Questions about schoolcar and day 2 medical processing for T/O position

[Fluffy IRT Fox]

I am 20 years old turning 21 this month, currently living in Boston, MA with my legal address with a Massachusetts CDL. This is gonna be a long post but I've been thinking about my current situation and my future in New York (because to hell with Boston and the MBTA) as an IRT train operator for months and I really need help. I currently work as a shuttle bus driver. I took and passed the 4605 battery exam with only 4 out of 60 wrong, even though the requirements for the exam said New York driver's license, and I mentioned to the TA proctors at the door that I had a Massachusetts license, I was still allowed to take and pass it. Now comes the 7 year waiting period. I'm quite nervous even though I feel like I'm well prepared, much more than some of the other applicants, it's still a serious job with rigorous training. I already know all the lines, the history of the original 3, how to read signal aspects and their indications, some TA terminology, basics of actually driving the train, chain lining and zero points, grade timers and wheel detectors, how air brakes work, and more. But I'm still quite nervous, especially for the medical process on application day 2. See I actually took 2 previous exams for MaBSTOA and NYCT Civil Service. NYCT is not relevant to this story. However, I took the MaBSTOA exam (or rather lack there of, they're so desperate for operators they straight up nerfed the battery exam and replaced both the exam and the BOSS with an orientation and a Q&A session and we were assigned application days at 149) in May, and a few weeks later passed my CDL road test with a CDL school in NJ. So on day 1, I did the whole song and dance, application that consisted of 1 trillion pages of paperwork, drug test, the whole 9 yards, went well. Then came day 2, medical processing. I'm perfectly healthy and have no serious medical conditions except for autism, ADHD, anxiety and what not that doesn't affect operation. But what I do have is amblyopia (I think it's called), my left eye is perfect, can see 20/20 vision. My right eye tho is terrible. I can still see out of it, but it's mostly peripheral vision. I also wear glasses, and it's quite blurry when I have them off. I can still make out faces, colors, shapes, and what not but small details like on those eye exam things become difficult, and with my right eye is pretty much impossible. When I did the eye exam, I had extreme trouble with the depth perfection part because according to my eye doctor I need both eyes perfect to pass that portion. And of course, I did even worse with just my right eye. Same thing with the portion where they had the letters getting smaller. I didn't get a clear answer wether I was fit for MaBSTOA service or not because after the eye exam came the EKG test, which I was pulled out of early by one of the HR teams because I had a Massachusetts CDL with a K Intrastate restriction meaning I couldn't operate buses in NY. They offered to push back my 10 days of training to a later date so I could move to NYC and change my license over, but I decided it's not worth it and went back home to Boston to work as a bus driver there. My main question is, would my right eye problem be a problem for TA during my application process for the T/O position? This part eats at me the most. I don't want to wait 7 years, get the call, do the whole song and dance again and get my hopes up just to find out that my right eye disqualifies me for literally my dream job. My residency and knowledge of MTA subway operations can be changed and worked on, but according to my eye doctor amblyopia is permanent. Also, I saw on my 4605 NOE that train operator applicants have to go through an auditory comprehension test, where they play a recording between train and dispatcher. What's this about? Can someone give me a run down about what this test looks like and what exactly it entails? Like how many questions and how long the recordings are?

 

 

 

Now onto my schoolcar questions. 

 

1. How long exactly Is schoolcar? I've heard two responses, 3 months for IRT and 6 months for BMT/IND, and 6 months IRT and 9 months BMT/IND. 

 

2. how long are the yard and road practicals? What exactly does the examiner have you do during those tests? What's the criteria for an automatic fail? Is the road and yard practical on the same day like how the pre trip and road exam is all in 1 CDL road exam? I'm mostly worried about the road practical, I've memorized an entire pre trip script before. 

 

3. Would you say schoolcar is hard for the average person? Like, does it get very technical like you have to understand all the parts of the train and how they work or just a basic understanding like: "high voltage connected = compressor go= pressurizes reservoir pipes"  also what would you say is the hardest part of schoolcar?

 

4. How much of schoolcar is classroom vs on the road training? Do they have you do some training in a simulator where you can practice what you have already learned? 

 

5. What is the passing percentage of schoolcar? Also, would you say it's a fast paced environment? Like one day you're learning about basic TA rules applicable to all employees, next you have to have the entire signal aspect and indications of your company memorized 

 

6. Do you have to memorize the entire track layout of your company? Like every automatic signal, station, homeball, tower, crossover, wheel detector, station timer, grade timer, etc. I remember going to an orientation with the LIRR for the Locomotive engineer training program (which I failed because I failed the aptitude exam they gave me) and they explained that T/Os had to memorize ever single inch of the LIRR's 600 miles of track. Now I don't have dementia and I feel like I have a god memory, but Christ, every station, switch, milepost, signal, tower, siding, etc throughout the entire system? Does schoolcar make T/Os do that? It definitely would be easier cuz the subway is much smaller and I already have my NYC subway track map 2024 edition (although not official) but damn 

 

7. Why the 3 month difference in schoolcar lengths between the 2 divisions? I know that even though these companies haven't been their own thing since the 40s, but are their operating procedures that much different where it adds/subtracts 3 months from your training?

 

 

 

That is all for now. Thank you for reading and I'm again sorry for my long post, but I really am nervous about my future at TA and I wanna put some of them to rest so I'm more prepared. 

[RTOMan]

 

[RTOMan]

Everything you need to know is there in that Link 

[Fluffy IRT Fox]

Thanks man really appreciate it

[Jsalcedo718]

14 hours ago, Fluffy IRT Fox said:

I am 20 years old turning 21 this month, currently living in Boston, MA with my legal address with a Massachusetts CDL. This is gonna be a long post but I've been thinking about my current situation and my future in New York (because to hell with Boston and the MBTA) as an IRT train operator for months and I really need help. I currently work as a shuttle bus driver. I took and passed the 4605 battery exam with only 4 out of 60 wrong, even though the requirements for the exam said New York driver's license, and I mentioned to the TA proctors at the door that I had a Massachusetts license, I was still allowed to take and pass it. Now comes the 7 year waiting period. I'm quite nervous even though I feel like I'm well prepared, much more than some of the other applicants, it's still a serious job with rigorous training. I already know all the lines, the history of the original 3, how to read signal aspects and their indications, some TA terminology, basics of actually driving the train, chain lining and zero points, grade timers and wheel detectors, how air brakes work, and more. But I'm still quite nervous, especially for the medical process on application day 2. See I actually took 2 previous exams for MaBSTOA and NYCT Civil Service. NYCT is not relevant to this story. However, I took the MaBSTOA exam (or rather lack there of, they're so desperate for operators they straight up nerfed the battery exam and replaced both the exam and the BOSS with an orientation and a Q&A session and we were assigned application days at 149) in May, and a few weeks later passed my CDL road test with a CDL school in NJ. So on day 1, I did the whole song and dance, application that consisted of 1 trillion pages of paperwork, drug test, the whole 9 yards, went well. Then came day 2, medical processing. I'm perfectly healthy and have no serious medical conditions except for autism, ADHD, anxiety and what not that doesn't affect operation. But what I do have is amblyopia (I think it's called), my left eye is perfect, can see 20/20 vision. My right eye tho is terrible. I can still see out of it, but it's mostly peripheral vision. I also wear glasses, and it's quite blurry when I have them off. I can still make out faces, colors, shapes, and what not but small details like on those eye exam things become difficult, and with my right eye is pretty much impossible. When I did the eye exam, I had extreme trouble with the depth perfection part because according to my eye doctor I need both eyes perfect to pass that portion. And of course, I did even worse with just my right eye. Same thing with the portion where they had the letters getting smaller. I didn't get a clear answer wether I was fit for MaBSTOA service or not because after the eye exam came the EKG test, which I was pulled out of early by one of the HR teams because I had a Massachusetts CDL with a K Intrastate restriction meaning I couldn't operate buses in NY. They offered to push back my 10 days of training to a later date so I could move to NYC and change my license over, but I decided it's not worth it and went back home to Boston to work as a bus driver there. My main question is, would my right eye problem be a problem for TA during my application process for the T/O position? This part eats at me the most. I don't want to wait 7 years, get the call, do the whole song and dance again and get my hopes up just to find out that my right eye disqualifies me for literally my dream job. My residency and knowledge of MTA subway operations can be changed and worked on, but according to my eye doctor amblyopia is permanent. Also, I saw on my 4605 NOE that train operator applicants have to go through an auditory comprehension test, where they play a recording between train and dispatcher. What's this about? Can someone give me a run down about what this test looks like and what exactly it entails? Like how many questions and how long the recordings are?

 

 

 

Now onto my schoolcar questions. 

 

1. How long exactly Is schoolcar? I've heard two responses, 3 months for IRT and 6 months for BMT/IND, and 6 months IRT and 9 months BMT/IND. 

 

2. how long are the yard and road practicals? What exactly does the examiner have you do during those tests? What's the criteria for an automatic fail? Is the road and yard practical on the same day like how the pre trip and road exam is all in 1 CDL road exam? I'm mostly worried about the road practical, I've memorized an entire pre trip script before. 

 

3. Would you say schoolcar is hard for the average person? Like, does it get very technical like you have to understand all the parts of the train and how they work or just a basic understanding like: "high voltage connected = compressor go= pressurizes reservoir pipes"  also what would you say is the hardest part of schoolcar?

 

4. How much of schoolcar is classroom vs on the road training? Do they have you do some training in a simulator where you can practice what you have already learned? 

 

5. What is the passing percentage of schoolcar? Also, would you say it's a fast paced environment? Like one day you're learning about basic TA rules applicable to all employees, next you have to have the entire signal aspect and indications of your company memorized 

 

6. Do you have to memorize the entire track layout of your company? Like every automatic signal, station, homeball, tower, crossover, wheel detector, station timer, grade timer, etc. I remember going to an orientation with the LIRR for the Locomotive engineer training program (which I failed because I failed the aptitude exam they gave me) and they explained that T/Os had to memorize ever single inch of the LIRR's 600 miles of track. Now I don't have dementia and I feel like I have a god memory, but Christ, every station, switch, milepost, signal, tower, siding, etc throughout the entire system? Does schoolcar make T/Os do that? It definitely would be easier cuz the subway is much smaller and I already have my NYC subway track map 2024 edition (although not official) but damn 

 

7. Why the 3 month difference in schoolcar lengths between the 2 divisions? I know that even though these companies haven't been their own thing since the 40s, but are their operating procedures that much different where it adds/subtracts 3 months from your training?

 

 

 

That is all for now. Thank you for reading and I'm again sorry for my long post, but I really am nervous about my future at TA and I wanna put some of them to rest so I'm more prepared. 

Check out this thread for schoolcar questions.

 

 

[RTOMan]

On 10/2/2024 at 5:26 PM, Fluffy IRT Fox said:

Thanks man really appreciate it

Welcome!