beanz

We had a lot of nervous people in my class but we all passed all of our stuff. We had one guy fail because of the practical but he still passed his midterm and signals and all of the tests except for maybe 2 in the very beginning. This stuff is not simple but it isn't complicated either, just have to study and apply yourself.

Starting YX tomorrow. A week and a half of Yard enhancement (visiting all the yards one more time) and then off on our own for 2 months. The wack part is that no more Saturday n Sundays off but it'll feel good to be on my own. I feel like I learn better without training wheels.

Nice, congrats! I just started yard posting this week. Did some station switching at Utica and parkchester with some old timers with sweet jobs. 9 to 12 relays, hour and a half lunch, and then almost 2 hours of WAA. I'm talking about people with 28+ years on the job. No wonder some old timers don't retire until well into their 70s. Job gets easier with time. They were all cool though and gave me mad game. Next week is some yard posting at actual yards and then yard extra for 2 months.

Things may change. He's also said multiple times that they need a lot of operators. So it isn't the end of hiring. There just isn't anything scheduled right now.

Take it with a grain of salt but we actually asked my instructor if he was moving on to the next class after us (we start yard posting in 10 days) and he said there are no scheduled classes for the rest of the year. Hate to be the bearer of bad news if that is true but I don't want anybody to get their hopes up too much. He might be wrong but he's also one of the more senior schoolcar TSSs so he would be one to know.

Yea what the previous poster said. As long as u on it they don't stress u much on the time. If u walking slow or look lost then it becomes an issue. 1 of my classmates who failed ran out of time trying to find a mistake he made. In that case time matters.

That's wussup.. I don't get any more road ops days until after yx, but at least I'll be able to operate during that time. Just passed my final practical today. I'll be station switching this week, yard posting for 10 days after that, and then yx for 2 months.

Passed my signal test, midterm, and first yard practical. Got my final yard practical coming up tomorrow and then the stressful stretch is over. We actually lost 2 people in my class so far. 1 guy was having a hard time balancing the material and his personal life so he took himself out and plans to put his name back on the list later on. The other guy failed his retake of the practical. Some aspects of this job can be really easy (midterm, 1st signal test) but some of it can take u right out if u aren't on your game. Anyway, already got my yard posting papers. This is all moving so fast but I'm loving it.

I'm only 2 months in, I doubt I can apply yet. But isn't ATD the promotional exam for Conductors? I'm a t/o I heard we take the dispatcher exam and Conductors do the assistant dispatcher. Idk, I just passed my signal test and have my final yard practical coming up, so my mind is just on those things right now. Thanks though.

Yea he knows his shit. We were at ps 248 taking our midterm yesterday so our TSSs were elsewhere.

I think u had one of my TSSs.. He mentioned he was doing a conductor practical yesterday. Tejeda?

He ran out of time trying to find out why he wasn't charging.

2 of them due to moving with handbrake applied during the cut or add. The other one missed an off centered brake stem and could not figure out where air was escaping from while he tried to charge. Nerves got the better of them.

Passed my practical. However 3 of my classmates did not and I am still anxious for them. Hopefully they can pick it up on their second and final shot.

They will send u a letter with a list of documents but basically they want your social security card, photo ID, birth certificate or us passport, high school diploma or ged. They also want the paperwork that they send u regarding employment history filled out.

That was your first road ops? I'm sure everybody has shitty first road ops. It took til my 3rd road ops to have more than a couple of decent stops. My first time I was so overwhelmed just trying to take in all the signs and signals that my stops all sucked. It takes a while to get used to taking in all the information and then be able to make a decent stop. Don't worry give it time. I'm supposed to go on road ops again on Tuesday and I'm looking forward to see how much I've improved.

You wanna laugh? We were practicing cuts today in advance of our practical this Sunday. I dumped twice! First time I didn't bring the brake handle to full like I thought I did and let go of the master controller like an idiot. Then the second time I over compensated for my first mistake and went too far. I couldn't believe it LOL after giving you that advice and I screwed up the same way myself. It's all good tho I'll make sure not to do it Sunday. Just gotta get those mistakes out of my system before the practical I guess. I feel good going in.

Just remember that at that point you are only moving about 1mph. U don't need max brake, so there's no reason to go that far with the brake handle.. Go halfway or even lower and u will still stop. If u try to go to full service, it's easy to end up dumping. Once you are stopped with the lower amount of brake applied, then u can bring it slowly to full service and continue. I'm assuming the R32s are similar to the R62 tho, maybe I'm wrong.

Thank you

Definitely, that's all part of prepping for yard movement. You always have to do the standing brake tests and sensitive rolling if you have space before the low home and have permission in a yard that requires permission before even moving to the low home.

I have a question I have been wondering about. I can wait to ask my instructors but I won't see them until Wednesday (off tomorrow, Tuesday at the sim). When we prepare to make a cut on the r62s, should we be testing the pilot valve and doing our standing brake test before making our cut? The induction book doesn't say this but I feel like logically we should never move a unit until we have tested the brakes and pilot valve on both sides. Maybe it's something we skipped for time purposes but I don't feel like we have been told to do that. Perhaps somebody here can help clarify that for me. I have been writing down the steps for yard movement and cuts and adds off memory but I'm stuck on whether or not to perform any tests at the cutting position before moving the train from there.

Practical is track components, yard signals, reading the iron, prepping for yard movement, cuts and adds, and they will try and trick u and ask u how to key by a home signal to which u have to reply "u can't! No keys to the home" lol

That makes me so glad I'm in the A and only have 2 pieces of equipment to get used to 😄

Nah i mean start closer to full service and work your way down as u get closer to the marker. U should be using less brake as u stop instead of increasing brake. Somebody with more experience feel free to chime in if I'm off, but once I tried it like that I felt like the train was more in my control.

I don't mean snow brake, but remember that braking is a range. U don't have to be at exactly full service or any other notch, u can be in between. Just like car brakes it's all about how much u think u need depending on your speed and if u push your foot all the way in, you and your passengers will jerk forward. If u get to that station car stop sign and hit full service before the train is stopped, everybody will jerk forward. U want to work your way down the brake range, not up. Brake is brake, if you are going 1mph on level ground, min brake will stop the train. Then once you are stopped u can put it in full service so u can take your hand off the master Controller if u need to stretch your hand or punch for a route or whatever.