Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Six Months

Yeah...it has been a while since I last posted.  Sorry.  Here is what I have been up to though!

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.