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My First Week With The MTA!


I Run Trains

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It has always been a childhood dream of mine to either be a bus Driver or a Train Operator. (Motor Man as they called it when i was growing up), And My Dreams came True 3 weeks ago when i was officially hired as a Train Operator.

I was excited during my 2 weeks wait before i started. And My first week was pretty Cool! 

The First 3 days was a lot of paper work and orientations getting benefits. 401k(s) etc in order. Uniform fitting and all that other good stuff!

My Pic.. We'll i didn't get to pic. i got forced Into the A Division but thats cool because thats what i was going to pick anyway!

Reported to School Car Thursday and Friday and received my equipment  (Air Brake Keys, Safty Boots and Vest ETC, and Flags. and I'm pretty Much set!

Im going to enjoy my saturdays and sundays while i can because waking up at 4am every morning to be at school car at 7am is brutal! and taking the (D) Train from 205 to 25 av don't make the train any better but so far I'm enjoying it! Keep You posted on movements!

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Good to hear. I'm in the same class, division A (66). It's a lot of pressure, but we will make it through. I'm more than sure you enjoying your weekend off. I went to sleep last night, and slept for ten hours or more. I had to wake up at 3:30AM, and jump on the train for a two hour ride to make it in time for class. Well worth it.

 

This week will be a blast for us.  :)

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You should receive your class schedules on Monday.  Starting on Monday, you should be reporting to various A division yards.  A division is easier to learn since there is less equipment and lineups.  Your class should be going over signals every day.  The signal exam is pretty straightforward, but learn those definations as much as possible since missing a key word on a short answer can make a big difference.  Good luck!

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You should receive your class schedules on Monday.  Starting on Monday, you should be reporting to various A division yards.  A division is easier to learn since there is less equipment and lineups.  Your class should be going over signals every day.  The signal exam is pretty straightforward, but learn those definations as much as possible since missing a key word on a short answer can make a big difference.  Good luck!

Thank You Sir!

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  • 2 months later...

Good to hear. I'm in the same class, division A (66). It's a lot of pressure, but we will make it through. I'm more than sure you enjoying your weekend off. I went to sleep last night, and slept for ten hours or more. I had to wake up at 3:30AM, and jump on the train for a two hour ride to make it in time for class. Well worth it.

 

This week will be a blast for us. :)

wait. Erik! Is that you mane!?!?!?!
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Thank You Sir!

In addition to what he said, get a feel for the equipment. When you are on an empty train with your instructors, learn what the train can and cannot do. In the beginning you will be timid, that's understandable. But work on getting less timid and understanding the limits of the train.

If you don't know what the limits are, when you're on you're own you'll inadvertently test and pass them, and might get into trouble for it when it happens. It's probably happened to every one of us at some point or another.

 

Also learn to respect the signals. Let them clear ahead of you. Until you know a line in and out, make sure you let the timers clear and respect the signals. I ride on so many trains where people are rushing, speeding through timers, taking a heavy brake, almost hitting them, and barely making fast stations. What's the rush? When you ride with someone good, they are just as smooth and just as fast. On Time running comes from control and knowledge of the road, not recklessness and speeding. But that said, you should be able to keep time under good conditions, there's no reason to be nervous, taking 50 brakes coming into stations, etc.

 

In addition to the stuff that's in the book, focus on your operation too. It's not good enough to "just hit the marker." Really learn to control the train. A lot of people say "well all I have to do is it the mark." That's not the point. The point is learning train control and building the skills now will save you trouble later, and you will be better at your job. just my 2c.

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In addition to what he said, get a feel for the equipment. When you are on an empty train with your instructors, learn what the train can and cannot do. In the beginning you will be timid, that's understandable. But work on getting less timid and understanding the limits of the train.

 

If you don't know what the limits are, when you're on you're own you'll inadvertently test and pass them, and might get into trouble for it when it happens. It's probably happened to every one of us at some point or another.

 

Also learn to respect the signals. Let them clear ahead of you. Until you know a line in and out, make sure you let the timers clear and respect the signals. I ride on so many trains where people are rushing, speeding through timers, taking a heavy brake, almost hitting them, and barely making fast stations. What's the rush? When you ride with someone good, they are just as smooth and just as fast. On Time running comes from control and knowledge of the road, not recklessness and speeding. But that said, you should be able to keep time under good conditions, there's no reason to be nervous, taking 50 brakes coming into stations, etc.

 

In addition to the stuff that's in the book, focus on your operation too. It's not good enough to "just hit the marker." Really learn to control the train. A lot of people say "well all I have to do is it the mark." That's not the point. The point is learning train control and building the skills now will save you trouble later, and you will be better at your job. just my 2c.

It's kinda hard to get a "feel" for the equipment unless you're on the same exact train everyday. You're better off learning the route and how fast those timed signals clear and how fast you can really go around a curve. But that comes with repetitions. I've filmed enough station stops that when my time comes I'm sure I'll be pretty smooth.

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It's kinda hard to get a "feel" for the equipment unless you're on the same exact train everyday. You're better off learning the route and how fast those timed signals clear and how fast you can really go around a curve. But that comes with repetitions. I've filmed enough station stops that when my time comes I'm sure I'll be pretty smooth.

 

Filming doesn't mean anything. You have to operate by feel, not by sight. Stopping by sight = using landmarks for when to brake. Landmarks can be moved. That trash can, or fire extinguisher you use to start braking at a certain station can be moved. The conductor's board you use can be taken down or covered up one day to facilitate an efficiency test of your partner. On the contrary, operating by feel means it will be like riding a bicycle. You'll be prepared for anything and able to react appropriately.

 

You're being too literal if you think you need to be on the same train everyday to get a feel for the equipment. Car equipment calibrates every train in the system to meet certain braking and acceleration performance standards to be declared OK for service. There is slight variation from train to train which a skilled Train Operator will be able to adjust for, but in general cars for a certain car class tend to accelerate and brake similarly. You need to get a feel for each type of equipment in your division, and be able to adjust for the specific characteristics of that car class, with fine adjustment as needed based on the performance of the exact car you are operating. That's what good T/Os are able to do, and it will help you a lot.

 

Again, feel of the train > anything else. So you know that timer that says 35 clears at 33, and not a hair more. Wonderful. Now what do you do when the train you're on has a bad speedometer that says 0 or 99 (hint: you'll still be expected to operate safely and on time to the other terminal!) or, worse, has a misleading speedometer that is off by 2-3 MPH (these exist too, and skilled Train Ops can recognize them and adjust their operation).

 

Take pride in your work and be the best you can be. You can learn routes, but changes happen, signals malfunction, are recalibrated, etc. Also, learning all the nuances of all the routes when you are new is a Herculean task. Believe me, it's easier to learn train control. You will pick up the routes in time as you go.

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  • 8 months later...

So i decided to revisit this! Next week makes a year since i was hired by the MTA and everything is cool.. i enjoy it. but i now see the bullshit and non-sense that comes with this job... i see why a lot of people want to get off the road!.... Aye management.... Can i get that Logo Under My name?!?!? 

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So i decided to revisit this! Next week makes a year since i was hired by the MTA and everything is cool.. i enjoy it. but i now see the bullshit and non-sense that comes with this job... i see why a lot of people want to get off the road!.... Aye management.... Can i get that Logo Under My name?!?!? 

 

I've reached out to the other moderators...just remind us - Train Operator, right?

 

Thanks!

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  • 3 weeks later...

During training i know we get weekends off. How about holidays? Like a Labor Day Monday? Would we get that off?

While in training you get all weekends and holidays off usually. When I was being promoted to supervisor it was at the end of 2014 in December. And since we had so many back to back holidays, we had to come in on two Sunday's to make up for the lost days.

 

 

Station Supervisor Level I

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