SubwayGuy

NYCERS if you are behind they will catch you back up so all your time is good. Fingerprint free they will get you one of your first few checks, don't worry.

Eye Test: Depth perception, acuity, absence of colorblindness. Regardless of what the letter says, first visit is always a drug test only, and to turn in the 5 page booklet you receive in the mail with your notice.

The West Side express is a lot better. And yes, getting proper rest is one of the most important parts of working for Transit...along with actually coming to work (you'd be surprised how many have issues with these two things!) For GC shuttle, T/O's need to be OPTO qualified.

SMEE train or NTT? It happens. Just means your friction brakes are worn and may slide more than you'd expect right at the end. Adjust your operation accordingly.

Do NOT rely on the IVR. If there is a change, the IVR can be updated, and it is not logged so if you are marked AWOL "the IVR told me otherwise" is not a valid defense. You can either call the crew office, in which case you need to know the time you called and the name of the person you spoke with (you can try to get a pass number, up to you, but in time you'll learn the names), or check the daily assignment sheets which, since they are printed, are good as gold. The exception to that is if you call the crew office and someone tells you your job is changed from the daily assignment sheets, in which case speaking to the person overrides that. beneka, if you were placed in a job that appeared on the assignment sheets that reported at 0408, and fell to the board, and were placed in the 0555 job, you are entitled to board time from 0408 to 0555 regardless since you are reporting as per instruction. If, however, you were told that 0408 job was full and you had the choice of falling to the board or picking up another job, and chose to pick up the other job, then you're not entitled to anything except what that job pays. That's why it's important to keep track of who you spoke to and when, as well as what was discussed on the phone. I remember reporting to work early due to a GO which was cancelled by a snow supplement that was called at the last minute, but I reported at the time on the assignment sheets, and so the dispatcher paid my "early report". The sheets are the best way to find your job info, otherwise call and ask someone at the crew office. The IVR should really be a last resort, or a way of checking to confirm what you already know.

SMEE The R62's give a lot of A Div. train operators fits, but they're really not bad. Use the first few stations to fiddle with the brakes and see how the train reacts. The standing brake test can give you some idea of this (look at the gauge while you do them), and so will the dynamics test: -do they apply immediately, or is there a delay? -How far do you have to move the brake handle to get a response? -How much air is the gauge showing when you get that response? -How quickly does the air release out of the system when you graduate down from a higher pressure? How are the notches? Can you feel them easily? (These are important, if the notches are hard to feel and the brake stand is easily manipulated and you grab a heavy brake, you can easily go too far and dump the train - this also gives you "feel" for the brakes). Once you know this, you know everything you need to know. Once you grab a brake, hold it. (Usually means you need to hold at least 20 lbs., sometimes slightly more or less depending on your train). If you need more, take more. If you need less, graduate down. If you need a lot less, and can't graduate down without losing dynamics, hold what you have until you're going slow enough that you won't risk running out of the station, release, and re-apply when you need it (anticipating a 1-2 second delay when you grab the brake back). If there's a delay in the application (often there is), anticipate it, and take the brake a little before you need it. Also be aware that when you grab a lot of brake, it takes a while to build up that air pressure, so when you take 50, 60, or 70 pounds, you'll feel 20, and your urge will be to take more, but give it a second and the train will start to slow down a lot faster. If your instinct is to grab more when you feel the first application, you'll wind up grabbing too much and either stopping short, or having to give a lot back. Just keep practicing and remember no two trains are alike, so the best way to figure those brakes out is to hear and feel the train, and adjust your operation based on how that particular train is handling. And yes - some are better than others, but it's up to YOU to make the train work for you, not the other way around. Last, before you stop, the very last thing you should be doing is releasing some brake (to smooth out the stop) right at the very end. How much to release depends on your feel of the train - the grade, how fast you're going, etc. but always hold air when you finish the stop. Never let the straight air needle go to 0 until you are about to leave the station.

R142 and R142A are governed to a maximum speed of 55. It is REALLY, REALLY difficult to do more than 50. Originally delivered, 55-60 is reasonable...they were fast before being slowed down. 68 on an R62/62A is likely nonsense since those speedometers are unreliable. Before they removed the field shunts those trains could really move (in the 50's), but the only RUMORED case of an R62/A going over 60 was wrong railing in the Joralemon tube and that's unconfirmed because from what I understand it was done once, and no telling if the speedometer was reliable. Today, R62/A are slightly slower than the R142/A due to lower high end acceleration, but they can still reach 47-48. From 72nd to Times Square, south of 50th Street in particular on the Broadway Express, a 62 can reach those rare speeds.

Yes. There are additional qualifications. OPTO (One Person Train Operation) - trains you to operate doors while operating the train (no conductor - used on some shorter train lines) Also, once you are able to pick a job in the other division, you can qualify on that division's equipment and routes. You can also pick work trains and get miscellaneous qualification which allows you to move diesels etc.

Yep, those have been there for a while. I'm guessing they're going to be to help enforce the posted 10MPH leaving GCT going northbound. Should still be able to fly into 59th, the downgrade isn't "that" bad and you can stop a train from 46 with ease. If you're doing it right, it should be impossible to run out of the station anyway - take a big brake 50 feet from the entering end of the station and hold it till you're down to about 15-20 by or just past the CR board, then coast up to the marker and make your final stop. Why? Give the announcement time to play, and you'll be certain not to overrun it. If you can make your stop right as the announcement finishes "and using your Metrocard" you've done it perfect. If you fly in, make a perfect stop, the announcement does not complete, you enable, and your CR opens, the next stop announcement will not play for almost 20 seconds (if your CR lets it play at all). RE: punching for lineup, that's why you always take a full service before you punch. Then let the deadman go, and punch. (not for you specifically...just in general for anyone reading this)

I neglected to mention on these (see red):

Because there is a slight curve there, and visibility into the station is restricted. That timer was put there because before the trains were slowed down, someone rounded that curve on the post at over 50 MPH, and three signal maintainers were working under point to point flagging just south of the station (and the yellow lamp was not visible due to the curve - all this was before the improvements to the flagging rules that happened in 2007). Needless to say, they never had a chance. Then the timer was added, forcing the train to slow down to (depending on how the T/O takes it) anywhere from 30-20 (personally I brake late since it lets me get on the circuit sooner to start the timer, and by the time the red clears when I'm at the yellow, I'm anywhere 24-26). But others may do different. Then once the timer clears and if all other signals are clear, you can wrap it up and bring it into the station, and have a reasonably safe range of vision to stop should you need to. If signals are not clear, there is safe stopping distance and time for you to react to make a controlled approach to your leader.

When the tech trains first came out they were significantly faster than they are now, but were basically governed down to their current configuration. They absolutely used to fly.

see red Yes. All the way from south of Bleecker through Canal to protect the curves in the area of Spring St.

Besides the Upper White Plains Road, here are the rest of the fast ones in the IRT: -Northbound 86-125 I've seen 50. -Joralemon tube S/B I've seen 50. -Hunts Point -> Parkchester 48-49 passing through Morrison-Sound View -116 -> 125 on Broadway used to set all kinds of records before they slowed the trains down. A good train can still do 42. I've heard tales from back in the day of 52. -42 -> 59 on Lex express 46-47. -96 -> 72 on Broadway express gets you about 43-44. -14 -> Chambers on Broadway express gets you about 46-47 (and I've seen 48) passing Houston before the timers by Canal. -Entering 33rd S/B on the 7, 44 is possible with a good train but that's about it since you gotta stop to make the station...

Wait till you experience those tech trains in the rain and snow.

Northbound TSQ? Can't say I'm surprised, but shaking my head since it's posted 16MPH entering....

The 3's are a beast, but they can be tamed. Unless you're coming into a station very fast (above 35), grab 20 pounds at the appropriate spot and hold it. If you need more, take more once you have the 20, and expect it to take a second to kick in. The key is to not let it go below 20 lbs., because when you reach to grab again, that's when you'll lose the dynamic brake and get a lot of bucking, and the delay when applying the brake. It's very difficult to make a perfect stop with those trains but it can be done. It's actually easiest when you're going the fastest. A perfect stop with those trains, you come in fast and start by pulling the most brake, gradually back it off, and by the end you have very little and are just smoothing it out...only that's very hard to do and if you undershoot you have to let some go, and take it back about a second before you need it. The other caveat is that every single one of those trains is slightly different (while that's true of all trains, it's especially true of the R62's) so while you can try and practice these techniques, you'll need to adjust for how that specific train reacts to grabbing brake to determine exactly when or how much you need.

Good instincts to catch it and grab brake immediately. Just be glad it wasn't Flatbush since if you roll back in that station (it's very tight) you can very easily hit the fixed stop by the bumper block (and some have done this).

Replies In red:

See red:

You will have nothing for 2013, but at the end of 2013 you will pick two weeks vacation for 2014.

What was your start date? You earn one day of vacation time for each full month (full month = worked from the 15th on) worked in a year, applied to the following year. In other words, an employee who starts July 1 of 2012 will have earned SIX vacation days in 2013, which were picked at the end of 2012, or, if they're still in training, at the end of training in early 2013. For a new employee to get the full two weeks vacation for a given year, you must have worked at least 10 months the previous year.

The reason people post those things that you seem to have such an issue with is because there are a bunch of people who aren't through the hiring process explaining and giving incorrect info about the hiring process, and some who are barely into schoolcar (or not even into it at all yet and still waiting) who are posting misleading information to other people about what schoolcar is, or what is, or is not important...often times when they themselves are not familiar with it yet. Don't you think the management that comes up with the schoolcar course content, and the instructors who teach it, know more about what's important than someone who hasn't even passed the course yet or worked the road yet?

ALL of the things you'll do in schoolcar are important. You may not ever need them again, but you might, and if you remember your training it may solve you a problem, save your interval and your lunch break, may save you a disciplinary hearing someday, may save you a reinstruction, and may even save you a DAN. Go in with an open mind and try to learn everything you can. You should look at schoolcar as a challenge to learn everything you can as early as you can since it's a "safe" environment and if you mess up, it's in a controlled environment with supervision ready to protect you, and no customers. Don't shy away from challenges or new/old things - learn everything you can. When you're learning your division, pay attention to the stops as you ride to and from work, and notice things like where the train stops, transfer points, station names, and how fast the train is going in certain areas. ALL of these things will help you - it may not be today, but it could someday. Don't be one of the ones who comes in just to collect a paycheck and "if I don't need to know, don't tell me I'm not interested" because it WILL bite you someday and you'll be wishing you listened. Those are often the ones who go out and have incidents because they find themselves uncomfortable on their own or unfamiliar with something that is very much a part of their job. Ask questions, but not too many. Your instructors will go over just about everything important with you, but you may need clarification on something - ask! But stick to your job. When your instructor shows you the tower, don't get hung up about how the machine works, or what the job of the dispatcher is. When you are introduced to the train, learn the locations of key components on it and key procedures - don't get too hung up on how it works, how to fix it, etc. as those are the jobs of the car inspector. But learn the responsibilities of a train operator (or conductor, if applicable) and stick to it, that's your bread and butter, and know it ALL. If that means jumpers, that means jumpers. If that means other than headcar operation, that means that too. Don't worry about whether or not a TSS will be there to help you when it happens for real - maybe there will be, maybe there won't, but you still must know the procedure. Same goes for troubleshooting - learn it too. Brake pipe rupture practical is extremely important, and shows you know the equipment. But you can end up with a runaway motor too, and you'd better know how to kill the power. Don't become a legend around here that does something incredibly retarded and winds up with an IOD because you did a procedure incorrectly (COUGH ...just pull the knife switch right? COUGH) And pay attention to the locations of things. Particularly for open competitive people who aren't familiar with the layout of things down in NYCT land...once you've been shown a location, remember it...write it down if you need to. You are now "qualified" to report to that location and can be expected to do so on your own. Don't be that person who shows up late to work and gets written up because you went to the station 20 minutes before your reporting time and couldn't find the dispatcher's office, or the tower in the yard. Once you're on your own, nobody's going to hold your hand. You may get a TSS for your first trip, but that's it. Conductors are responsible for the safety of the train, the customers, and the general well-being of the equipment entrusted to them, and Train Operators are responsible for the safe movement of the train from terminal to terminal and all associated people (track workers, customers, etc.) Once you're on your own, the buck stops with you and your partner...so know your job, and do it. Schoolcar's the time to learn, not when it's too late and you're already on your own, or not after you've failed a key test in schoolcar and are trying to get your old job back, and wondering when the next test is.

One is five pages, the other is 21. Yes, they will be checked for consistency. Read the directions thoroughly and answer all questions truthfully and as completely and honestly as you are able.