WannabeTrainOp

Regarding leaving a track in the yard please remember the following. A LOT of people have been screwing this up and it could cause a split switch or derailment AND get your coworkers in the tower in trouble.

 

Train is ready to move, signal is red. "READY TO PROCEED on track XX"

Train is ready to move, signal is clear. "PERMISSION TO PROCEED ON CLEAR SIGNAL (# if required) on track XX"

 

DO NOT ASK FOR "PERMISSION" TO LEAVE A TRACK IN THE YARD IF THE JACK IS RED. People have been doing this and it can confuse new tower operators or dispatchers. Also, never leave a track in the yard if the jack is red. Ever.

So I have a radio scanner and sometimes I park my car outside of train yards and listen to the chatter. From all I've heard I think it's best to phrase it as "XXX Tower, track XXX is ready for a lineup". That's if the little short leaving signal is red. Once it goes to yellow then you say "XXX Tower, permission to proceed on track XXX". I practice this all the time in the simulator I built in my basement and I've never had an accident, simulated or otherwise.

The reason people say that is schoolcar is "relatively" the easy part compared to actually being on your own. However, if you don't take it seriously, and learn it (and keep studying/refreshing after you're done), you can get caught with your pants down on your own.

 

A lot of things you will only see once, but you'll need to remember. And you need to take it seriously. And a lot of people come in with the attitude of "why do I need to know that?" or "that's for the RCI, not me", or "well if anything THAT crazy happens, a TSS will be there." And that's just a bad attitude to have.

 

Take pride in your job, it DOES take skill. Don't just be a "stop and go" train operator. Know your job and keep learning every day. That doesn't end when schoolcar does. In fact, it really just begins.

What else are you going to be learning AFTER schoolcar that's going to make you a better train operator? Maybe route familiarization and getting a better feel for the different equipment but that's about it. Anything else you learn you certainly are not supposed to be employing in everyday operations or else schoolcar would've taught it to you. When you put 2 cars out the station try explaining that you cut out a breaker because you "learned" that it stops the train smoother.

Learn what schoolcar has to teach you and take it seriously enough that you pass the class. But when you're out in revenue service you only use a fraction of what you had to memorize so have fun.

Question for anyone on the job or in schoolcar: do you sign on to the payroll when you start your shift or do you swipe in at a timekeeping machine (ie, Kronos)?

Here's one: remember there are TWO stop arms when you hit a homeball

I was reading Mediccjh very first post in this thread and he wrote that he go his photo ID and a Metrocard. They were one and the same at one point...your "pass" was an employee Metrocard with your picture on it. Is this no longer the case?

Sorry don't feel like scanning through 115 pages in this thread to find out - but can anyone tell me if TO's still have to go through the "simulator" at Livingston street as part os schoolcar?