SubwayGuy

Thanks for answering RCI. I already know what TSS stands for. I typed TOS. Tommy John in a previous post "terms of service". I suspect it may mean "transit operating system". Does anyone know?

In what context was it used? If it's on the internet, I suspect it's the typo'd plural of "T/O". Otherwise it's unclear where this originates from. TOS is not one of the many abbreviations we use consistently, it's one of the more exotic ones I've seen in these threads. DOS is Department of Subways though...

Your name tells it all "Wannabe TrainOp".

SubwayGuy: what does RCI and TOS stand for??

RCI = Road Car Inspector

TSS = Train Service Supervisor

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.

Not true at ALL. This attitude is the biggest problem with a lot of people coming in "off the street." There is something new to learn EVERY DAY you are down here.

Schoolcar gives you the bread and butter of what you need to know. Any more, and it would be too time intensive, and Transit wouldn't be getting their money's worth paying you from extended training. There are things, that you will just have to pick up on your own.

-Yes, you will have to learn lineups. No, you can't rely on the cards. No, you can't learn them all while posting. Yes, there are points of no return that aren't on the cards.

-You will learn various moves - turns, reroutes, layups, put-ins, etc. Hint hint: Not every "dump and change ends" move has a 10 CAR marker.

-You SHOULD learn how the signals really work. That's why I take the time to write guides about this subject in the Crew Room. Understanding the signals will make you a smoother, safer, and more efficient train operator.

-You will learn how to operate your train in all kinds of conditions. Rain, snow, sleet, "wintry mix", fall leaves, or any combination of the above.

-You will learn how to "adapt and overcome". You can be the baby that calls Control over every little thing requesting a TSS to come save you, or you can adapt and overcome, report the condition, and get it dealt with en route by an RCI. Or at the minimum, complete your trip and get the train laid up upon arrival at the terminal if it's something that needs to be fixed. You can be the T/O that runs the station due to long brakes, or the one that reports it and operates safely to the terminal.

-You will learn how to troubleshoot things that schoolcar doesn't even cover anymore. Energized application/release wires are not covered during troubleshooting in schoolcar, but you will find literature about those issues in your Route Guides (because they pre-date the modern curriculum). Just because they stopped training new T/O's for that problem, doesn't mean it stopped happening. At the very minimum, a good T/O should at least be able to identify when either is occurring. And "off the street" T/O's only spend a very small time on door problem troubleshooting. You will have to remember that procedure, but learning more about how to troubleshoot door problems could save you an en route ABD. Quick, it's almost lunch time. You're two stops from the terminal. Doors close...you don't get indication. Your conductor tells you he has indication for the rear, but not the front. All exterior guard lights are dark. All circuit breakers are on, and none have tripped. What do you do? Don't even think about hitting that bypass. But if you're getting ready to discharge that train already, you haven't troubleshot to the fullest...you just gave up your lunch break too soon. And you'd better try to troubleshoot quick cuz you've only got a few minutes before Control will tell you to discharge that train...they're not going to give you all day to find the problem, and if that train goes out of service, you'd better be damn sure it wasn't something you could overcome otherwise that car equipment charge just became an RTO charge....

-You will learn how to respond to emergencies. Schoolcar doesn't tell you how to deal with a 12-9 once it has occurred. Yet there you and your partner will be for a few minutes until all the first responders, superintendents, and TSS's show up. It doesn't tell you how to react when someone has committed a crime, or is packing heat, and now is on your train. It doesn't tell you how to handle a fight on the train or platform. YOU will need to learn the best ways to respond to these, and you can't always count on control to have your best interest in mind. Report a fight, and you might get asked, "are there any weapons being displayed?" Well if it's 3 cars back are you really gonna leave your position, go saunter over there, and go find out?

Schoolcar may cover 98% of what you need to know, and that's why it's what's focused on. It's already tough enough to cram everything that is done during schoolcar in as it is. But take it from me that the other 2% has gotten A LOT of people in trouble down here over the years.

T/O school car is really not that bad. While it is something that should be taken very seriously because it can lead to a good career don't let it psych you out. If you dedicate just 30 mins a day, more if you can, to studying you will not have any problems with school car. You know what they say, "It's only hard if you don't know the answer." I really think some people get off on spooking potential hires/rookies. Yes, some people flunk out but that is to be expected when you are dealing with a pass/fail situation. But some just decide it's not for them due to the crazy schedules or once they realize how physically and mentally taxing "pounding the road"(operating in passenger service) can be. And a few who come from another title, say bus operator, never have any intention of staying any way. Because they can go back to their previous title they look at school car as a sort of 6-9 month vacation.

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.

AMs

Good - convenient for those with families, relatively normal working hours (often easy to get rest), normal pace of work, jobs not often seriously affected by GOs (except on weekends), AM tour has the most overtime (penalty jobs)

Bad - on time performance is important and lateness is questioned, large crowds of people, if you drive to work this is the hardest tour to commute in and out on, early AM jobs are very difficult to commute using the system itself to get to as service is minimal in the wee hours, most non-RTO supervision is out during AMs (IE the people that will take you out of service if they observe anything even if minor...remember most RTO supervision is there to help you not write you up).

 

@SubwayGuy who is NON RTO supervision?? Just curious on this.

Stations Dept.

System Safety

Inspector General

Labor Relations

Managers in various departments

Various other folks at 2 B'way, 130 Livingston, etc.

RCC personnel can be out on all tours (as many take the train to and from work also) but are most prevalent on AM tour.

Each tour is different, and no one is "factually" better than the other...it's all opinion and what you prefer:

Midnights

Good - No pressure to be on time, less people out, exposure to the more exotic general orders and some interesting jobs like the gel train

Bad - Drunks/homeless, hard to get proper rest, track gangs (often improperly flagged) everywhere, very slow pace, most lines are local only, you basically will "lose" one of your RDO's each week staying up after you clear on your Friday to live a normal life with friends/family

AMs

Good - convenient for those with families, relatively normal working hours (often easy to get rest), normal pace of work, jobs not often seriously affected by GOs (except on weekends), AM tour has the most overtime (penalty jobs)

Bad - on time performance is important and lateness is questioned, large crowds of people, if you drive to work this is the hardest tour to commute in and out on, early AM jobs are very difficult to commute using the system itself to get to as service is minimal in the wee hours, most non-RTO supervision is out during AMs (IE the people that will take you out of service if they observe anything even if minor...remember most RTO supervision is there to help you not write you up).

PMs

Good - best tour for getting proper rest, evening hours are very enjoyable to operate (not very crowded, no track gangs yet...fast runs), generally fast pace of work (except for the 2 hours of PM rush)

Bad - on time performance is still important, large crowds during rush hour, if you are slow it will show especially in the evenings, can begin to get drunks/homeless towards the end of tour, if you take public transit home you'll have a long slow ride home plus may not actually be able to commute home if your bus/commuter train has stopped running for the night

Also do not forget that train braking capabilities were modified in the early 1990s as well to create "smoother" stops. Thus the modification done was slower acceleration, lower top speed, and longer brakes to provide a smoother, more comfortable ride, but with less ability to make time. Signals were placed, and timers were installed accordingly to adapt the railroad to the new operating conditions.

Are there timers that are not truly necessary in the system? Yes, and plenty of them. Some of the most "unnecessary" are ones enforcing slow speeds on steep downgrades to protect against station overruns. Those exist because too many people ran out of those stations, so the timer is there to guard against it. But others are there to protect leader trains from a rear end collision (by forcing a train to slow down in advance of the section that does not have a safe stopping distance at maximum possible speed), or to protect home signals and associated switches,

125th and Lexington is the legendary one I would have loved to operate pre-timers. Old timers who really love their job talk glowingly about it in a way that makes me wish I was there for it. Leaving 86th St. northbound, you have a straight shot downhill, you blow through 103/110, and then you have ANOTHER downhill north of 110 and flying straight into 125...almost entirely straight track except for a small, minor S curve to the right just south of 125. Motormen from the old days talk of regularly doing almost 60 approaching 125 (which I fully believe) Even with the "nerfed" state of the trains today AND the timers, I can get a good train up to ALMOST 50 - about 48 - on that stretch (the caveat is that your leader has to be completely out of 125th St. and then some, otherwise the signals will slow you down earlier, and force you to come in much slower). Of course you can't do anything like the old days anymore, since you've got the 3 timers from under 96th to 103. The other 3 approaching 125 are to protect the approach to 125.

Run the BX16 overnight on 50-60 minute headways. Do not run the BX39 overnight (it almost exactly mirrors the #2 train overnight and thus serves no real purpose).

Fewer stops on the BX31, particularly the Edenwald area and immediately north of Pelham Parkway on Eastchester Rd.

Spot on the are watching the New folks Close (too many incidents)... MTA is a "reactive agency"..

 

So who ever screws up the ones behind them feel the brunt, it is what it is.

 

Ask ask ask questions! There is never a stupid question. RTOPRO and Subway guy are spot on with the postings.

 

One thing me and my classmates did was each one of us (on our own time) rode a line and just "noticed" anything particular about the line Fast station slow timers etc etc. Then we all shared the information to be honest it helped up a lot a heck of a lot. Well it helped that i started in the Red Bird Era too so we just looked out the Window up front.

 

Take your time learn the Job never let any one rush you. You stick to the rules and you can never go wrong. BTW the Code of Conduct read and understand what it means...

Yup my thing when I was brand new was OCD style notes (and, side note, I do still update them when things change). Every timer and posted speed restriction on every line in my division (as well as, for timers, the speed they actually clear comfortably at), along with other miscellaneous notes (wheel detectors, fast stations, points of no return, green diverges, areas with no restriction you should operate slower, etc.).

I used to think I was overdoing it, but two things about it: writing everything down helped me remember it since I'd write it twice...once on a piece of paper I had handy, then once when I got home when I put it in the computer. And second, the amount of TSS's and Superintendents who told me they did exactly the same thing when they first started down here.

Also - irregular moves, be sure to remember them however you do that. You may not see it for a while, and then will be expected to do it again in a few months. And if you're unfamiliar with a move, don't be afraid to let RCC or local supervision know.

Thanks! How long would you say before someone can start to get acclimated and truly begin to understand it all?

Depends on the person. Just take as much time as you can, and on your way to work, if riding trains in your division, hang out near the T/O position (not in the cab or all up in their space) and observe their operation. If it feels safe and comfortable, take notes. If it feels rough and reckless make a note to not operate that way. Observe what the signals do, and pay attention to lineups, etc.

Learn the rules, learn the signals, learn procedures, etc. and all the stuff they will actively teach in schoolcar. That should be your primary focus the first few months of schoolcar until you're comfortable. And learn the way we speak down here. If a TD comes up to you and says "that's you on the stand" or "your layup in the east pocket" you need to know what they mean. The sooner you get comfortable with the vocabulary the more time you can spend learning the important stuff

...but also make a note to observe and learn physical characteristics of the lines. They will never test you on this, and you will pick *some* up from posting, but particularly after month #3 in schoolcar you need to be doing this on your own. It will help you immensely when you're on your own if you are familiar with areas.

There's a saying that says in order to truly master a line you have to learn it twice.

You start out slow and kind of cautious, then you learn how all the signals work in time that it becomes second nature. And then you gain speed in your operation (from control and knowledge, not recklessness).

Then you have to learn it all over again for how to operate when you're right behind your leader xD because the signals behave completely differently of course in that case.

That said, also recognize that things can change. New timers are constantly added, so practice the right things and you won't have a problem. But the knowledge will help you an awful lot.

^{RTOMAN & RTOPRO  what are some of the types of things newbies are getting hammered with and something that ppl like us ready to come in should be more aware of??}

 

^{Also appreciate your guys insights and info for us ready to make the leap of faith hahaha}

-Signal overruns. Learn where the signals are and familiarize yourself with the line's timers. Always know where home signals are, and don't challenge ANY signal. If you're unfamiliar with an area, learn to really respect the yellow signals. They'll keep some distance between you and the reds if you use them. If you go bombing by a yellow since you don't see a red signal yet and are thinking "I got this", you probably don't.

-Station overruns. Respect the fast stations. You can fly into stations but grab brake early, and don't grab it all. If you're taking more than 40-50 pounds on SMEE equipment, and are going into or very near full service on NTT equipment, you're doing it wrong. If you find you have long brakes, or the train delays when you go to apply, you want to be able to take more. If you just fly into the station and throw it into full service, you just blew your wad...because if you need more brake, there's no more to be gotten. Come in hot, but brake early and moderately, and adjust based on how the train is handling.

-Wrong routes. Know your lineups. Utilize the route indicator signs found at the stations before points of no return. Question any lineup that differs from what you expect, and communicate. Sometimes you are legitimately being rerouted...sometimes you are lined up wrong. It's not a wrong lineup until you pass the homeball.

-Yard "snafus". Read the iron (especially trailing point switches) and get permission before you do anything. If you're not familiar with the move, ask the YD for a spot...they can do it watching you move on the board. When laying up trains, pull tight so as not to overhang. Always walk around your train when moving it, and be alert for signals you might be overhanging while you check your train (and if so be sure to check them for a clear aspect before you ask for permission to move). Make all safety stops and secure SMEE trains with handbrakes. Remember when moving out of the shop the first place you go is the car desk, not the train, and remember to communicate with the bug man AND get permission from the YD before moving out (after you've checked the train of course). Remember when moving into the shop that you cannot enter unless invited in. Always check the doors are above clearance markers.

-Speeding. Comply with speed restrictions. 5+ MPH over a speed restriction is grounds for a write up. 10+ MPH over a speed restriction is grounds for being taken out of service on the spot.

-Stupid stuff. Wear the uniform, be where you're supposed to be whether it's on the train or in the crew room, don't mouth off to supervision, don't try to pad your payroll, don't lie about things (especially with those NTT's), no drugs ever and no alcohol before work, and be humble.

so getting tickets to a concert 3 months into school car would be out of the question. It's on a weekday @7pm  

Wait until you receive your schedule (end of the first week) and plan accordingly. If you see anything that says "Yard Posting PM Tour" or "Road Posting PM Tour" you can pretty much forget about it.

If you're posting midnights or AM's...that's a maybe.

If you're doing something else, the time class is scheduled will be listed about 99% of the time (there are 1-2 exception days).

There are always going to be a good number of XX people...that's the way it's supposed to be. They need the flexibility to cover holes in scheduling because people book off at the last minute etc. plus having people who aren't committed to a specific tour or RDO to fill a need.

However, yes, seniority will move slower for the more recent hires, but people are still retiring at a very rapid rate.

^^^^What Gherigfan1 said^^^^ I don't know of any yard that allows practice with the signals. It's too risky. The chances of another Livonia Yard lead derailment is not that slim.

The TSS's (and possibly even a supt) are on board when this is going on, so if anything like a derailment were to occur and be the fault of RTO, it's their responsibility. This is the only reason it's allowed.

The yards can allow it at their discretion based on needs of the service. Livonia can be used during the middle of the day because there's not a lot of traffic in and out of it (as opposed to other yards like Westchester, 239, E180 that have much more going on during the day)

The third rail protection board protects the third rail from the accumulation of snow and other precipitation, and also prevents any conductive item that happens to fall against it a certain way and complete a circuit from superheating and causing a track fire.

It is NOT to be stepped on. Not to say you won't see it being done, but that's not why it's there.

While the drug test works that way (first in first out), the medical doesn't.

Nurses and doctors call randomly, not in any order. Getting there early only means you will take the questionnaire first.

Not to mention if there are any issues you need to clear up you'll be given a small window during the day to do it but that's it, otherwise you go on medical hold.

Get through medical, then you go to final processing and you will be called in order for your title, since different HR employees handle different titles. So you need to wait until whoever is in front of you for your title is done, just because an HR person handling another title is open does not mean you will be next. The person who just walked in, if that's their title, will go before you.

The medical and final processing is all day - bring lunch, and bring 1 or 2 good books. Don't get caught sleeping, and you're not allowed to use electronic devices. Wait until after your blood pressure and EKG are taken to eat lunch, and RELAX while both are being done. Get proper rest the night before, this will help keep both down as well.

If a job is open and you have the seniority to pick it, you can...whether it's a straight run, extra list, VR, or an RDO relief package.

The 1 in 3 rule explained:

-Of the next 3 names on an eligible list, transit must OFFER employment to at least one of those 3.

In other words:

-Transit gives you a drug test and you fail. You were offered employment.

-Transit gives you a medical, you fail, and do not resolve the medical hold. You were offered employment.

-Transit offers you the job, you decline it. You were offered employment.

Transit finds 3 employees in consecutive list order with undesirable attributes in their file. Transit must still offer employment to at least one of them.

If Transit is going to use the 1 in 3 on someone, it must be for a reason - something they found in the person's file or when background checking them, or if the person previously worked for Transit, something in their work history at Transit.

What does RDO AND TOS stand for??

RDO = Regular Day Off.

TOS??? I didn't mention that one. Perhaps you were talking about DOS = Department of Subways?

You're always on probation. Hit a home signal on your regular day of work and see how much difference it makes. Working your RDO yeah it's an extra day of work but if you're on point and paying attention you should be fine.

Until you learn the railroad it's wise not to.

"Law of averages" - the more you work, the more likely there's an incident.

Also a lot of handling an incident is knowing what to say. There's a lot of times people have done something minor wrong and it's turned into something major once they made a mistake in their official statement, leading to more serious charges.

Learn the railroad first before working an RDO. Secondly, while there are punishments and labor relations can be strict etc., when you are on probation, you are not going to be dealing directly with labor relations most times - you'll be dealing with schoolcar.

A first incident will usually include retraining and may even get your probation extended. A second incident while on probation could be termination, it's up to schoolcar based on your file. A third incident is big problems. You don't want to lengthen probation, you don't want to increase the risk of an incident.

RDO's = more hours, sometimes a tour change = you are tired, may be prone to mistakes. Plus of course law of averages.

The wisest piece of advice for ANY new employee is this - LEARN TO LIVE WITHIN THE 40 HOURS. You will see a lot of people here who don't even see their checks because it all goes to child support and alimony, and they work their asses off 6 day weeks, penalty jobs, and even extra switching when available just to pay someone else's bills. And others who live above their means always keeping up with the Jones's, lots of debt, definitely something you don't want to be doing when you're new and if you get in trouble could be back out on the street with those same bills not going away. Also, if you're new, you've got plenty of time to make the big run to boost your pension, you don't have to do it right away. Live within your means and you'll do fine, and you can work overtime when you feel 100% comfortable on all of the lines.

Learn the job, learn the railroad, then if you want to work RDO's when you've got the knowledge to feel 100% comfortable, go for it.

Hunts Point to Parkchester is the fastest run on the 6. It won't get as fast going southbound (43-45) before timers slow you down at Elder to go around the curve over the bridge and down the portal into Hunts Point.

3rd Ave. to Hunts Point and vice versa is quite slow in both directions, but you can get some speed up passing through Longwood northbound, and through Cypress southbound.

It also features 2 of the fastest local stations in A division - 77th St. southbound and 96th St. northbound. The other fast local stations are 50th St. southbound on the 1, 33rd St. southbound on the 7, and Pelham Parkway southbound on the 2.

I worked my first baseball special last night on the 7. Man that is the best job ever I've worked so far. Half a trip running express to Times Square and then light back to Corona yard.

Wait till you work the ones on the 4. They rarely ever try and use you for anything else over there.

Hell I worked a GO on a special over there once where express trains were terminating at 42nd St. 161->149->138->125->86->42, and done. Didn't even have to go to BOWL.

Signal Test:

READ THE RULE BOOK!

If you get a question wrong on the signal exam and it's multiple choice, you are done.

If you get a question wrong on the signal exam and it's a write in, you will have one chance to explain yourself - and then you'll need to quickly pull out and display something that you either received in schoolcar ("signal study guide") or your rule book - and point out EXACTLY how the answer you wrote is the same as the one that's in the book.

That means you cannot reference any of the following:

-Web sites

-Your own notes

-Someone else's notes

-The "signal study" flashcards that go around

-anything else "unofficial"

The signal test is not designed to be hard, but that doesn't mean you can be anything other than on point.

And even though it's not completely necessary to learn signal definitions exactly word for word as it is for other agencies (although the definition itself must be exactly the same of course), try and do it - it's better off in the long run anyway, and you'll retain it better.

Had an R62 on the 3 reach 50 south of 50th St. earlier this week. That was a GOOD train, good brakes on it as well (yes I said that about an R62).

And yes, the speedometer was reliable.

After, the fingerprints are taken with the employee "meaning us". How much is the fee, $75 or $95?? And is that taken out of our first check from school car?

 

 

Thanks...

Should be about $94 and some cents.