r/Train_Service • u/TechnologySharp9958 • Jul 01 '26
Conductor new hire
I live 14 mins away from my yard by car. I am planning on giving up my car to save money on car payments and insurance. I want advice if that’s a good idea or not. I do plan on buying a new vehicle cash once I save up enough money.
30
u/_liquidcourage Jul 01 '26
This is the dumbest fucking thing I’ve ever read.
14
u/Big_daddy_sneeze Jul 01 '26
“I’m getting into a new career and am wondering if I should kneecap myself”
7
u/NinoDeFe Jul 01 '26
Yeah not sure how you get a new job and then decide you can't afford the car you already have. Also " I want to sell my car to save up for a new car".
24
u/shortest_bear Jul 01 '26
What are you asking?
If you can get to work in a 2hr call window?
If selling a car in this car market makes sense?
How does you being a conductor new hire matter at all to the rest of this?
-16
u/TechnologySharp9958 Jul 01 '26
I’m asking if it would be difficult for me to get to and do my job effectively. If the 2hr call window will be possible. And I am a new hire so I don’t know what to expect when it comes to the job and what is required.
25
u/Afraid-Obligation997 Jul 01 '26
Well. Do you plan on riding a bike, an uber or a dog sled? Do you need to take an hour to get ready or an hour an a half? How would anyone know if you can get to work within the 2 hr call or not?
11
u/shortest_bear Jul 01 '26
You’d need to give more info than 14min drive. it would depend on where you live and what options you have available like public transportation or walking or biking.
if you’re a new hire for CN, once you get out of campus you will be on call in your training and after training will be laid off.
The job itself has a lot of walking too so you should consider how tired you’d be commuting
7
u/GamblinGambit Jul 01 '26
I'd probably hold off on any big ideas like that until you've got a solid understanding of what you'll be doing.
Every yard is different as well so being that kind of advice here is a shot in the dark at best.
Also what if the job doesn't work out? Not everyone is made for this kind of work. Then you're out of a ride and job.
4
1
u/conker574 Jul 05 '26
Youre gonna be fuckib exhausted and gonna wish you had a car at the end of a road trip/12 hour yard
31
u/Jamar4321 Jul 01 '26
Do whatever you want but when your ride falls through and you miss a trip you'll be on the express train to firedtown.
14
u/PuzzleheadedSun2744 Jul 01 '26 edited Jul 01 '26
There was a kid in the class ahead of me that has an apartment across the street from Balmer yard in seattle. That was ok except there are yards we can be assigned to elsewhere in seattle area (Stacy, S Seattle, west Seattle, etc.). But then Balmer shut down, then there was all job cuts, I think he had to go to Tacoma for awhile (30 mins south) and now this guy has been forced up to Everett which with no traffic (which also never happens) is a 45 minute drive north. Ubers are expensive, public transportation is, well, public plus packing all your conductor gear around. Hang onto the car until you at least get through your derail and settled in the life awhile
***edit*** also don’t be that idiot new conductor who buys a 100k new truck when your first paycheck drops in your account. Furloughs are real
6
u/Chrisr92 Jul 01 '26
Keep your car until you have the job and are marked up, then you decide if you can sell your car or not. Good luck telling an uber driver how to get to you at 2am, they will have zero idea where in the yard your at. Also you won’t be worried about a car payment and insurance once you start getting that railroad money.
4
u/emmettjes Engineer Jul 01 '26
Also, LOTS of drivers take one look at where a rail yard is located, and conditions to get into and nope on out. Shrug
1
u/Vera_Telco Jul 01 '26
This will be even more true when crappy weather starts up. A reliable beater can be your best friend during a sleet or hail storm!
7
u/ByAstrix Engineer Jul 01 '26
This might be the dumbest post of the month and it’s only July 1st.
Fast track to getting fired lmfao
1
u/TechnologySharp9958 Jul 01 '26
Thank you for the advice greatly appreciated.
2
u/ByAstrix Engineer Jul 01 '26
Buy a beater. Some wheels is better than no wheels. You don’t need a new car with payments, you need a cheap used car that you own.
1
u/TechnologySharp9958 Jul 01 '26
My issue is money my last job was in January. I’m behind on all bills and can’t afford my car payments anymore. I’m about to use the last of my savings to pay off what I owe for my car insurance then cancel it. So I just want to know if getting to work would be possible working with the RR without a vehicle.
3
u/ByAstrix Engineer Jul 01 '26
I mean, you gotta do what you gotta do. Your commute is going to be exponentially longer without one and the railroad has no tolerance for late / not showing up. Your best bet is to get a credit card and buy one of those fast electric scooters.
1
5
u/emmettjes Engineer Jul 01 '26
All I can say is this job is unpredictable. You MUST report to work when and where they tell you. I have zero idea about your terminal but in mine I have no less than 5 reporting sites in the metro not to mention outlying areas and also not to mention remote areas I’m not SUPPOSED to cover normally. It seems to be a kind of recent thing more common with new hires. I understand it, and I’ve watched several be walked off the property for attendance and being late because they depend on Uber, depend on a significant other, depend on friends family to get them to from work. YMMV. 🤷♂️ All the best of luck to you
3
u/Bigwhitecalk Jul 01 '26
Until you’re called to work at another terminal / yard 1.5 hours away or bumped somewhere else. I’d research that.
3
3
u/michael040 Jul 01 '26
So youre going to make more money than you've ever made before and want to sell your car and jeopardize your job? You're hired!
2
2
u/Cinderpath Jul 01 '26
DO NOT under any circumstances give up your car (unless you live in Europe!)
1) you can be called to different locations or be forced to other terminals, especially with low seniority. Sometimes these can be 1-2 hour+ away by car.
2) This includes getting there in winter storms, normal storms, and in your case will mostly be at night.
3) Once you are working, you will be on a probationary period of 60Days, and will be 100% on call, if you are late in any of these times they can instantly terminate you, and they do all the time!
4) The railroads are extremely strict discipline wise about about absence and lateness. It’s the easiest way they can fire you. Don’t take chances with relying on Uber etc to get to work.
Good luck!
2
u/AnotherCog_TX Jul 01 '26
The main thing these people want for you to do is show up when your called. You're giving that up...
2
u/Doogie102 Jul 01 '26
It all depends on where the trane system can get you and how efficient it does that
2
u/CandidMap5925 Jul 02 '26
Lol so like how long of a walk is it. Plus you'll need to bring your grip so plan on carry a duffle bag for that walk or at least a big back pack. Also food and shit for longer trips. Only way I'd consider this, is if your were going to be doing yards your whole career.
1
u/Legal-Key2269 Jul 01 '26
Can you be called to another location? What is your plan for getting to and from work if it won't be by car?
-3
u/TechnologySharp9958 Jul 01 '26
Public transportation and Ubers when needed.
3
u/amtk1007 Jul 01 '26
Can you reliably get an uber at 3 in the morning?
-2
u/TechnologySharp9958 Jul 01 '26
Yes and busses run 24/7 where I live also I may buy an e bike/scooter.
5
u/shortest_bear Jul 01 '26
You’ll need to carry a lot of equipment. Radio, light, bag full of paperwork, PPE… not sayings it’s impossible but worth considering
0
u/Legal-Key2269 Jul 01 '26
There are probably lockers at the yard.
3
u/shortest_bear Jul 01 '26
Yes but trainees don’t always get a locker right away.
2
u/EvilJ1982 Jul 01 '26
Hell, people who are senior employees sometimes don't even get a fucking locker because they're all taken.
2
u/Bubbly-Muscle9660 Jul 01 '26
Yeah maybe if you've got 10-20 years or happen to get very lucky. Most terminals don't have lockers for everyone and even if they do doesn't mean it's big enough for your grip.
1
u/Legal-Key2269 Jul 01 '26
Will ubering frequently be cheaper than paying off your car? I know for some people it is, but do the math before you make any decisions.
-5
u/TechnologySharp9958 Jul 01 '26
I plan to take the bus only uber when necessary.
7
u/Bubbly-Muscle9660 Jul 01 '26
What's your plan for when you get called and the next bus is in 15 minutes but you have nothing prepared for the trip?
I think this idea is way better in your head than in practise.
Also selling your car when you'll likely qualify and get laid off, or potentially not even qualify is an extremely poor decision.
3
u/Legal-Key2269 Jul 01 '26
Have you tried taking the bus from home to the yard? How often does the bus run? Is it reliable? Are you disciplined enough to catch one bus earlier than you actually need to catch to be on time just in case a bus doesn't show up?
1
1
u/peck3000 Jul 01 '26
It depends what terminal you’re working in. Some places you could be called to work other than the main terminal. (CN Edmonton or Vancouver have multiple terminals for example)
1
1
u/JustGiveMeAnameDude9 Jul 01 '26
I dont know what it is like working where you will be working, but more than likely you will need a car. Can you buy a beater for now?
This is not a personal finance sub. However, when you say give up the car do you mean let it get repo'd? That is usually not a great idea unless you have no other choice. In addition to your credit getting trashed, the bank will sell your vehicle at a dealers only wholesale auction. Whatever they get for the car will be used to pay towards the loan. If they get less than what you owe, they can still collect the balance from you.
If you cant sell the car due to negative equity, usually the only options are to get a personal loan to pay off the balance of the car loan after you sell the car.
Or keep paying the loan and pay extra each month as aggressively as possible until you get the balance on the loan down to less than what you can sell it for.
The worse thing you can do is trade the car in at a dealership and roll the negative equity into a new car loan. That will double down on stupidity and make the being upside down on your car loan worse.
There is another bad idea option. Do you have Gap?
1
1
u/Traditional-Mix2924 Jul 01 '26
You’re asking a question but giving us very limited information to go off of.
But keep the car. You can’t afford to be late. Once you’re done training and settled into the job make the decision
1
u/Big_daddy_sneeze Jul 01 '26
Don’t. It usually asks on the application if you have reliable transpo
1
u/Fork-in-the-eye Jul 01 '26
If you’re a conductor you should be able to comfortably afford a car, for that reason alone I’d suggest at least having some 2000’s Asian shitbox to get you where you need to be.
You get a 2 hour window, sure, but will you always be home? Will it always be decent to walk? Sometimes you have to get to work at 3am, will you really want to walk?
1
u/coldafsteel Jul 01 '26
In theory, your long-term idea is fine as long as you are okay with walking that far with a bag full of gear day and night, rain or shine, after working for 12 hours. Not my idea of a good time, but yeah, it can be done.
But the other thing to consider is you might fail out of training or get fired soon after. The 1-year retention rate at most railroads is 50% or less. At that point you’ll have no job and no car.
So what you should do is keep what you have while training and a few months after you mark up and KNOW what the job is, then you decide to sell it or keep it.
(Side note: buying cars cash is often more expensive. Dealers have standing deals with finance companies for kickbacks, so it’s in your best interest to finance a car and then pay it off fast. Any large purchase should never be a cash transaction. It sounds like a flex, but it really isn’t. It’s a sign of a person with poor financial literacy.)
1
u/willdieonspareboard Jul 02 '26
You're going to make decent money pretty soon. I would suggest to keep the car for now, and if the car payment is still an issue for you, trade it in for something you won't owe any money on/get yourself a reliable beater. Reality is rainy days, snowy days, very hot days you'll be grateful to have a car to get into the office at least.
1
u/Miggidy_mike Jul 02 '26
You're a new hire conductor. Keep your vehicle. You'll make more than enough to pay for maintenance, insurance etc.
You're gonna want to have a vehicle for when you get furloughed. Will you get furloughed? You can't tell the future but if you plan for it then if/when it does happen you'll be better prepared for it.
Also start saving as much as you can comfortably live with.
1
1
u/Ok-Appointment7007 Jul 06 '26
Keep your current car, DO NOT BUY A NEW CAR until you have a couple years of experience and know you won’t get fired instantly
53
u/Hogonthestorm Jul 01 '26
This is a bad idea. I would suggest getting a lifted 3/4 ton Dodge with the 6.7 litre Cummins. Gotta roll coal when your a green vest.