IronHorse

Listen up peoples, I'd bet the house that they have a class in September!  Everyone waiting on getting called, just be happy you passed your S&D exam.  The waiting and the uncertainty is non negotiable and comes with the job.  Take me for example.  I took sigs n defs last year in july and was told that none of us would start until January. But i started in August and others behind me in August/September and then January.  Just roll with the punches and see where you land.  

26 minutes ago, Mlad18 said:

Don’t even bother with the cd flash cards is the way to go 

Now hold on a damn minute!  I used flash cards throughout, thats a given, however...in addition if you can type, the cd quiz has all signals and definitions there and i would run through each one once a day after doing flash cards and i felt it was a big help.  Not knowing how to type would make it useless though. 

12 hours ago, fd87 said:

Just keep at it bro thier is no easy way to this. Just need to keep hammering it in your brain lol. I have a question for everyone that I should of asked at the overview. For example the Signal absolute-clear if we write absolute clear with no dash is that considered wrong?? Also commas and other slashes through out the packet??

No, not wrong. Dashes are not needed

7 minutes ago, Kashmulla said:

i had the signals down its just the word for word verbatim part thats killing me 

Getting out of bed in the morning kills me.....bit ya know what, you've got one job right now, and thats to remember everything verbatim.  Now hit the books.

1 minute ago, Kashmulla said:

do anyone care to share what signals and definitions was on there s&d test ?

Thats classified information.  I wouldn't worry too much as mine was a piece of friggin cake.  Just know them all and you can't go wrong.  😁

2 minutes ago, PotentialAcCandidate said:

Hi All, 

To anybody that can provide some kind of insight, it would be much appreciated. I took the S&D exam on April 17, and passed the exam with 7 other candidates, out of 20. I have been waiting to hear some feedback, but still nothing. At this point it has been well over a month,  and still no feedback, I have no idea what I should at this point. Can anybody give me some advice? Please, and Thanks.

Just keep doing what you're doing......waiting.  linda oliver has to put the class together, send medical/background check.  Shit takes time.  Sometimes they're in no rush.  You'll get an email eventually. You can email Linda if you like but she's a busy woman.

15 minutes ago, ACdreamer said:

how is the set up of the exam? literally it says for example BLOCK  and you write the definition next to it? the s&d overview was useless

Wait, how was the S&D overview useless?? 

If they give a definition like Block, you provide the answer...   the whole definition short or long.  Signals they give you the picture, then you write indication.  Why would you expect anything other than what you are studying on your flash cards.  There is no guess work here.

2 hours ago, thegameksk said:

Can you explain this? Also does anyone have any other advice for the signs? I'm writing out the vocab which is working great but I can't do that for the signs. 

What do you mean "the signs"?  Signal sign posts?

2 minutes ago, thegameksk said:

For the top does a t shirt work or we need a polo?

Just think of it like this..............every step of the way you're being watched.  The name of the game is to impress.  You either wanna present yourself like a professional or a slob.  You choose!

3 minutes ago, Burner11801 said:

AC18-2 had 3 ac’s fail rules and 1 ac fail air brake. 

Air brake is definitely easier but the prospect of an easier topic shouldn’t lull any ac’s into a sense of security. 

 

Study study study. 

OMG, you guys lost someone to Airbrake.........that's a 1st!  How the hell did they pass rules and fail airbrake.  Jimmy Boyle must've been soooooo mad!

1 minute ago, Noob said:

Dreamer, you are one of those people who are always negative, complaining all the time, hating and being jealous on other people for little things. Please don't apply for any jobs in NYS and move out to Cali or something, somewhere far away from NYS

Hahaha, yeah Cali sounds like a great place for him to go.  I wouldn't be surprised if this person is one of those people that hate the railroad and is just trying to be annoying on purpose.  

12 minutes ago, Dreamer said:

1.  LIRR manager: I was fired for not hiring executive’s daughter By Kathianne Boniello (Hmm Nepotism ) April 3, 2016 | 12:05pm

2.The LIRR hired Graham in 1975 as a car appearance maintainer and six years later promoted him to the position of car repairman.   Graham was not a model employee of the LIRR. He was suspended three times-in 1983 for loafing, failure to follow a direct order, and leaving his job assignment without permission; (Lazy)  the following year for disobeying a supervisor's orders and being off assignment without permission;  and in 1988 for (Really) sleeping while on duty. 

3. It’s not uncommon for the head of one of our railroads to do quality checks to ensure employees are following rules and regulations,” MTA spokeswoman Beth DeFalco said. 

Giulietti would later report what happened to the supervisor for the assistant conductor whose job it was to collect tickets.

4. LIRR Conductor Underreported Fares, Pocketed $700 A Week

by Daniel Hendrick | Posted: Thursday, September 26, 2002 12:00 am

A Long Island Rail Road conductor who worked on lines operating through Queens was charged last week with stealing $50,000 in passenger fares.

Dennis Perri, 49, of Port Jefferson, Long Island, was arrested last Thursday morning by Metropolitan Transit Authority Police, who handed him over to prosecutors.

And your point is.........go get that dream job you want dreamer and beat it!  You couldn't hack it over here!

2 minutes ago, JHP87 said:

 

Thank you for all your insight into this process. I’m older (39), with a family, house, mortgage, etc..... Despite what Dreamer says, failure of these tests is not an option! All your advice on how to study for the exams is most helpful.

I received a packet with horn, buzzer and hand signals along with my email invite to the s&d overview. I just about have all the info down verbatim, but is there a chance they may test us on that at the overview, or is that just to get us started for the s&d exam? 

Overview is just a day where they give you the hard copy packet of sigs/defs and go over them one by one to make sure everyone has a complete packet.  They will give you background on what to expect and make sure you are aware that the process is not easy.  That's it.  I was out of there within 3-4 hours. Don't sweat the age thing.  I came in at 38 with family too.  Just go hard, you got everything to gain.  Put down buzzers, horns, whistles.  Just focus the 5 weeks on sigs/defs. Do those after 

10 minutes ago, Two2Go said:

You're going to be given the full packet of signals and definitions that must be memorized 100% word-for-word verbatim. The instructor will go through each signal, and then through each definition. They will reiterate over and over again that these must all be memorized 100% word-for-word verbatim. The instructor will probably say the word "verbatim" in excess of 50 times.

The instructor will also go through an in-depth overview of what being an A/C is actually like, and will answer any questions you might have about the job. The instructors were conductors themselves at one point, so they're knowledgable.

They'll give you a CD with an app you can use to help you study (I don't recommend it, though -- just use flashcards, or Quizlet if you are a fast typer). The CD also has a practice test that you must complete and e-mail back to them within 2 weeks in order to be allowed to take the actual S&D exam. They will tell you the date for the S&D exam (should be exactly 5 weeks later) and then you'll be released for the day.

I actually used that quiz on the CD to study both in addition to flash cards and it helped me tremendously. I know how to type, so if you don't it wouldn't help but from repetition it was another way of drilling it in my head.  My fingers knew by memory what they were almost before my brain could say it.  Just saying, it turned out to be helpful tool.  I actually almost forgot to send that quiz over to them and remembered with a day to spare.  That would've sucked.

1 hour ago, Dreamer said:

1. S&D you get only one chance at this exam, and if you fail, you're no longer under consideration for the job. 

1 st chance to get Terminated 

2. Anyone that fails any portion of the A/C Book of Rules Exam will be immediately terminated from the railroad.

2 nd chance to get Terminated

3.  I'm not aware of anyone ever failing out of class because of Air Brake or Tickets, but I'm sure it's possible.

3rd chance to get Terminated

 

4. You are given 7 chances per exam for qualifying. If you fail any of the qualifying exams 3 times, you still have a job, but you are "out of service", meaning you're not allowed to work. (Really no income, how do you pay your bills) You have to turn in your hole puncher and everything else you've been given. Basically, you're sitting home studying for a month with no income. If you fail any exam 7 times, you're terminated from the railroad

4th Chance to get terminated

So After 3 years and all that studing you may still get terminated. You may also as stated above a month with no paycheck. In that instance.  Do we all live with are parents that are rich and can pay are bills. Hmm explain that to your car finance company, your landlord, and or mortgage company. 

 

In closing I do wish all potentinal A/C's going ahead good luck. I respect all current A/C's for what they do everyday. : ) 

The cost of living in NYS is just to darn high to risk the loss of a paycheck for a month. 

Dreamer, get the F outta here.  You sound like a loon bro.  Go post in a different civil service forum.

2 minutes ago, thegameksk said:

At my testing during the presentation it was stated that the belief is during your the classes we are over prepared for the exams. To those that took the classes would you agree with this? Also did you know of anyone who couldn't pass the test within 7 attempts and was fired?

Hey listen, of course they over prepare you.......however, if you're not doing your part it won't ever matter.....you'll still be under prepared. You get out of it what you put in.  Don't even sweat the 7 try Conductor qualifying.  Of course people fail out.......but again, you get out of it what you put in.  You can not come thru into this and not study like crazy.  Everything is doable, what you're asking though is not important. You either want this or you don't.

1 hour ago, Dreamer said:

When I went for my entrance exams there was about 100 - 125 ppl in the room. Then soon after they gave us a 15 min break and then we went back to see who passed and who left. I stayed for a little while as I passed and was waiting for the interviewer. I would say out of 100 - 125 ppl about 40 ppl stayed. That means that 85ppl failed the entrance test. I understand the fail rate is extremely high. I guess I will have to think about if I want to go though with the process. Just trying to judge the risk vs reward at this point.  

Dreamer, you are definitely a glass half empty type person or better yet......glass is empty!  Hahaha, just move on with your life.  Anyone going thru to overview, do not listen to this person at all!

13 hours ago, Dreamer said:

I wish you the best of luck. I would find it very stressful to go though 5 tests, Then after about 5-7 years of working they terminate your employment for not passing the conductor test. At my current job after 5 years cant get fired. 

If I was in your shoes, I would have a plan B just in case. This job there are just too many varitables that may or may not get you terminated. 

When I went, the LIRR staff was loyal to one another. But to new people coming in they approached everyone as like, they were better than you. 

I will say in closing, LIRR ridership is going down, their On-Time perforamance sucks.  There is actually a lady in wantauge suing them for their lack of on-time performance.

I would say at the end of the open house I went to the washout rate was 80%. Out of 125 ppl, 30 passed. That is really not a good thing. 

after signals and definations that will drop to  20 ppl

Really 125 ppl and at the end of the process the real number is 17 ppl that graduate. 

This would be the right job for me, LIRR Usher at penn station @ 200,000.00 a year is more my speed. 

I wish you the best of luck once again.

What in god's name are you talking about?  1st off, you get out what you put in.  I came here like everyone else.  I was determined to do this.  I stayed positive, studied like crazy and made it through.  I scored 100 on my signals/definitions cause I was that hungry.  Went through class still hungry for the job, high scores throughout.  Off to work trains and I make sure I'm doing what they pay me to do.  It's really quite easy. I'm not in fear of getting fired, and everyone I've met has been ultra helpful.  I wouldn't trade this or doubt it.  Some people just don't have the fire to do it.......you can't half ass this. 

2 hours ago, Burner11801 said:

You’re awesome thank you. I assume black timberlands would be considered acceptable?

Black with a slight heel is all that matters.  Steel toe not necessary.  Supposed to be safety rated but i forget what it was. 

9 minutes ago, Burner11801 said:

What shoes do you guys recommend? I heard someone talk  about a pair of Nike’s that are acceptable but never caught the name of the style. Can anyone help? 

I'd recommend a rugged boot, black w/ heel, that can take a beating.  You're gonna be walking thru puke, piss, train yards, rocks, rough terrain, anything you can thing of.  

18 minutes ago, GUNLOB90089 said:

Already had one classmate leave the qualifying process (didn't show up to class today) One less person on the seniority list!

Strange considering his test scores on the quizzes so far were in the 85-90 range (sat next to me in class)...but I'll take it!

Maybe just overslept........either way not good for that person.  Most classes loose a few along the way.

8 minutes ago, Jojo1387 said:

I'm starting class on the 24th.  I have everything memorized but I still haven't received the documents from the business service center.  Does anyone know if they usually send them right before class

 

Email Linda to see what's up.  She emailed mine on short notice.

Word, that's the 3 days of orientation 

2 minutes ago, trainguy0518 said:

Iron horse so I guess we normally finish up around 4:00? or 5:00?

Whatya friggin nuts!?!?!?  More like 645am report and a 225pm release.  Lmao, those instructors ain't working that late, haha.

1 hour ago, trainguy0518 said:

Hey guys/gals I start class on 1/24, I know its compensated. Is it a 40 hour work week?

40/hr week, you are correct!