Transport Tycoon Forums

I've worked for a railroad here in the U.S. for 15 years now in IT. It is a great job! Lots of things to learn and it is a very complex operation.

What do you do? Do you work in the room with a giant screen with lightbulbs that shows where all trains are in railways?

UseYourIllusion wrote:What do you do? Do you work in the room with a giant screen with lightbulbs that shows where all trains are in railways?

I don't, that is a cool place though, but I do work with them. I manage much of the customer-to-customer messaging. Everything from placing orders, to tracking where stuff is, to notifying customers when there are service interruptions.

Bit of a bump chaps, but wanted to share this and find out what people may be doing these days
If anyone on my facebook has seen my statuses over the months, you'll know what's coming!

Today marked my last day as a train dispatcher. Quite sad in many ways as I've loved dispatching and all my duties since I started.
I've taken great pride in what I do, and enjoyed helping people, looking after others, and ensuring people are on the move safely. It's been a blast, and I've loved it! Through good times and bad.

Tomorrow however, is another chapter in my life in the railway industry. It'll be my official start on a childhood dream, down the path of a train driver.
November the 5th, shall be the first day onto a driver training course. I am beyond excited! Just over 20 years since I had such a fascination for trains and wanted to be a driver. And that childhood dream has never left me.
But despite all that excitement, I am super nervous as well! Unsurprisingly.

So, here we go!

Congratlations, great to hear!

Geo Ghost wrote:find out what people may be doing these days

Still volunteering at Huddersfield Rail Station, applying for jobs oline and getting constant rejections. Pretty close to just giving up entirely. I think after 8 years of trying (since I was 18) it clearly just isn't meant to be!
The people I originally got a short term job with (start of thread) The Train People rapidly went downhill and ended up in insolvency.

As of today.... I'm now officially a 'Train Driver'! No longer a trainee!!!

I cannot even begin to express my joy, as anyone on my facebook has no doubt seen right now

WOOT!

Congrats on getting the job, hopefully things work out for the long term.

If welding doesn't work out for me, I'd like to try out working for the railroad like Canadian Pacific, Canadian National, VIA or GO Transit (which are 4 local railroads in my parts of Ontario)

Only issue is that after I goto college for welding/metal working, I'll be about 27/28 years old (I'm turning 25 this year and I expect to attend college next year which I'll be 26 by then and will take a year to complete), I only have so much time to decide on a career before its too late.

Perhaps I could get lucky and become a welder for a railroad, though id rather prefer driving a train over standing by and watching them go.

I worked for the New South Wales railways for 24 years .. started as a Trainee Enginemen in 1970 cleaning diesel and steam locomotives after a while had job lighting the fires in steam locos ready for the shed firemen to take over.

Transferred from there to a railway station as a Junior Station Assistant and Block Boy in a Signal Box before becoming a Station Assistant.

Worked on Mail Trains as Guards Assistant for a while, then became a Safe Working Station Assistant at a small country railway station where you did everything .. did normal station duties as well as signal box working. Was a single line and the safe working for that station was Electric Train Staff Working.

From there got promoted to Assistant Station Master at another country station with the safe working was Staff and Ticket. Handled around 1/2 million tons a wheat,barley and oats a year and loading several wagons of wool every week.

Eventually ended up as a Station Master. Unfortunately that is where my career ended as falling off the top of a wagon loaded with wool isn't very healthy as it was a long way to the ground, and the ground was hard when I landed on it.

Broke my right heel and ankle, fractured right shoulder and fractured skull.

Now I on a disability pension spending my time when I can making things for OpenTTD. Since I can no longer play with real trains I play with trains on computer.

If I never had that accident probably be still working with the railways with 3 more years left for retirement.

Well, This Saturday I shall be celebrating a year of being a permanent railway employee. I initially started my role as a train planner on a short-term contract in January 2016, and it was made permanent a couple of month's later in on March 18th. One intends to have a few drinks to celebrate!

Geo Ghost wrote:As of today.... I'm now officially a 'Train Driver'! No longer a trainee!!!

As I said over on Facebook (so I hope you'll forgive my lateness), CONGRATULATIONS!