The Schoolcar Experience

[MarkGuy]

1 hour ago, nipaaaa said:

my entire class passed the road test. Final tomorrow and we off to BBQ on thurs

Had a R46 with bad dynamic brakes but I adjusted my operation and rookie rolled all my stops. Better than sliding out of stations amirite?

Congrats! It was today? How many stops did each student have? What line? R46? R68? R160b? 

 

Also im reading through the jargon of keying a signal and what not. Sounds a bit complex to someone on the outside at first. 

[nipaaaa]

it was yesterday. Everyone had about 10. We went on the F, G, and R

keying is nothing complicated

[train1290]

28 minutes ago, nipaaaa said:

it was yesterday. Everyone had about 10. We went on the F, G, and R

keying is nothing complicated

What is keying?

[Late Clear]

On 6/30/2019 at 10:21 PM, RTOMan said:

Considering you aren't in RTO yet how can you make that claim?

I was in Refresher coruse this past week i know for a Fact 92-19 has exonerated people...

I am in RTO.

They want to speed up service.  It's also contract time.  

[Biggie]

22 hours ago, train1290 said:

What is keying?

When you have a red signal with the stop arm in the tripping position (let's say a red automatic signal) keying is a procedure that allows you to pass the signal without getting tripped. This can only be done when the Rail Control Center authorizes it, it can also be done without their permission ONLY IF there is a sign that reads "AK" on which stands for authorized key by or if the signal is in a yard or storage track. You first stop before the signal which would generally be 15ft or at the IJ marker on the 3rd rail. Call control then if they allow you to key by you move up very shortly past Insulated Joint stop then observe the stop arm go down. Lots of automatics are equipped with 10 second key bys which takes 10 seconds for the stop arm to clear. After that you proceed with restricted speed and extreme caution. It's easy just 2 things to remember,  sure you have permission to key when necessary & be careful creeping onto the IJ that you don't take too much power and bang the signal.

[RTOMan]

On 7/4/2019 at 10:37 AM, Late Clear said:

I am in RTO.

They want to speed up service.  It's also contract time.  

Hey this is nothing new 17 years down here they play the same game..

They new trick is amusing they playing in the press now..🤣

So its not like this is news to me..

[Late Clear]

10 hours ago, RTOMan said:

Hey this is nothing new 17 years down here they play the same game..

They new trick is amusing they playing in the press now..🤣

So its not like this is news to me..

Lately as far as service is concerned, it's been good publicity, other than the assaults.  

Hopefully it'll change the image of NYCTA.  Majority of the people down here do the best they can everyday and 99% of it goes unnoticed.  No one expects a pat on the back for a job well down but the negative light needs to stop.  

[kevinetics]

On 6/26/2019 at 6:19 PM, acabral136 said:

Hello all, 

 

I just got sworn in yesterday for the July 22nd class. I'm buying the clothing I need and ordered the boots already, but I remember it being mentioned somewhere what type of bag I should buy. I think it was in this thread. 

 

Anybody have any recommendations as far as toolbags? I know backpacks or bags with wheels are a no no. 

The KAKA Backpack:

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RHQ3VTJ/ref=twister_B07RDM553K?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

[Late Clear]

6 hours ago, kevinetics said:

The KAKA Backpack:

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RHQ3VTJ/ref=twister_B07RDM553K?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Like everyone in transit uses these (except me) so make sure you put something on it that will make it stand out like a string or keychain, some pins/patches or something.  

Anything with a removable strap is acceptable as per that bulletin you must carry your bag when you cross the roadbed.  

 

[mediccjh]

On 7/11/2019 at 11:17 PM, Late Clear said:

Lately as far as service is concerned, it's been good publicity, other than the assaults.  

Hopefully it'll change the image of NYCTA.  Majority of the people down here do the best they can everyday and 99% of it goes unnoticed.  No one expects a pat on the back for a job well down but the negative light needs to stop.  

One of the reasons I make sure that when my crews are doing a good job, I tell them such. 

[beanz]

Just wanted to add a little to this thread of my own experience for anybody who is interested in reading. 

 

I am in TA79. My instructors are Ratliff and Tejeda. Both are really good and I have no complaints at all. I feel like I'm learning and grasping what they are teaching. 

 

So far we have been to Westchester Yard on Wednesday and Thursday and 240 yard today. It is definitely a lot of info coming our way, but i pay close attention and read every unit they assign and re-read again after seeing the concepts in person and explained by the TSSs. 

 

Also got my uniform today. 

 

So far it's been a fun and informative ride, but also very physically taxing for me since I'm coming from an office job for the last 4 years. I have to get my body used to all the walking and climbing. I feel like I'm getting stronger, but plenty of rest is necessary. 

 

Can't wait to continue! I can already see I will love this job. 

[Late Clear]

23 hours ago, acabral136 said:

Just wanted to add a little to this thread of my own experience for anybody who is interested in reading. 

 

I am in TA79. My instructors are Ratliff and Tejeda. Both are really good and I have no complaints at all. I feel like I'm learning and grasping what they are teaching. 

 

So far we have been to Westchester Yard on Wednesday and Thursday and 240 yard today. It is definitely a lot of info coming our way, but i pay close attention and read every unit they assign and re-read again after seeing the concepts in person and explained by the TSSs. 

 

Also got my uniform today. 

 

So far it's been a fun and informative ride, but also very physically taxing for me since I'm coming from an office job for the last 4 years. I have to get my body used to all the walking and climbing. I feel like I'm getting stronger, but plenty of rest is necessary. 

 

Can't wait to continue! I can already see I will love this job. 

Good luck.  

Be proactive in keeping your health.  Stay away from fast food, soda, sugar, etc.  
 

[needajob]

On 5/12/2019 at 12:36 AM, nipaaaa said:

Yea TSS Kelly, quiet guy, I like him. I think he's returning tomorrow for my second road ops week.

Hey we have him for our class, any suggestions? Or advice ? How is he? How was ur experience? Anything I should be aware of ??

[Late Clear]

2 hours ago, needajob said:

Hey we have him for our class, any suggestions? Or advice ? How is he? How was ur experience? Anything I should be aware of ??

One of the best. 

I tell school car students you can always learn something from everyone.  

When you come out to the road, you'll encounter different TSS's and Dispatchers, so give everyone a chance and be open minded.  

[nipaaaa]

15 hours ago, needajob said:

Hey we have him for our class, any suggestions? Or advice ? How is he? How was ur experience? Anything I should be aware of ??

Kelly is super cool, he’s a laid back type of dude. If he sees you struggling with something then he will help you. Or if you ask him questions about the job or anything he will answer them with no problem. If you ask him a question about certain equipment then he would take your question and flip it around to another question and try to make you think from a different perspective to see if you can figure it out

Edited August 24, 2019 by nipaaaa

[MarkGuy]

Might as well add my own experience with schoolcar since we just started. 

This week we had eny yard and began r42 familiarization. Yesterday we took turns charging up and making safety stops by a fouling pt area.

 

moving the train Isn’t that difficult but knowing when to apply brake is def gonna be a learning curve. It got easier for me the second or third time around though. 

 

Today was cuts and adds. I did it well according to my tss’es but ironically I didn’t really grasp it til I saw my classmates doing it. I managed to mostly explain the steps to my tss after (with some mistakes but it’s progress).

on to the next yard!

[beanz]

15 hours ago, MarkGuy said:

Might as well add my own experience with schoolcar since we just started. 

This week we had eny yard and began r42 familiarization. Yesterday we took turns charging up and making safety stops by a fouling pt area.

 

moving the train Isn’t that difficult but knowing when to apply brake is def gonna be a learning curve. It got easier for me the second or third time around though. 

 

Today was cuts and adds. I did it well according to my tss’es but ironically I didn’t really grasp it til I saw my classmates doing it. I managed to mostly explain the steps to my tss after (with some mistakes but it’s progress).

on to the next yard!

Something a TSS told me that will help u when u go out on road ops.. 

 

When u are trying to stop at a station, u have to work your way up from closer to full service brake towards minimum brake so that u can come to a complete stop with as little brake as possible. I had such an aha moment when he told us that and my last road ops day I went 8 for 9 on my station stops. Before that I was starting from coast to min brake to full service and all my stops were rough. Idk why my regular instructors didn't give us that little tidbit but it made such a huge difference for all of us. 

 

Now that doesn't mean hit full service when u enter the station. It just means work your way down from whatever the max brake is that u think u will need. For example 40% then 30 then 20 then 10 instead of 10 then 20 then 40 and then just slamming on the 100 because u think u are about to overrun. This method might make u prone to coming in a little slow but only until u get a feel for how much brake u need to apply at certain stations and from certain speeds. I can't wait until our next road ops day on the r62s to implement the technique with them as well. 

 

[MarkGuy]

51 minutes ago, acabral136 said:

Something a TSS told me that will help u when u go out on road ops.. 

 

When u are trying to stop at a station, u have to work your way up from closer to full service brake towards minimum brake so that u can come to a complete stop with as little brake as possible. I had such an aha moment when he told us that and my last road ops day I went 8 for 9 on my station stops. Before that I was starting from coast to min brake to full service and all my stops were rough. Idk why my regular instructors didn't give us that little tidbit but it made such a huge difference for all of us. 

 

Now that doesn't mean hit full service when u enter the station. It just means work your way down from whatever the max brake is that u think u will need. For example 40% then 30 then 20 then 10 instead of 10 then 20 then 40 and then just slamming on the 100 because u think u are about to overrun. This method might make u prone to coming in a little slow but only until u get a feel for how much brake u need to apply at certain stations and from certain speeds. I can't wait until our next road ops day on the r62s to implement the technique with them as well. 

 

Hmm. So use more of the snowbrake and try holding that? I know that's more for snow conditions though. When I try braking I feel like it takes a short second before I can get the braking handle towards full service, but not necessarily at full service, if that makes sense? 

Our first road day is next Friday, so I will see what happens. and thanks btw!

[beanz]

2 minutes ago, MarkGuy said:

Hmm. So use more of the snowbrake and try holding that? I know that's more for snow conditions though. When I try braking I feel like it takes a short second before I can get the braking handle towards full service, but not necessarily at full service, if that makes sense? 

Our first road day is next Friday, so I will see what happens. and thanks btw!

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. 

[MarkGuy]

3 hours ago, acabral136 said:

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. 

Oh I see try holding a min brake range to the marker?  Instead of going into full service from the start 

[beanz]

1 hour ago, MarkGuy said:

Oh I see try holding a min brake range to the marker?  Instead of going into full service from the start 

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. 

[Jay-Oh]

Here's something you can do to get used to stopping at speed.
Grab as much brake as you feel you need depending on the speed, and when you feel the brakes kick in, gradually release brake (not all the way). Do this enough, and eventually, you'll start feel how much you need and what speed your train should be going at a certain point in the station. This depends on your ability and comfort level. Example - for me; I can still be around 20 mph by the 8 car marker on new tech and be confident I'll stop. For SMEE, I prefer to be under 15 mph by the 8 car, then manipulate the brake as necessary.
When they say "1 brake" in school car - they don't mean grabbing the perfect amount of brake to stop at the mark without adjustment. They just mean grab brake, and adjust it without going into coast.

I suggest that you play around with this during road ops. Go into a station hard as you can, grab as much brake as you see fit, then start releasing slowly - if you feel like you released too much, you can grab back more. It's certainly a skill that you need to learn - so don't be too hard on yourself if you don't get it right the first hundred times.

Also, when you're doing road ops, if you overrun a station - it's no big deal - so if it helps you get accustomed to the train, punch it and test the limits, I sure as hell did.

Edited September 1, 2019 by Jay-Oh

[RTOMan]

Very good insight with these comments good to see y’all helping each other out... 😊

[MarkGuy]

2 hours ago, Jay-Oh said:

Here's something you can do to get used to stopping at speed.
Grab as much brake as you feel you need depending on the speed, and when you feel the brakes kick in, gradually release brake (not all the way). Do this enough, and eventually, you'll start feel how much you need and what speed your train should be going at a certain point in the station. This depends on your ability and comfort level. Example - for me; I can still be around 20 mph by the 8 car marker on new tech and be confident I'll stop. For SMEE, I prefer to be under 15 mph by the 8 car, then manipulate the brake as necessary.
When they say "1 brake" in school car - they don't mean grabbing the perfect amount of brake to stop at the mark without adjustment. They just mean grab brake, and adjust it without going into coast.

I suggest that you play around with this during road ops. Go into a station hard as you can, grab as much brake as you see fit, then start releasing slowly - if you feel like you released too much, you can grab back more. It's certainly a skill that you need to learn - so don't be too hard on yourself if you don't get it right the first hundred times.

Also, when you're doing road ops, if you overrun a station - it's no big deal - so if it helps you get accustomed to the train, punch it and test the limits, I sure as hell did.

Thank you so much! I will def experiment.

[nipaaaa]

unfortunately not many people give smooth stops cuz it takes more effort and is a bit slower. I noticed brakes on the R160 is more like car brakes where if you grab more brake, the stop will be jerky while R68/R46 brakes don't really grab hard. You can come to a stop using full service but the train doesn't jerk. Meanwhile the R32 will rock everyone with just minimum brake lol. Haven't been on a R179 since J road posting so I can't say 

Edited September 1, 2019 by nipaaaa