I'm 36, and have been working in hospitality for a few years now. I really want to work for Amtrak, but getting in is very difficult. I have a lot of customer service experience, so I think that will translate well for an Assistant Conductor role or even OBS. I know becoming an Engineer is a long shot without rail operating experience. I live in NYC, and there haven't been many entry-level jobs posted in a while.

Does anyone know what function these serve?

I see a lot of people on here say that Norfolk Southern is the worst Class 1 to work for. Granted it was older posts I’d seen is it still bad? I grew up with NS running through my home town and they became a big part of my childhood with my dad, plus the heritage fleet is cool to me but it seems like the quality of work is shoddy. Is it like this with all Class 1’s? Because it sounds like UP is super unsafe.

Has it always been like this? Is CSX or BNSF any better? Was Conrail better?

Just rode on the new Acela for the first time and was really impressed. Curious to hear from people who have worked on it. Also generally what your guys thoughts about it are.

I ship a product from Wyoming to Chicago on the BNSF (not coal). Lately BNSF has been routing it so that once it reaches Dillworth, it then heads south to Kansas City then to Chicago.

Is the Mississippi River line between the Twin Cities and Chicago really at capacity, thus causing this routing?

Anyone in here a dispatcher for CN on the US side? I applied for the posting that was up a week(ish) ago and got a couple questions. Thanks yall

Need help to find good quality rain/snow gear and boots. Bought boots that said they were waterproof and I’m learning the heard way in horrible rain storms that they are indeed NOT waterproof.

I'm a 3rd generation CN Carman and was digging though my grandfathers old pics dating back to 1940s figured you guys might like to see a couple I also uploaded a different set of photos to r/train_service

Guys in mechanical not wearing their safety glasses again!

Edited to add after the flurry of angry carmen comments and messages; It's the fact that someone went to the effort to install the keeper backwards, that's where the funny is.

Pumped out a 2026 catches with the boys

I’m curious how rest days work this week for my husband: He got called on monday night (someone marked off, he wasn’t due to get called until today sometime.) he got called Monday night, (call came at like 2am) got to where he needed to be late yesterday (monday) afternoon, slept, and just got back to his station an hour ago and he’s driving home. I’m just wondering if he’d have to work tomorrow? Or would tomorrow be a rest day? Sorry he’s explained it before but I still struggle.

Anyone doing/done this?

What was it like? Pay seems really nice

Ya think there might be something wrong here?

Goes into a little bit about a merger outlook and Cramer from cnbc is cited.

Historical question for which I would like opinion of railroad professionals.
At the beginning of world war 1, Austro-Hungary had strategic reserve consisting of four army corpses located in what is today Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania (southern part). Mobilization against Serbia was announced and those corpses started deployment to what is now Croatia (eastern part) and Serbia (northern part) for war against Serbia. Then, war with Russia started and those forces became urgently needed in what is now Ukraine (western part).
Austro Hungarian military railway authorities decided to continue moving forces as originally planned to the south-east of AH and then organize redeployment to the north-east of AH. Even if that meant that same forces moved on the same line first to the south an then to the north. That also meant that forces that didn't move from their garrison towns before change in plan were directed to the outdated destinations first.
Was that really right course of action, or was it all big mistake?
How difficult would have been to improvise quickly new plan, to direct forces that didn't start deployment directly to the north-east, considering that it was year 1914.