
Brow beating employees makes them work just hard enough to not get fired. I guarantee it costs corporations money. Employee sees something that needs to be addressed. It will sit until it causes a problem requiring another dispatch (barring life critical stuff of course).
My best friend and mentor was a foreman named Ken Tucker did you know him also my favorite Supervisor was Mike Lyons
Didn't know Tucker but knew Mike very well.
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I'm willing to bet that they were recording what you would say in your service truck also. BUT, the reason they had cameras and monitors installed was for THOSE WHO DO waste time, or milk the clock, since the pay is decent, there are SOME people who just don't give a crap and will work the least for the most pay. Sadly, I have relatives who are like that. I turned my back on them, 'cause they just don't have ANY work ethics, or for life either. They're lazy. These types of people are like a boat anchor hanging out the back of the stern when you are trying to get somewhere in life and you happen to be working together with them. The best thing I did, was cut the anchor chain and leave 'em behind. 😁👍
Now, my relatives are mad and jealous 'cause I left them behind and don't want anything to do with them anymore. 😁
Mark, Since you've had the benefit of experience as a Signalman on the UP, I was wondering what your thoughts were regarding the Communications Department. Specifically, the Senior Electronics Technician position. I have the opportunity to apply for a SET job, and I was wondering what your thoughts/knowledge were on this position. In particular, how family friendly it might or might not be. Work at my current employer has become rather dicey, in particular concerning job security, and I'm just trying to consider my options. I welcome your thoughts.
The commtecs I know have liked their jobs. Ours are headquartered but they have large territories. I'm friends with the local one and he's home most of the time.
As far as the equipment, I only know about the stuff that involved the signal department and it's all new stuff.
I don't know which road you're looking at but most class 1 roads are in the process of downsizing so I'd ask a lot of questions. UP is stretched pretty thin in the comm dept already so they may be more secure.
Good luck and thanks for checking out my channel!
@@MarkClayMcGowan The SET Position is with the UP, however I'm concerned about the job's longevity. The Intermodal Facility known as Global 3, which is located in the same town as the SET Position, is supposed to be closing. I don't know how much work the SET has, if any, at the Intermodal Facilities, so I'm not sure how this will impact the job.
I’m only considering the UP jobs, because it’s a higher rate of pay ($39.60/hr.), it’s closer to my elderly parents, and my current employer seems to be in bad financial straits, which doesn’t bode well for my current job’s future, not to mention retirement. Either way, I'm reluctant to leave my job of 19 years, with 4-Weeks of paid vacation & 7-Days of paid time off. The interview with UP is still about a month away, but I have my reservations about the job transition, should they even offer it to me.
@@arbutuswatcher yeah, I don't know about the tech job at an intermodal and UP is pretty tight lipped about closures and job cuts until the last minute. I wish you luck!
Well, I went to their Structured Interview, with 3 managers & an H.R. Rep. It was a bit of a joke. They stated that it's a good job, and in the same breath proudly claimed that they furloughed 40 people in the very same department, just in the last 6-months! Then they outlined the many creative ways an employee could be terminated. And yes, they spoke very proudly about their GPS Tracking of Vehicles, On-Board Camera System, Cellphone usage, and Precision Railroading or Precision Scheduled Railroading (PSR). As my Union Steward once said, "the Company Kool-Aid was Free-Flowing."
Mark, you are fortunate to have retired from there, when things were much better. Employees appear to be under the microscope just a little too much for my taste. The pay & benefits were decent, for the most part, but all the other B.S. left me with a bad taste in my mouth. I still have a high respect for railroaders, whether it's Signal, Comm., MOW, or Transportation. Too bad the company doesn't let employees, just do their job.
Thanks for the advice.
@@arbutuswatcher yeah, it gets more sketchy all the time. One of my besties is a Signal Maintenance Foremen with five years left. We have coffee most mornings and I get a regular ear full of the shenanigans around there.
It's still not a bad thing to have on your resume` but probably not worth giving up a good job for.
I hope you find something that suits you perfectly.
You said you like jets??? If you have any interest in the mechanics of the jet engine, may I suggest the TH-cam channel of AgentJayZ? He, well, I can’t say enough. He overhauls them and tests them. I think you’ll like his videos. I believe he was also into jet boats, and jet cars. I’m sure you’ll find some videos that you like.
Thanks. I'll check it out!
Hello sir.
What do you think about this job for women? I’ve worked on a smaller railroad, I’m a welder, I currently work for the military.(this is something I want to do when I get out). What are your views on this? Thanks!!!
It can be a very physically demanding job and the work is rain or shine but if you're up for it I see no reason you shouldn't give it a shot! You have to take four "phases" of signal training within the first couple of years and pass a test at each phase. It's not rocket science but neither is it easy.
There have been a few women in the signal dept. although never in my region so there's no barrier.
It's a good job but the RR is a bit unsteady right now with the new "precision railroading" plans most class 1 roads are involved in.
Good luck and thanks for checking out my channel!
Won't miss managers everywhere, 24 hr call and getting furloughed..
Hurry up and wait. The life of a signal maintainer,
Yup. Now the only thing I have to wait on is payday!
Thanks for checking it out!
train people. hire me again. RR.
Sounds a lot like CN Rail, hey wait do you not have a CEO from CN? I worked with that guy in the late 70s in Jasper. I used to hate how they started to run things then I figured out I was making twice as much money and physically doing half as much work. They called it scheduled or precision railroading. It never worked but I actually came to like it for the entertainment value. The last 20 years the managers/bosses seamed like they were right out of the movie police academy. It was bizarre and hilarious
What does a track laborer with a CDL do ?
Drives the big gang trucks on top of regular duties. However, most gangs have an assigned driver. The signal dept. also requires a CDL for new hires. Just in case, I guess!
Mark Clay McGowan cool! Thanks for the reply! I applied so let’s see what they say. Haha
Knew Roger Rico we called him Roger Ramjet not a nice guy unless your were his boss
We called him that too back when he was a system inspector
Spot on Mark. I am quickly approaching my Retirement from the UP signal department and I totally agree with your likes and dislikes. Particularly with the @%*! FSM program.
Thanks! I think most guys feel the same way. I still have coffee with my buddy most days and he reminds of why I'm glad I left as soon as I could.
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i have nothing. i work.
Management took a job that people liked to do and now it’s one they hate and they gained little if anything!!!!!!
they restore union Pacific 24014 big boy
I was already retired! I have a video on this channel about my Dad and I seeing the 4014 at Kelso, Ca.
Just Subbed To Your Channel, I Just Did The Same Pull The Pin Come Uncoupled, From 1979 To 2021, Yea Its Sweet, Enjoy The Fruits Of Labor.
Yea I Do The Screeching And Yea I Still Ware Vest, And Now The Mask Are A Clever Disguise, Yea Iam The Lunatic From Arno, Some Place Wise, Wise County Va.
I Must Have Gotten Lucky, I Was A Trackman, We Knew The Signalmen, Worked With Them A Lot, Got Away With No Aches And Pains, One Supervisor He Said If I Had Ever Done Any Work, I Would Have Aches And Pains, Yea I Did My Whole Career Injury Free No FELA Claims, Just Was Called A Lot Of Names, Lunatic Stuck,Yea I Hooked Tie Plates On The Rail Gang, Yea Hoot Gibson, Told Me Once, I Want Men That Will Roll? WTF, Take The Tie Plates I Handled Load Them On A Low Side Gons You Would Break Axles.
Mark ... you are just one of those spoiled characters that just does not get it ... I would have dismissed you earlier .... you just are not a team player, do not know what your problem is ... but enjoy retirement, as sure your employer will ... you said it your self, everyone does things differently ... I have done the railroad thing the aviation thing and finally independent business and realized, in order to get things done, it comes down to team work and respect.... does not show with your dialogue .... hope I am incorrect. Good Luck. You would make a good Long Haul Truck Driver as all you have to talk to is yourself. Cheers.