Rule #1 -- Don't get hurt.     Safety is the first priority. Er, or is it the second, after money.... Or the third after getting the trains out....

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Name: Furlough retention board
E-mail: 
Employed as: Conductor, for 1-10 years
Posted: 05 June 2012

NOMO and RRJ I agree with what you say and I can tell that you both
understand what the chief complaint I was making by keeping boards cut
low. If you read the contract the retention board reads great and yes
you do get to keep your insurance and rr credits but the true negative
side is the way to company, true to form, has abused the intent of
keeping qualified employees.

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Name: RRJ E-mail: Employed as: Locomotive Engineer, for 30+ years Posted: 05 June 2012 NoMo I think you know the point being made with retention boards the railroad can keep extra boards cut back. Years ago furlough boards the unions had some leverage on adding jobs. I knew people that made more on a furlough board then those working regular assignments. Most people didn't bother to sign up opting for the RRB unemployment which back then only paid $25 a day. During my winter furloughs in Ohio in the '70s I didn't work them to darn cold to much snow. My rent for a house back then was only $125 a month which was one week unemployment. There's good and bad in everything. The positive side of retention boards it keeps health coverage and RRB credits current. The negative why add jobs if there is a ready source of people to fill in. Every area is different. Some posted the retention boards worked 3 days a week off four days. Other areas it's 2 weeks on 2 weeks off which makes more sense. People who complain about they gave up jobs it was their choice. CSX-sucks isn't a place to get advise for those wanting to get hired but there are others like railroad.net that have employment sights which give the facts. View This Article

Name: NoMo E-mail: Employed as: Other, non-employee, for N/A Posted: 05 June 2012 Hey Furlough Retention Board: Consider yourself lucky...the purpose of working is to earn money and the more you work, the more you earn. Unemployment doesn't pay much and pays even less if it's not railroad. The carrier will find someone to fill the vacancy. The most money I ever made on CSX was off the furlough board my 1ST year, in yard service at 80%. 12 hours a day until I told CMC to take my name of the call list for a few days. All the talk you hear about sticking together and looking out for each other sounds nice but in reality is bull shit. Your first and foremost responsibility is for yourself and your family, after that is secure, you can worry about the Brothers an Sisters! View This Article

Name: Furlough retention board E-mail: Employed as: Conductor, for 1-10 years Posted: 04 June 2012 I also wanted to say that the furlough retention board seems like a part-time work force and plays into the company's hands. While on it I have worked almost everyday I have been marked up. I will be able to draw unemployment very soon and will probably just furlough. If everyone on the board will do the same, eliminate the part-time workforce, the company will not be able to collect their $250/week overpayments and will consistently run out of conductors and brakemen. This may help everyone get back to work. View This Article

Name: Furlough retention board E-mail: Employed as: Conductor, for 1-10 years Posted: 04 June 2012 Conditions less than 1 year I understand what you are talking about. I am in the same boat but from experience at other jobs and a gut feeling we should stick it out. I hope you are not on the furlough retention board because you are marked up 3 days and off 4 per week but, only paid for 2 days. In addition, they have yet to pay it correctly and are not sending checks or grossly overpaying then deducting $250/half. I don't know what contract you are under but with ours we should be able to go to other terminals and qualify but are being denied. I stand for 25+ jobs at nearby terminals and cannot take one as a brakeman. I also have younger employees working at my home terminal, marked up, and cannot take or qualify there either. I can say that I live near several mines and the loadouts have coal stacked to the moon but not moving. I think that there is a lot of political posturing going on and the toughest rooster will win. Keep your chin up! View This Article

Name: E-mail: Employed as: Other, non-employee, for N/A Posted: 04 June 2012 Conductor 1, RRJ shot you the straight stuff, now hear is mine. Hired in January 1963, worked all that I wanted. terminated from service in may 1964. Rehired in June 1964 and worked all that I wanted until October 1968, furloughed for 5 days, back on the board and worked all that I wanted. I resigned in may of 1970, seeking a different life style. The RR is a career that does not demand prior training, however it does require dedication. If you look around the Railroad you will see that T/E is where the over hiring exist. The reason is the (Danger) that is a part of moving trains. A standing locomotive, or car is not dangerous, however when they move it takes a select few to understand the dynamics, and how to handle the movement. The RR does not know who is going to retire, they have to guess. Hiring is a back up plan that has worked for many years, and continues today. If I were you I would take a look at the T/E roster, heck the hire date, birth date is all there. Then hope you are a good guesser. View This Article

Name: RRJ E-mail: Employed as: Locomotive Engineer, for 30+ years Posted: 04 June 2012 Cond less than 1 Welcome to the railroad. Furloughs are a part of the job. It has nothing to do with CSX it's all railroads. They hire to replace people retiring. They might not retire in your timeframe but eventually they'll be gone. I know people don't like to hear it but it happens. When I got hired out in 1977 got marked up worked 3 1/2 weeks got furloughed for 3 months got called back worked 6 weeks got furloughed again for 3 1/2 months. This went on for almost 4 years. I know this doesn't make it easier to understand. I hope things get better. View This Article

Name: E-mail: Employed as: Conductor, for Less than 1 year Posted: 04 June 2012 I have never seen a company that will hire a bunch of people as conductors, put them through all of the training, qualify them on their territory, mark them up, and then lay all of them off. I left a perfectly good job to come work at CSX and now am going to be in the unemployment line. What a useless company. I wish someone would have educated me a few months ago. View This Article

Name: 100E5 E-mail: Employed as: Locomotive Engineer, for 1-10 years Posted: 02 June 2012 "Retire with a good life and laugh. It is just a JOB." Man, someone drank the Kool-Aide JAX was serving gulp after gulp after gulp. View This Article

Name: carl taylor E-mail: cltaylor@aol.com Employed as: Employed in other capacity, for 10-20 years Posted: 31 May 2012 Shutup, you bunch of whinning babies. I spent 20 years baby sitting for you children. View This Article

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Name: Robert Pines E-mail: btpino40@gmail.com Employed as: Other, non-employee, for N/A Posted: 29 May 2012 Nope Slackie not my bunch ---It takes a special kind of dumb to take ...the 8,000-ton freight train speeding down the tracks in southeast British Columbia... View This Article

Name: slack action E-mail: Employed as: M of W, for 10-20 years Posted: 29 May 2012 Hey Pines is this one of your relatives: Call it the luck of the drunk. An inebriated man from Alberta, Canada, who was run over by 26 train cars while lying passed out on the tracks walked away unscathed. On May 20, the 8,000-ton Canadian Pacific Railway freight train was speeding down the tracks in southeast British Columbia, west of the Rocky Mountains, when the engineer noticed the man in his 20s straight ahead. The train conductor sounded the horn and hit the emergency brakes, but it was too late. When the train finally screeched to a stop, workers found the man still sleeping under the 26th car, according to the New York Daily News. View This Article

Name: Robert Pines E-mail: btpino40@gmail.com Employed as: Other, non-employee, for N/A Posted: 29 May 2012 http://www.41nbc.com/news/local-news/12638-train-accident-claims-two-lives-on-eve-of-memorial-day """There's no railroad crossing arms at the intersection, but Galpin says a driver can clearly see any on-coming trains.""" This clown been on the railroads three hour brain wash tour or is he paid off by RR? Clearly see """ IF """ if there is no rain, fog, smoke, dust, second train, bigger vehicle in front, approaching vehicle on opposite side, window posts, cargo passengers, mirrors, light reflecting, bright sun in drivers eyes. FACTS the killer railroad KNOW!!! Where are the FEDS to cover up the faulty signal which is MURDER (happens all the time)for their railroad buds? --- http://www.nrc.uscg.mil/reports/rwservlet?standard_web+inc_seq=1012801 http://www.macon.com/2011/07/17/1633849/warner-robins-railroad-intersection.html#storylink=misearch http://www.gahighwaysafety.org/docs/railhighwaygradecrossingactionplan1112.pdf View This Article

Name: E-mail: Employed as: Other, non-employee, for N/A Posted: 27 May 2012 Just caught a note from the last post??? Wreck train???? I got a few for the wrecker! JUST SAYIN? View This Article

Name: kyle E-mail: Employed as: Conductor, for 20-30 years Posted: 23 May 2012 To rrj, i was talking about working around these loaded covered hoppers in the yard, ya know switching them around, oh yea many times they derailed, mostly they would pick switches, but yes the deal about being in the shanty, as a few yrs ago a grain train was pulling into the yard on a ladder, 1 car picked the switch and 6 of them rolled over on thier sides 2 of the cars rolled right over the car knockers shanty and made it as flat as a pancake, & the 3 car knockers had thier cars parked next to the shanty, flat as pancakes also, the only thing thatg saved thier lives is cuz they were out working a train at the time at 3 am, i know cuz i was called for the wreck train that morning, & i could not believe the devastion, those 100 ton covered hoppers are bad news all around and you can sure bet they overload them too, i seen some on the scales that went 120 tons 20 over the limit, but thats the rr for you, always trying to cut a fat hog in the ass to save a few bucks, covered hoppers are a very bad design and i will leave it at that, old timers told me they never had problems like that until those cars came on the rr property and knowing the rr today, they will even tryh to make them bigger, hell who knows 200 ton covered hoppers, as clint eastwood would say,, a man has to know his limitations, but that don,t applie to railroads, cuz all they do is if it works on paper then it works out in the field,,, if you think ik have a pet pive about covered jumbo hoppers,, yea damm right i do. View This Article

Name: E-mail: Employed as: Conductor, for 10-20 years Posted: 21 May 2012 CSX is now are given people 10 days suspension for switch tags. While other people are derailing equipment and only receiving 7 days on the street. Don't know what they are thinking about I've seen someone get 10 days for a switch tag and another person receive 9 days for 8 derail car's and 100k worth of damage. This company has lost its mind View This Article

Name: RRJ E-mail: Employed as: Locomotive Engineer, for 30+ years Posted: 21 May 2012 Kyle It seemed just about every year a grain train would derail in the yard. After a half ass clean up a month later the smell of rotting grain became to much. I know we would get out of the shack when one entered the yard the way it rocked at the switch point. Most times it derailed mid yard 10-12 cars turned over. View This Article

Name: kyle E-mail: Employed as: Conductor, for 20-30 years Posted: 21 May 2012 To rrj you just stuck a nerve,,grain trains== covered hoppers, i don,t trust loaded covered hoppers as for some reason they seem very derailment prone, I have had them pick switches in the yard for no appperent reason and they rock like hell on bad track, almost every derailment i seen on youtube involves covered hoppers. View This Article

Name: RRJ E-mail: Employed as: Locomotive Engineer, for 30+ years Posted: 19 May 2012 Kyle A lot can happen. Grain trains use to make me nervious at times. The weigh with the covered hoppers no wind drag ect....there were times I'd put the air on nothing add more still nothing getting closer to the signal finally after taking a bigger chunk out of it then it would take hold stop short. lol. Checking out the locomotives is the engineers responsibility. Bad part if it came out the shop and the calender day was current things can be taken for granted. I've had light locomotives with half the brakes cut out under the same situation after changing brake shoes they forget to turn the angle cock to cut it back in. Go back check it out no pistons showing. The situation I described it wasn't light locomotives they had 150 empty coal hoppers. They were asleep during afternoon daylight. The conductor got back in 6 months the engineer finally got back after 2 years. Even with the mistake of missing the approach they could of still stopped the absolute can be seen for a good mile of straight track. The switch from single to double track on to #1 mainline was also medium speed they hit it at 50 mph. I guess if the TD hadn't caught it and hollered at them on the radio no telling how far they would of went or what disaster could of occurred. Luckily it was lined for #1 main with no other train ahead or MOW working with the rail tore up. View This Article

Name: kyle E-mail: Employed as: Conductor, for 20-30 years Posted: 19 May 2012 To rrj, ya know as you know as you NEVER assume anything on the rr as if yha do that you will get in big trouble, as p;er say you never trust another peeps who says its ok yer all lined up with the switches, then you end up running one, that did happen to me 3 times already, lucky no derailments, but the best 1 is one day i took a light engine out of a yard onto the main line, the ym said he would close the crossover switches when we left the yard, so off we went, when we got the app signal to the interlocking, agin no big deal for a light switch engine, then 2 red eyes at the home signal, the hogger put on the indepentent and nothing no slow down, then he dumped the air,, nothing, no slow down at all! then the engineman did the plug the motors and we stopped 3 ft short of the home signal with a train in front of us crossing over, glad for his fast thinking to do that or it would have been a pile up & some dead peeps too, but yea it did happpen and it would have been our fault too, after we got stopped i found the cut out cocks to both engine trucks had been cut out, the m&e had replaced the brake shoes on that engine and forgot to cut the cocks back in line, bujt we would have got the blame as the rule says you the crew are to make sure the brakes on a locomotive are in operating condition before you move a locomotive, so see this is what assumming things on the rr can lead too, and yes that scared the hell out of me that day even though nothing did happen,, got to admitt that was the only time a seen a engineman plug the motors, the retard force of that wacked me right up aginst the forward 600 volts baulk head on that loco, i will never forget it, you never forget things like that, and no i am not making this up cuz it did happen! View This Article

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