Lirrdream

2 hours ago, BrotherOne said:

This hiatus between the interview and Phase 1 notification is killing me. How much notification do you get before Phase 1 begins? Congratulations on starting Phase 2 tomorrow. Good luck, Trainee.

My interview was 6/20 notification for phase one was 8/18. Roughly two months. 

2 minutes ago, Iwetoddit said:

Got the call for phase 2 today.  So excited!!  We begin next Wednesday.  I can’t believe we are here.  It feels so good.

Tell me about it, that background process was absolutely brutal, very very in depth and thorough...that part gave me more anxiety than phase one did, truthfully.....but feels excellent to be moving on to phase two,  can't believe I'll actually be operating trains sometime in the near future...😁🚉

Good job today steve and others, probably the most nervous I've been after taking an exam...that wait was like an eternity lol. I really feel bad for the 3 that didn't make it, everyone really put in the time and work in our class....medical#2 then phase 2, I'm ready, I absolutely know phase 2 will probably be exponentially harder, but I know we are ready as a class to tackle it....

Phase one final exam tomorrow. I'm calm yet nervous if that makes any sense lol. Just ready to tackle it.....phase one flew by, seems like we just started......

3 hours ago, BrotherOne said:

Is it a "be careful what you wish for, you may get it" thing?

And then some.....don't get me wrong its doable,  but you're going to eat, sleep and shit rules. You're going to dream about rules.....if you don't have serious study habits it will be impossible.....

Phase one, holy shit @drenyce311, you weren't joking when you said it was intense earlier in the thread🤯😰. No such thing as being caught up, always that feeling of being a little bit behind......

These things are absolutely beautiful,  surprisingly they are very quiet in their operation. @drenyce311 have you had the pleasure of operating one yet? Does operating new equipment go by seniority? 

1 hour ago, Steven trejo said:

I’m catching the train on Wednesday’s to hillside facility, not messing around parking. Almost was  late for the open house! Luckily I found parking at the very last minute  and literally ran to offices with one minute to spare  huee 

@Steven trejo you are indeed very lucky, when I took the s&d back in June I arrived almost an hour early, but they actually locked the doors 10 minutes before the report time, they said anyone cutting it this close already is not a good sign lol. This is one opportunity I'm not messing around with....

@drenyce311, are you familiar with the parking situation at hillside facility?  Is there usually parking on dunkirk?  I can just take the 5 minute walk from there.

@Steven trejo @Stevend258 @Iwetoddit one more week until class guys. Hows the pre-studying going? I'm just patiently waiting for it to begin,  hard road to get to just this point, just ready to continue this journey and learn as much as I possibly can. 

36 minutes ago, BrotherOne said:

When were you notified that you had passed the S&D exam? Its been over 3 weeks for me so far and I'm getting a little worried...I think I passed the exam, but there is that annoying doubt that grows day by day.

It varies for everyone, it seems like its done on a case by case basis. @Steven trejo was notified 2-3 weeks after taking the s&d, I was notified in 4 days, some were notified after a month.  No real method to it, whenever they get time it seems. 

37 minutes ago, Iwetoddit said:

Got my email!!!  I’m in for Phase 1, phew.  

Now I’ll be coming from Central Islip, would it be better to take the train or drive?

I do hope that that’s the only class at Hillside cause I’m not sure what to tell my supervisors about leaving early every Wednesday. 

Told you bro...from what I gathered in the forum,  every Wednesday class is at hillside at 530pm. Saturday class we find out on the first day. That is a tricky situation that you're in, opportunity cost.

@drenyce311 what exactly is the dress code for phase one?  How were you guys dressed?

14 minutes ago, Nick27 said:

How many rules are in the book? I appreciate the advice. You have been a big help. I’m sure everyone can agree to that! 

1,000 rules 

@Iwetoddit did you get the email with the class info yet? If not you probably have to wait for Lucille to get back in the office. 

11 minutes ago, Nick27 said:

Hey guys. Since we are on the topic of the medical and eye exam, are glasses allowed. I know we need 20/40 vision but that can be with glasses correct? 

Yes corrective lenses or contact lenses are allowed. 

19 minutes ago, nextengineer said:

Back tracking a little as some of us have the S & D test this Saturday... any pointers going into the exam? how difficult do they make it? anyone have any insight, freaking out a little the closer it gets

Also don't let the pace of others dictate your pace. It may be tempting to see others finish their exams really quickly. You have three hours, look over your work multiple times with a fine tooth comb. I used all of my 3 hours and I'm happy I did...

She got back to me the next afternoon after taking my medical. I also made sure that I heard "you passed" on both the physical and visual portions of the medical. You're fine brother, if there was an issue they most likely would have let you know.  Did you have to keep doing any of the visual portions continuously?  If not then don't be worried. 

@drenyce311 are we also responsible for the notes verbatim that some of the rules have?

Got 2 pages of rules down verbatim so far, the length of these rules make the definitions look like childs play. I try to learn 2 rules per day while also squeezing in review of the definitions and signals,  which would leave me with little to memorize once class begins...

Just recieved the book of rules for phase 1, holy shit!!!! I'm jumping on that asap, damn that's alot of information!!!!! Time to get it done.....😓

8 minutes ago, nextengineer said:

Is it ridiculous to ask if the turn around time would be too quick for those of us taking the S&D on 9/7 to have a shot at being in the 9/18 Phase 1? 

I'm almost certain that those of you taking your s&d on 9/7 will not be looked at for this 9/18 phase 1. They certainly do not rush things and as far as I know the 9/18 class is already put together. You may be looking at the next phase 1 which will be sometime in January.

5 minutes ago, drenyce311 said:

It’s usually between 12-14 and 12 spots for phase 2. So now all of you are competing for a spot. Remember 80 is passing. 

@drenyce311 Is it only the final that is graded or is it an average score of all quizzes as well? 

1 hour ago, drenyce311 said:

Remember wear sweatpants or gym shorts. I made the mistake of wearing jeans and had to adjust my jeans to walk over ballast and mimic climbing a locomotive. Lol. 

Suggesting sweatpants @drenyce311 was the some sage advice. Just got done with phase 1 medical and passed everything, (that ladder is high as hell lol). @Steven trejo I knew you were going to get called. @Kicker and @Iwetoddit now the real work begins. I know that @LIRRrailfan is here lurking as well, hopefully you got the call as well. Congrats to all of you guys, just making this far is a great achievement in itself....

57 minutes ago, mpalacino said:

Hi! Congrats on making it to Phase 1!! Would you mind telling me how long it took to hear back from the S&D exam that you passed?

S&D exam was 6/8, got a call that I passed 6/12