Where Can I Go to School to Learn About Railroading?

Question:   I live in Pittsburgh and so far, I have not found a school that teaches any of this.  Do you know of one?  Maybe I am not searching correctly.  I think I would love a career involved with trains.

Answer:  The easiest way to learn all of this is to get hired as a conductor for a major freight railroad.  They will send you to their school to learn everything you need to know.  For example, conductor trainees hired by CSX go to their state-of-the-art REDI (Railroad Education and Development Institute) Center in Atlanta.  Each of the major railroads has an equivalent program. 

To get hired, you need to go to the railroad’s career web site and follow the instructions for applying.  Major railroads usually hire for specific terminals and crew bases.  You’ll need to be very patient because the hiring process and getting the call to report can take many months, maybe longer than a year.  The railroad’s pool of conductors grows and shrinks as the economy demands more or less train service (which means you need to be prepared to be furloughed periodically until you establish enough seniority to weather most draw downs).  You’ll have a better shot of getting hired quickly if you’re flexible enough to move where the jobs are. 

An alternate approach would be to go to a private school that will charge you to get certified as a railroad engineer.  One such school is the Modoc Railroad Academy in California.  They seem to have a pretty good placement rate and this would be a good way to get hired on with a regional or short line railroad.

There are other rail related jobs you can also train for, such as dispatcher or trainmaster.  There are several community colleges that offer dispatcher training programs.  The major railroads also have management trainee programs, which can be one avenue to becoming a trainmaster.  Michigan State University offers a railway management program.  Doing some research on Google should turn up numerous programs you can look into in more detail.

I encourage you to read my previous post (from the day prior) on the physical demands of being a train crew member.   It can be a lot of fun; but, make no mistake:  railroading is tough, unglamorous, often tedious work.  Folks really need to know what they’re getting themselves into, because it’s not what a lot of people think it is.

I wish you the very best in your quest.  Please let me know if you have any follow-on questions.

Here we go!