r/railroading

Which seniority districts are open and closed districts? Hoping to make a move to possibly Texas but hate to be stuck in a closed district

Hey neighbors,
If you live in Goodyear Heights around Goodyear Boulevard, 1174 Newton Street, or the front end of Pondview Avenue, you’ve probably noticed the massive pileup of illegal dumping along the tracks. The scope of the neglect is getting out of hand, and it's time we do something about it.
Here is why this is happening right now and exactly how we can force a cleanup.

• The Root Cause: January’s Corporate Buyout
A few years ago, this right-of-way never looked like this. The regional Wheeling & Lake Erie crew actually maintained it and kept the tracks clear. In January, a massive conglomerate named Transtar took active control of the line. To cut overhead and chase corporate profits, they completely stopped patrolling the local Akron tracks. Bad actors quickly realized nobody was watching and turned our neighborhood border into a wasteland.

• Why Akron 311 Fails
If you tried submitting an Akron 311 ticket, it never yielded any results. Because railroads are federally regulated under ICCTA preemption laws, local city code inspectors legally cannot step onto their land or issue fines. The city's hands are completely tied, which is why 311 tickets just get closed out.

• How I Fought Back (And How You Can Too)
Railroads think they have total immunity, but they cannot ignore state public health, environmental, and utility laws. I bypassed the city entirely and filed formal complaints simultaneously with three heavy-hitting agencies.

I just received official confirmation that all three have received my complaints and opened active investigations into this stretch:
• The Ohio EPA (Investigating solid waste and environmental violations)
• The Ohio Public Utilities Commission / PUCO (Investigating rail safety and right-of-way hazards)
• Summit County Public Health (Investigating vector, mosquito, and rodent control risks right behind our backyards)

• What You Can Do Right Now
The state and county are officially tracking this now, but we need to flood them with complaints so they don't drag their feet or let Transtar's corporate lawyers bury it.

If you live on Newton, Pondview, or anywhere nearby in the Heights, please take 5 minutes to submit a quick online complaint to Summit County Public Health and the Ohio EPA.

• The Exact Location to Report: The railroad right-of-way spanning from 1174 Newton Street to the front end of Pondview Avenue (adjacent to Goodyear Blvd).
• What to Say: State clearly that the illegal dumping is causing an active public health and vector hazard due to total corporate abandonment by Transtar Railroad since their January buyout.
Let’s hold these out-of-state executives accountable and clean up Goodyear Heights!

I've got 10 years at a class 1, can hold as an engineer but my drive is almost two hours to work right now. Recently started a family and all the OT and held away in the hotel is different now.

FRA are looking for "Rail Inspectors" nearby, still over an hour from my home but I'd assume those guys are driving around the state most of the time anyways. Definitely a pay cut on the front end but it looks to be pretty comparable after a few years, and we can afford to take the financial hit currently.

Anyone on here dip out to go to FRA? How many nights per week would they have me away from home? Don't necessarily want to give up my RRB job but I don't want to watch my kids grow up on the phone screen either.

I have 4 years of railroad experience. Started on a class one and quit after being forced to a different state and furloughed. Been working at a class 2 as an engineer for a few months now and I have an opportunity to go back to class one with the UP. Is this the move or should I stay in the G League.

Please ask any and all questions relating to getting hired, what the job is like, what certain companies/locations are like, etc here.

The BLE has become a complete and utter failure of a union. I don't remember the last time they've done something good. They're very obviously bought out by the railroads. They're allowing EXTREMELY ridiculous setbacks at Amtrak. It's a complete violation of the contract and instead of fighting for us to at least get our penalty claims. They've decided it's not worth the fight. I think the only way to get their attention at this point is to become dues objectors and hurt their wallet. If we don't put them in a position where they're losing money, we're never going to get assistance when things matter. It's way past time that we actually do something to make the union realize that they actually have to do their jobs.

That is all.

Is then hostler the one who operates engines that stay in the yard but never leave?

Any BNSF engineers that transferred to Amtrak? Please let me know any tips or experience regarding that. What’s pay like? Is it better? I haven’t heard any concrete thing. Everyone has their own opinion and I’ve heard mixed things.