Trains

[steve-in-kville]

I work at a railroad if anyone has any questions about trains or the industry. It's neat to hear when others have an interest in your line of work

That's good to know.

We did some train watching this past weekend. We live five minutes from a NS main line. Caught most of the locomotive numbers and went home and looked them up. Apparently I caught a rare one, as I later came to learn it was a newer upfit that Norfolk started. Pretty wild.

I didn't realize there was so much to learn about trains, or even railroading for that matter. I'm just soaking it all up!

[appleman2006]

I work at a railroad if anyone has any questions about trains or the industry. It's neat to hear when others have an interest in your line of work

Can you say which railroad you work for and what you do?

I live outside La Junta, CO on the previous Santa Fe mainline between Chicago and Los Angeles, now BNSF.

Did there used to be a Harvey house in La Junta and if so is the building still standing?

[Szdfan]

I work at a railroad if anyone has any questions about trains or the industry. It's neat to hear when others have an interest in your line of work

Can you say which railroad you work for and what you do?

I live outside La Junta, CO on the previous Santa Fe mainline between Chicago and Los Angeles, now BNSF.

Did there used to be a Harvey house in La Junta and if so is the building still standing?

Yes there was. It was part of the train station. The building was torn down and replaced with the current station in the 1950's.

[appleman2006]

Discovered the Harvey girl's story when visiting Barstow CA some years back where they have a brand new replica of a Harvey House in their train station there. And then we spent a night at El Tovar in the Grand Canyon Park some years later which I believe was also a Harvey house in it's day. A very intriguing story for anyone but especially train fans like myself.

[ohio jones]

Some of my most memorable meals were eaten at a Harvey House.

My grandfather's name was Harvey. His house was about 30 feet from a branch line of the Reading Railroad. Trains didn't generally stop there, but I sure did. Grandma's cooking was unbeatable.

[Somebody]

I have a nephew who loves trains. How do you go about getting a job with trains? He's still in school, but asking about it.

[appleman2006]

Some of my most memorable meals were eaten at a Harvey House.

My grandfather's name was Harvey. His house was about 30 feet from a branch line of the Reading Railroad. Trains didn't generally stop there, but I sure did. Grandma's cooking was unbeatable.

But did your grandma wear the uniform and did she talk to guests? Those are the questions.

[ohio jones]

But did your grandma wear the uniform and did she talk to guests? Those are the questions.

Well, she wouldn't have qualified as one of those Harvey Girls because she was married. Obviously. And well over age 30 by the time I knew her. Her cape dress, apron, and covering strings might have deviated from the original, but was still a uniform of sorts. She spoke quietly to the guests, but was a good listener, also.

But we might be getting a bit off track.

[AnthonyMartin]

I grew up in this area and road this train quite a few times http://mountainrailwv.com/#/

Haven't been back in 30 years. Looks like the price has risen. Haven't gotten excited about trains for a long time. Made me long to take a trip back

Oops wrong link https://wvstateparks.com/park/cass-scen ... tate-park/

[Haystack]

Can you say which railroad you work for and what you do?

I work for a small Northern California shortline in the roundhouse (Mechanical). I might be changing crafts in the near future though, I would like to get into the operations side.

That's good to know.

We did some train watching this past weekend. We live five minutes from a NS main line. Caught most of the locomotive numbers and went home and looked them up. Apparently I caught a rare one, as I later came to learn it was a newer upfit that Norfolk started. Pretty wild.

I didn't realize there was so much to learn about trains, or even railroading for that matter. I'm just soaking it all up!

Although I'm from California and don't see NS out here on the west coast, I've always been a big fan of their rebuild programs. They do some great work out of the Juniata shops in Altoona, PA. and it's worth a visit if you're ever in that area. If you still remember the unit numbers, which ones did you happen to spot?

I've had guys at work that have been doing this for over 30 years tell me they still learn new things everyday. There's always something new to learn about trains and railroading!

I have a nephew who loves trains. How do you go about getting a job with trains? He's still in school, but asking about it.

Best advice I can give is to decide what he would like to do on the railroad and either go to school for that trade or become friends with someone that works on the railroad and see if they can get him in as a apprentice. Right now isn't the best time for employment as there's a lot of things happening in the industry and a large number of workers are being furloughed or laid off.

I will say that it's very tough to get in, it took me 7 years, applying everywhere for any position I could. I filled out hundreds of applications, most I never heard back about. I gave up a few times, but it's something I always had a interest for and eventually I got in. The best thing you can do is not get discouraged and keep trying.

Also keep in mind it is a very rough lifestyle depending on what you do on the railroad. It can be extremely dangerous, long hours away from home, a lot of stress, and hard things to cope with. Fatalities are a regular occurrence. Just something to think about before choosing this career, I've seen a lot of people quit because of these reasons.