11-16-2010, 08:15 AM
RobertInOntario Wrote:I've been wondering what an accurate railroad atmosphere -- and workers -- are really like? I've heard some pretty "interesting" stories (from former railroad staff and those connected with railroads) about workers boozing it up and also fudging their time sheets so that they would be paid for more hours or for work they didn't do, etc.Rob
My answer would be that railroaders are some of the most diverse people I've ever met. Some of the people I remember:
-A guy so cheap that he saved the napkins out of the open crew packs to take home... he also would eat any unlabeled lunch bag out of the yard office refrigerator so he could save his own lunch for the next day
-A guy that liked expensive toys... he drove a BMW to work, had a second car at his away terminal, had expensive stereo equipment in both. Lived in a very expensive neighborhood. But he had so many toys he had to work constantly to pay for them all. He had a series of girlfriends, but no family since he had no time for one.
-A guy that brought a plethora of luggage on every trip. Whatever it was he might possibly need at home, he brought with him.
-A gorgeous blond female from Alabama that had a southern "drawl" accent, long painted fingernails, she was always clean and smelled oh so good! I remember having a GP40-2 shut down one day, she went back with a fusee and a hammer and fixed it, came back and didn't have a dirt streak or drop of oil on her. She was an engineer temporarily transferred to my division.
Plenty of people who couldn't speak without saying the "F" word, plenty of very religious people. One guy was a pastor of a church. I also knew a guy that had 2 families, one at his home terminal, one at his away terminal.
The only real fudging of paperwork I ever witnessed or took place in was to put our working time off at 11:59 instead of 12:00, so as to allow us to come back to work in 8 hours instead of being mandated for 10 hours rest.
Finally, I never met a reckless engineer. I never knew an engineer to intentionally speed or break rules. Also, the alcohol abuse is all but over. On duty I mean. Plenty of railroaders drink, but it takes planning in order to assure that you are sober when the call comes to work.
Dave
-Dave