A few days ago, I hit six months working for the railroad. For the last few years, I have been in seasonal work, so this is the longest consecutive time I have worked at the same place for a while now. In that time, here are a few things that I have been involved in:
- Traveled 10,291.8 miles by rail
- Moved about 610,000 tons of freight
- Spent approximately 950 hours on trains
- Traveled on 105 different trains
- Handled approximately 12,375 rail cars
- Switched 1 passenger train
- Picked up about 185 cars from customers
- Dropped off about 180 cars to customers
- Dealt with mechanical problems on 3 occasions
- Fixed 1 broken knuckle
- Rode out 1 derailment
I could not even make a slightly educated guess as to how many switches I have lined or track warrants I have copied. Both those activities happen numerous times every time I go to work.
I know I have only been working for the railroad for six months, which really is not very long. While the above statistics seem like a lot, I still feel very new, and I am still learning how everything works. There is a lot more to know than they could possibly cover during the training period, and I continue to learn more every time I go to work.
