Keikyu Motorman

FWIW, XX can be weird. Some people luck out with decent jobs with workable commutes, others perpetually see Board with long waits for jobs. It's admittedly the luck of the draw, and hopefully, it works out for you. The job is admittedly easier if you have a car and can secure parking, or you're willing to pay for Uber to shorten the commute time back home, or if you have a supportive person in your life to take over some errands so you can maximize your sleep time. Mentally pencil in roughly 3 years to pick, and honestly make use of the bid sheets at the start of each pick so you'll have some consistency. The Temporary Bids can be secret gold mines if you find something that works for you. I went the bid route this pick, and it was probably the best thing that I did for myself.

TA's standard is .02 which is much stricter that the state standard of .08. So to be safe, you *should* be good to go for Tuesday, but stay off the sauce from Monday onward. With that said, I've switched to alcohol free beer and wine. :-)

Honestly, this position may work well for you. You don't have the same degree of interaction with the public that conductors have, and while you work with your partner, most times, it's you alone in the cab moving the train. The crew rooms can be noisy with lots of conversation and loud TV, and while I can't attest to the state of the women's locker rooms, some of the male locker rooms are quieter than the crew rooms. With that said, don't expect to have much reading time with breaks down here unless you're a quick reader. Sometimes, you'll luck out with yard work or a long break or a drop, other times, you're stuck with a quick 20 minute lunch.

Honestly, once you're done with schoolcar, the main reason you'll be in the yard is for put-ins and layups. With that said, it honestly depends on the needs of the crew office. Some people don't get yard work at all, while others can see yard work once every few months. There's usually enough senior employees willing to work on their days off or stay late to paper over the yard jobs.

231 *ROAD* DAYS. Any day on the platform, sick, vacation, in the yard, or doing switching does not count.

As a A division LI guy, it varied depending on the day and start time. It's a honestly a trade off between ease and safety for parking versus commute time. Easy and safe to park with less commute time than taking the train screamed drive. Otherwise, I took the train since it was one less thing to worry about.

To think, I remember a few months back when you were asking about the job. Now you're doing layups like a pro. :-)

You can apply for a parking permit, but some of the parking lots are a bit of a crapshoot in terms of spaces. With that said, one of my classmates is from Staten Island, doesn't have a car, and he's AMs. His commute to work can be terrible when he goes up the Bronx, but slightly more tolerable for reports at Flatbush, Utica, or New Lots.

Ahh yes, there are jobs where you do start at one terminal and finish at the opposite side of the line. Yes, you end up riding back home or taking Uber as a shortcut. Sometimes, I'll take the train from Long Island on those days, while on others, I'll drive to the starting terminal and eat the long ride back home.

A division is easier, IMHO, as there are less trains to learn and the network topology is easier to understand. Mind you, reporting to the Bronx can be brutal if you live in Brooklyn and don't drive.

Come in as fast as possible into the stations and take brake as late as possible to see the "limits" of the train. :-) Don't do this in *posting* because you'll scare the people that you're posting with, and the passengers won't be as fond of your operating skills if they're being tossed around. As for the 7, I met a train operator just the other night who is fresh from schoolcar, and is CBTC qualified, so he was placed on board at Main Street, and was given a job in the yard. As for the bids, that's always a possibility for *any line*. If you live in Queens, it's probably the best setup unless you're near Utica/New Lots. Pelham isn't bad if you live in Bayside or Flushing, but the tolls just ruin the fun.

When you're meh and just want to go to work with an easy day, ATO on the 7 is nice. When you're feeling bored, there's something to be said for a good set of 62s on the 3. Also, even as a somewhat anxious person, don't think about that stuff. Just focus on what *you* can control. In other words, learn in YX, remember rules and procedures, and learn more in road ops and posting. Push that train to its limits in road ops so you can have a better understanding of what it can do in posting so you're somewhat confident in your operation for when you're out there by yourself.

You're lucky. I used to win the yard jobs at Westchester Yard and Livonia that started at 2100. The WES daily versions ran from 2100 to 0700 AM. Once you hit the road, you may see some GO jobs that start in the 1900 to 2100 range with one or several trips depending on the line and the nature of the GO. They're not uncommon to see in the A Division, but less common now compared to before the pandemic.

I went from call centre work to train operator. It's definitely a big change, but some of the personalities are still the same as my old job. I've met former teachers, engineers, laywers, marketing types, and banking office employees down here so you wouldn't be alone in making this transition. Schoolcar is essentially an intensive summer school class or a bootcamp depending on your perspective. In my class, 9 out of 10 of us made it, with the 1 person that didn't make it doing so for non-exam reasons. Our sister class had similar numbers as well.

I'll admit, it can be a rough job especially if you're transitioning from an office or work from home setting, but after a few years (and a decent bit of OT) one of the women with kids in my class bought her own home, and honestly, she might be one of the better train operators in my class. So be patient, and hopefully, you'll get called down soon.

The experiences on this issue can vary. The crew office was generally good about keeping our tours intact, but for some people, RDOs changed frequently, while for others, it was very consistent. Some ended up with lots of board, others rarely had board. Some were bounced around the division, while other people were consistently sent to the same locations. In my case, I wasn't on board as often, saw lots of Utica/New Lots/Pelham/Flushing while seeing very little of the Bronx in the A division, and managed to keep T/W RDOs until this pick when I was switched to S/S just before my bid kicked in. Based on the experience of my classmates and sister class, mentally pencil in 3 years from the end of schoolcar to your first picked job. It could be sooner or later depending on how many people retire or take promotions.

1) IIRC, you can, but to avoid sounding like a crew room lawyer, I'll just say that it's on a case by case basis, and they may suggest that you have to resign and reapply. Speak with the union and see what they advise for your situation. 2) It's a grey area, but I've seen some people burn through their sick time and keep their jobs. Four individual sick call outs will definitely be a problem, but a serious illness that took up four days at once are two different things. If you end up at that point, *consult* the union for advice.

Two of my classmates have children. One actually gave birth during her second year and took unpaid leave. I would definitely recommend to have lots of options for your childcare needs, and seek FMLA once you qualify if you have a child with any special health issues. It's a job where you'll have to be relatively flexible and have other options given the weird scheduling until you're able to pick a job and settle into a routine. In the case of the moms in my class, they had their parents and the child's father help out to paper over childcare issues. If you don't have that extensive support system, this job may not be the right choice for you.

The tricks are to eat lunch from home, fruit and nuts as snacks in lieu of other so-called junk food, and portion control. Exercise is probably the hardest given the wonky schedules once you're XX, but the rest are things that you have some control over.

FWIW, I just found my posting sheet from YX which was roughly three years ago. Two weeks posting in the A division, some yard, some switching. One week AMs, one week PMs, one day MID. The yard jobs at Lenox and VC covered the station switching for those locations. E 180th covered Dyre. MID at Mosholu didn't exactly cover doing moves out of Woodlawn... I can understand Late Clear's perspective, especially if the B division posting is limited and the station switching/relay jobs aren't covered. Mind you, the solution to that, IMHO, is more posting time and more YX time. Yard Enhancement where you go out with the local TSS is helpful as you're with somebody that's in the area on a daily basis, and it's good to here some of the same stuff from a different person, but sometimes it's takes making the move yourself for it to be etched in your mind.

Ask the dispatcher, local TSS, or at minimum, the train operators that work the job with you. Write down things if needed, and bring a track map with you. And remember, you have a radio, so if you're lost on the road and need to question a line up, use the radio to contact RCC or the local towers.

They're refusing mainline layups? That's excellent experience and part of what you're supposed to do in YX. It's best to learn it now *and* ask questions versus when you're XX and feeling even more nervous as a new person...

If you're not sure of anything, *ask* questions. Most of the yard dispatchers are former train operators so they have some clue of what they're doing, and train operators with picked jobs in the yards or station switching have lots of experience. And if you get station switching, DO NOT take a train with passengers down the road. You can take a train light as a transfer train to another yard, but DO NOT do that with passengers on board. If you get a layup, *always* walk through your train to make sure it's empty. YX has been shortened, but hopefully by the end, you'll feel that you *belong* here. It's basically an internship for train operators where you learn what it's like to be on your own without a TSS shadowing you like in schoolcar. Some days, you'll grind, other days, you'll do little to no work. Take advantage of the quiet days to study your signals. :-)

FWIW, don't worry about bids, picks, or any of that stuff until you're ready to go to the road and you have the job locked down. Just focus on passing your tests and practicals. :-) Honestly, your TSS is probably holding off on that stuff, especially if you're still early in the class because it's more important to focus on the basics. So signals, yard work, and the critical rules of the system. The rest of that stuff is just stuff you'll learn later, but it's necessary to doing your job. With that said, the length of time that you'll sit on XX is honestly going to depend on how many jobs are available. So if lots of people retire, you'll be able to pick sooner rather than later. Mentally, be prepared for at least three to five years minimum until you can pick. I've been "out" for 2.5 years, and my class is roughly 40 spots out from picking in the A division. As for bids, once you're on the road, you'll be able to bid for jobs once the bids are available. With relatively low seniority, you should bid for *anything* that looks remotely interesting even if they're in the temporary vacancy category. And once you're able to pick, there's no ability to say "I want to stay XX" even if you don't like the jobs that are available. Penalty jobs are jobs with overtime built into them. WAA is Work As Assigned. Depending on the needs of the dispatcher or the job, you can end up sitting around doing nothing, doing a layup or put in, waiting for somebody to bring a train to you, or you could be pushed out early.

Enjoy the next three weeks of freedom, and honestly, once you're in, study, study, study. It's an the equivalent of an intensive college summer class, so it's going to soak up what's left of your free time after your commute to and from the school. Plus, vitamins and coffee (or tea) will become your new friends. Otherwise, welcome to Transit!