Training so far.

Training consist of class room study/tests, training on location(in the train yard) and OJT(on the job training). The schedule goes
3 weeks new hire classroom training
3 weeks OJT
2 weeks conductor(classroom) training
2 weeks OJT
10 days RCO(remote control operator) class room training
1 week OJT
 After you complete all of that your considered "marked up" which means you can go to work. Your still in a probationary period which railroaders call the "derail period"(railroaders have various different terminologies for everything).
 So far class has been good. Iv made good grades on everything and haven't had any problems. In class you study and do home work. You take quiz's and tests over most subjects. You have to make an 85 on your tests in order to pass. If you fail one you're given a second chance the following day but then you have to make a 90 or better. If you don't your fired so it's a good idea to take it serious and study. The things you learn will also save your life while your at work.
The first week we learned the general orders that are out of GCOR(General code of operating rules). It;s mostly the same policies every company has but GCOR goes into greater depth. We also learned about HAZMAT(hazardous materials) and about what type of authority you need for the various parts of the track.
 Class is Mon-Sat 8am-5pm. And no that's not a miss print. Class is 6 days a week. I got a pretty good instructor so I haven't had any trouble understanding anything. I think as long as someone pays attention and asks questions when they don't understand something, they'll do fine. I'm half way through with training so Ill update my blog after I take the final exam.

Why I created this?

I became interested in becoming a freight train conductor in Aug of 2011. I talked to a couple friends that have already been conductors and it seemed like something Id really enjoy. It pays great, great medical insurance, retirement, get to operate heavy machinery, and the lifestyle itself seemed appealing to me.
 When I was in my young teens I wanted to be an automotive or diesel mechanic. I left home when I was 18 and went to UTI to study automotive diesel technology. After that I worked in a variety o different places including automotive shops, big rig shops, Mack truck dealer, VW dealer, a municipality, natural gas compressor for the oil field, manager of an automotive shop, and an rv dealer. I really wasn't happy anywhere. The work was mostly mundane tasks every day and it seems shops were always willing to do anything to make repairs at the mechanics exspense.
 I had applied for a class 1 railroad back in 04 and I actually got invited to a hiring session. Me and 30 other guys showed up. The session started and we were told we were there for one position as a brakeman and someone in the company transferred and took the spot so we came for nothing. I didn't re-apply until Aug. I applied and got a rejection letter so I did some research and came across an online book I could buy that explained what they were looking for, how the hiring sessions were performed and how to get hired(getarailroadjob.com). The book was great and I learned a lot from the online forum. I submitted another application and got an invite in Nov 2011. Ill make another post to detail the hiring session but it went well and I got hired. I started class in Jan 2012 and so far I have completed week one.
 My plan for this blog is post about what a freight train conductor does and how the lifestyle is . I really had a hard time finding any information about what exactly a conductor did and what their work schedule was like. I'm going to update the blog as much as I can and I'm going to try to keep a calender updated so you can see how my time goes and what I learned along the way.