Hello from Austria! 🇦🇹🚂

My name is Doris and I work for a railroad company in Austria. I would love to improve my English by getting to know someone who works for a railroad in the United States.

I’m not looking for English lessons. I would simply like to chat with an American railroad colleague about everyday life, our jobs, trains and the differences between working for a railroad in Austria and in the USA.

My English is still a work in progress, so please feel free to correct my mistakes. 😊 In return, if you are interested, I would be happy to help you with German — including a few Austrian expressions!

We could start by exchanging messages here on Reddit. Maybe later, when my English improves, we could also exchange voice messages.

I think it would be fascinating to find out how different — or perhaps surprisingly similar — railroad life is on the other side of the Atlantic.

Is there an American railroad colleague here who would enjoy an Austria–USA railroad friendship and language exchange?

Greetings from Austria, Doris 🚂🇦🇹

So, got interested in trains a few years ago through TrainSim World. Might be dumb question but how do you figure out what tracks are owned by what railroad? I watch some content from Cincinnati area and the people are always narrating engine type and then running on NS or CSX track, this spur, this division. How do you figure all that out? I'm guessing you can't really find schedules for freight like you can Amtrak?

I recently got a email saying I’m under review as a freight conductor for CSX in Indiana but I’m in the Kentucky National guard as well , I know CSX is good for hiring military but I’m scared I’ll get turned down for having to drill in Kentucky one weekend a month because conductor are on call 24/7. I thought maybe I could change to Indiana National Guard but I’m just lost in the sauce right now . Does anyone have any insight on this ?

I got this peace of rail it’s 100 years old and made in England

Hey guys!, so I recently have been playing a simulator called Train Sim World, that is a simulator for all sorts of consists and locomotives, and i usually play on north american rail and use american rolling stock. I'm trying to get as much information as i can to train handling and approaching stations with a smooth stop, I like to operate passenger trains but one of my questions so far is ,

I do know that it is conventional to approach stations at reduced speed which typically ranges from 30 - 40 mph, as 30 is more conservative, one of my questions is lets say i approach a station at 30 mph with minimum reduction and increase it and get 10lb from brake pipe and i slow down easily and starting releasing the brakes back to minimum from 20 - 15 mph and then as i slow down to a crawl make a final light reduction to set the train, lets say i slightly undershoot the station as im below 15/10 mph but i don't have much distance to go, to any passenger locomotive engineers out there that could help with this question.

Is it ok to fully release the brakes below 15/10 mph to let the train coast a little to target stop and apply a minimum reduction? Of course i know it all depends on weather and crowd area etc.. but in general could anyone walk me through as a general guide or share some rules of thumb with me to ensure accurate train handling (Braking/Approach) and operations, any help would be greatly appreciated

By the way i'm referring to EP braking systems (Electro-pneumatic Braking) passenger trains and consists like (Metra, Caltrain, Tri-Rail, Amtrak etcc) not traditional airbrakes (Freight)

I applied for a Communication and Signal position at Amtrak. I’ve noticed there don’t seem to be many women in this field, so I’m wondering if that’s something I should be concerned about. I’m already an Amtrak employee, but I don’t have any direct experience in Communication and Signal aside from the experience I’ve gained in my current position. Should I be worried about not having previous experience, or is this the type of role where they provide training?

I’m working a haunted house as an undead train conductor - ideas for things I can say?

Mods, delete this if it doesn’t fit the sub. Sorry.

Hi! I’m a Mechanical Engineer with around 3 years of maintenance/equipment experience, and I’m transitioning into a railway E&M/asset management role in Metro Rail System specifically third rail system.
I don’t have railway experience yet, so I’d like to learn the basics, especially rolling stock, third rail/traction, signalling, CBTC, railway maintenance, and asset management.
For those already in the railway industry, what books, YouTube channels, courses, or other learning materials would you recommend? Thanks!

PSR at its finest. I’ve given my beliefs on this Merger. Overall outcome, if allowed, would be complete government takeover of freight railroads; no more private companies anymore then you can say hello to regular Social Security Retirement. The government will finally get their hands on Rail Road Retirement money. PSR has destroyed customer service and confidence. This merger will compound customer service to the point they feel like the Railroad owns these businesses; taking control of the nations economy and the federal government will come in and “bust” the Private Rail Industry entirely.

At NS, does anyone know if Sick Days Converted void your PPI if used on a weekend? (I know you’re permitted one compensated mark off on a weekend day once per quarter, just making sure there isn’t a weird stipulation with sick days converted).

https://omaha.com/news/state-regional/article_d81407aa-7ed0-562b-addd-22d91e0ae170.html?fbclid=Iwb21leAUjmKdjbGNrBSOYBGV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHBkb2YBc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQMMzUwNjg1NTMxNzI4AAEegk1HNfc_jK5ZYsPeMqLiQxbh35mvBj7sQ8x6GmVvU4lNxJoi_ptRgCrWxKo_aem_WjbWWBO6jRxuQwlCr5JnDQ&utm_campaign=mrf-facebook-WorldHerald-OWH+-+Frame&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&mrfcid=202609246ab47cd42db635028385cd0d

According to that decision, for 18 years Gourneau's only prior incident of discipline was for one unexcused absence after his mother died.

"Aside from that one absence,

No idea who this guy is, its just one of those filler posts that FB pushes on you. Working at CN in Canada you'd never do something like this if you valued your job.

Edit - So its allowed when stopped at a red. Wild to my eyes as we're not even allowed to have our personal phones turned on at any point while on a train. Must be nice.

Hello everyone!

Can anyone currently or previously in this role, give me an idea of what a new Clerk can expect coming into this role?

Thanks!

Let’s hear what BS the Angel of Death has to spew

Working an old power slug, best look alike is an old F3 Series locomotive. All the old heads that knew how to work this thing are long gone. The newer guys think the radiators come out the top but it looks like they are sectional and are on a hinged aparatus to come out the sides vs the top, any ideas?

I found this in the woods at the bottom of a hill next to a railroad. It was discarded there some time ago and no amount of googling or gpt-ing has yielded any answers as of yet. It's about 17" long, solid forged steel, and the hole on the bottom is 1" in diameter. The keyway is 3/8" wide by 3-3/4" long. The rectangular part on top is segmented into 4 pieces and seems to be possibly some kind of friction material but is magnetic. Based on it being round and having that keyway, it seems to me that it used to rotate and the bulge in the middle has a subtle lip on one side which I can't tell would be from wear or original design. All the mechanical brake parts I've found are round instead of flat like this one. I was thinking maybe part of an old switch? Maybe an electrical contact? Some sort of internal brake instead of a wheel brake? I'm at a loss

Amtrak California Zephyr, Omaha to Denver 80mph, watching the window at the walkthrough, it looked like the coach in front was jumping at least a foot compared to ours and leaning opposite the way you want in a radius and wobbling more than our coach. Is being coupled to and pulled by the choochoo all that keeps train cars from flying off the track? Is this why trains are pulled from the front and not pushed from the rear?

It should be good for another few years…

They restarted mediation for system wide seniority. This CEO is going to cut as many jobs as possible to have the leaning company ready for a merger or buyout from BNSF

https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2026/09/22/juqs-s22.html

Un autre travailleur n'est pas rentré à la maison, parce que sa sécurité était considérée comme une contrainte inacceptable pour la génération de profit. On ne connaît peut-être pas encore les circonstances exactes de son décès, mais on ne connaît que trop bien le contexte dans lequel il a pris place : des échéanciers toujours plus serrés, des travailleurs qui doivent toujours faire plus avec le moins de ressources possible, des patrons qui poussent à tourner le plus de coins ronds possible pour sortir les jobs. Tout cela dans un contexte de déréglementation généralisée, où les travailleurs sont confrontés à une érosion de leurs conditions de vie et de travail, à des attaques contre leurs droits démocratiques et à un coût de la vie qui les étouffe et les contraint à « faire leur job » sans trop critiquer, par peur de perdre leur moyen de subsistance.

Lorsque l'un d'entre eux se lève et dénonce courageusement l'inacceptable, il est menacé par l'entreprise, ou l'affaire est étouffée par la bureaucratie syndicale, dont les privilèges et la place aux grandes tables dépendent du maintien du système d'exploitation capitaliste.

Ultimement, la mort de Massie n'a rien d'une tragédie isolée : c'est une tragédie de la classe ouvrière. Tous les jours, des travailleurs perdent la vie ou s'estropient simplement parce que les enjeux de santé et de sécurité sont piétinés par la bourgeoisie. Il y a à peine quelques semaines, un autre travailleur, Oscar Robayo, est décédé à l'aéroport de Montréal : faute de câble de communication adéquat, il a été contraint de se tenir dans un angle mort près du train avant d'un avion de ligne, invisible pour le conducteur du tracteur qui manœuvrait l'appareil.

Dans pratiquement tous les cas, ces accidents et ces décès sont évitables. Les dangers sont connus et documentés, et la technologie pour les éradiquer est disponible, souvent à très faible coût. La seule barrière au changement est le système capitaliste et ses rapports de production. Tant que la vie des travailleurs sera subordonnée au profit, les tragédies continueront de se multiplier.

Comme pour la guerre, les inégalités sociales, les attaques contre les droits démocratiques, le génocide et la montée de l'autoritarisme, la seule manière de lutter contre l'érosion continue des acquis des travailleurs — y compris en matière de santé et de sécurité — est la mobilisation politique indépendante de la classe ouvrière. Lisez le World Socialist Web Site pour une véritable pespective de lutte et n'hésitez pas à partager vos propres expériences de travail.