September 22, 2007 Have you ever wondered what it is like to work on the railroad? Most railfans have - it comes naturally when you are trackside. There are endless jobs from mechanics to track crews, but the jobs that most people recognize are those on the train crews. They have what appears to be the most interesting jobs and the engineers, conductors, and brakemen have some of the most public jobs on the railroad. So here is a look at a typical day on the railroad. Keep in mind that this railroad is a passenger line (the Osceola and St Croix Valley in my case) but it is a taste for what crews do on the job.

The day starts a couple hours before our first scheduled departure time. The first duties include opening up the cars and doing mechanical inspections. We have to make sure everything is in order before taking it out of the siding so we check the cars over for all sorts of things from couplers to brakes and more. After the inspection is complete we start on any repairs. Typically this is a matter of small things such as worn brake shoes. Just like in automobiles, railroad cars also need to have brake shoes replaced when they get thin. To do this we have to get under the car, pop the old one out, and ease a new one into place. Depending on the location and the car this can be an simple task or a messy chore. We also need to make sure any housekeeping items like starting up the generators, air conditioning, heat, refilling water tanks, etc. is done before we get too far into the process.

While all this is going on, the locomotive is started and goes through its own daily tests - sand, brakes, and the likes. Once everything is ready the air is cut into the train and the air test routines on the train can get underway. A track warrant is also obtained so that we have permission to occupy the main track.

Depending on the day we might have switching to do before we load passengers. If we're lucky the train is already assembled as we need it - this save switching time and gives us some extra cushion when it comes to departing on time. The last thing you want is to be loading the crowd of happy travelers right up to departure time. But from time to time there are cars that need to get cut out or added and this is the time to perform that work. The crew figures out a plan for the most efficient way to adjust the consist and we go about the switching work.

When the switching is complete we move the train to the mainline and tie it down at the platform. While it is tied down and the car attendants take care of the last details the crew cuts off the power and runs around the train to get the power on the correct side of the train. At this point the train is ready to go - we should be loading up the passengers and leave on time.

If all goes well we'll have an uneventful run to Marine on St Croix. The signals just outside the station are hooked up to the rock fence to tell us if the tracks are clear. If there is a slide it will take out the fence and trip the signals, alerting the engineer to the danger ahead. Down by the bridge we always have to keep a wary eye for people walking along the tracks, this is a popular location in the summer and unfortunately people like to use the tracks as a shortcut... After we get over to Minnesota it is clear sailing to Marine on a typical day, occasionally the flag stop at the state park is used by park patrons wishing to ride the train but even with that we should arrive at the site of the former station on time. We run around the train at the siding at Marine and return to Osceola.

After a break to get a new load of passengers we make the run to Dresser. This is a shorter run - we stop at the newly restored depot in Dresser where the passengers can get out while we run around the train. This is also the location of the wye and where CP rock trains get off the former mainline and go to the quarry. Once we complete the run around move and reload the passengers it is back to Osceola. After one more break we depart for one last run to Marine for the day.

At the end of the day we clean the train, shut off the heat, lights, a/c, etc. and lock the train up. The train, once empty, is taken off the main and tied down on the siding at the station. This is one last chance to switch cars in or out of the consist to prepare for the next day's train or to take off cars that were only used for one day. Once the train is tied down the track warrant is cleared and we head back to the depot. After finishing up the last paper work the depot is locked up, we go get some grub, and call it a day.

And that's a typical day on the OSCV. There is a lot more work on most other railroads but the general idea remains the same.