Working the UP in St. Louis

Anybody know anything about working for UP in St. Louis, MO? Specifically working in the yard (?) at St. Louis in Train Service hostling locos, throwing switches, twirling handbrakes, operating RC equipment, i.e. the general yard duties. I'm curious about work conditions, etc., in the St. Louis area and/or info on the job itself.

Clayton

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Well im here to tell you that yardwork is not easy. In a city like St. Louis, you'd prolly be working transfers as well as working yards which would require you to learn the track layouts of each yard
dispatcher/terminal dispatcher, and good communications with crews of the other rr's. Yes you'd have to throw switches, some which can be very stubborn. Tieing handbrakes can get very tiring real quick, especially with the wheel. But the ratchet type isnt that bad, to me at least. Rain, sleet, snow -10 or 11o, you will be out there. You'll get locos with no air, the crappers are messed up on them, and just raggedy. You probably will be required to qualify for RCO. They are very dangerous and will require full attention. That is one of the biggest mistakes the UP has ever made. The other nite I was working one in the yard and I got sideswiped by another RCO. The guy who ran into me had been on the job for 10 1/2 hrs doing RCO switching. They expect one man to do two jobs. You gotta line your switches, read your list, climb on and off equipment, tie brakes if nessecary, it is a big headache to me. Train service, I think they go from St Louis north to Chicago. But im not sure if it is all the way to Chicago or not. The south run goes down to Dexter
where we take over and go south from Dexter to Pine Bluff. Now hostling is quite easy. Get n your power and take it out to its designated train. Some of the hostlers here have a kind heart and will switch out a unit to the head end that has A/C. Thank god for them. Hostlers may not work a full 8 hours sometimes. But being in St. Louis im sure they'd stay busy. And one time when I was in the yard last year, for about two months I was working every other shift 8 hours on and 8 hours off. I was about to drop dead a few days and had to lay off. When you get onto the railroad be prepared to work and get all of the BS jobs that works a lot and no one else wants. But once you survive the first couple years you'll be ok. But just be ready and if you ever go to a interview, dont let the black ladt from Omaha scare you off. And if you are a railfan and know your stuff, the skilled craft battery exam will be a breeze. Good luck if you decide to try.

If you're gonna do it, do it with precision.

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But whatever you do, do NOT tell the interviewer that you are a railfan!It is the kiss of death for any applicant on all railroads!
Automatic disqualification, they do NOT want to know this.Reason: if they find that you are a railfan they assume that YOU think you know everything there is to know about the railroad and railroading and will not listen to/adhere to training requirements, etc.Keep your mouth shut on this subject! I wouldn't even discuss it with anyone supervisory to you unless they have made it abundantly clear that they are one as well and that it's an OK thing with them! Still, if you get overt about it expect a pink slip!I know a certain person that wrote a two-part article for Trains magazine about the BNSF in the Kansas City area. He wrote under a pseudonym and his identity was never revealed but he found himself out of a job within 30 days of publication!JBD

Jim Duncan
Midwest Rail Group

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