Follow your dream..I wish I was 50 years younger. .I would have they are beautiful machines..can imagine operating one...it's probably an experience of a lifetime

Why would you go to college just to be a engineer go to college and become management

same

You need to go to college to operate a train????

@@thebfam6191 Higher chance of earning the job, its also a “preferred requirement”

Could you tell me more about Amtrak? I'm interested in becoming an engineer one day, but im currently too young.

@@wherespie428 Ask away! Also note, while I don’t work for them any longer, I’ll try my best to answer your questions.

@@straightto8 how did you know when you were approaching a station?

@@wherespie428 It is all about knowing the physical characteristics of the route one works, knowing it in day, night, adverse weather conditions. They key is having land marks, and have air spots, like a particular tree, or some structure, etc. It rages time, the route I was hired to work in, took me 6.5 months to learn the route, and get fully qualified, some routes take longer, there is a set number of hours you are required to have physically running and observing in cab.

@@straightto8 Thats interesting. Is there a high and low horn?

Anthony Windfield that’s because your black that’s how Amtrak plays you have a better chance driving freight train 🚂. My cousin went through same thing and now works freight train company.

j3pop never thought that I've met maybe a hand full. But didn't think many blacks enjoyed trains

j3pop That is not true, I’ve seen many African Americans driving Amtrak trains.

I live less than 300 yards from the Northeast Corridor. Almost all of the engineers ive seen on Amtrak trains, from NE Regionals to Acelas, were black.

Anthony Windfield there is a lot more to operating a locomotive than a tractor trailer. Plus you’re too old.

Dam Son Hear anything from them?

acelakid94 Unfortunately, not. 😔 still holdin out, though.

@@BrawnyBuddha Good luck :)

Best of luck you'll have work your way up to Locomotive Engineer.

Are you currently an engineer for a different railroad? If not then apply for a different position. And then after that try your luck again.

Or the Amtrak 501 accident. Train was going to fast for a curve and derail above a freeway in Washington state

Not worth it, considering all the federal paperwork you sign AND can be held personally liable for.

You need to work for your local metro for acuple of years or state railway you don't need a cdl license the last time I checked

Go for it, don't doubt yourself

@@fartholemechanic9252 Thank you Brother

think you have best chance ever…i doing the same with 50 years and like it absolutely.

Let Amtrak tell you you're not qualified, not your head.

@seekunderstanding4280 Thanks Brother I hear you on that

Probably communications from dispatcher or route knowledge. The conductors signal to the operator if they are ready to go.

Good question. Head on over to Amtrak and look up timetables for specific regions. Any station that is on the timetable is a stop for the train as long as it shows on the timetable. Train 5 stops Naperville, Princeton, Galesburg , Burlington, Mt Pleasant and Ottumwa where the crew change point is. On the way back, 6 can by pass Galesburg, Princeton and Naperville as those are drop off stations only. If no one is on that wants to get off, you just keep going. The dispatcher has no clue what we are doing passenger wise unless we advise them.

All stops to pick up or discharge passengers are scheduled in the timetable.

Hey do know if it's too late but create a profile on Amtrak career website and you will get notifications.

yes

Where can I get more information?

Yes, I work for Amtrak and iv seen engineers in the 60s that’s started

gunsliniger titan texas is doing that

You'd have to start all over again from scratch. The japanese had a chance to rebuild a whole new system from the rubble. A unique opportunity we never had. You'd have to design a whole new network within and around the current northeast corridor, interstate and freight networks and spend the rest of your life fighting off eminent domain pushback from all the land you'd have to grab to do it.

Goddamn hilarious!!

Apply first to be a conductor if you have no railroad experience. Then after a couples years just apply for an engineer position within the company. Or go become an engineer at a different railroad company. Then apply to Amtrak. Amtrak is known for poaching employees who are already certified from other railroad companies.

Björn Lillpers Where is "here"?

Sweden.

What in gods name are you talking about. Sweden builds their own stock, and Amtrak isn't using heritage rolling stock for regular revenue service, they just introduced the brand new ACS-64 which replaced the swedish design based AEM-7. What do you even mean by 70's-80's type trains?

Technically 18. But you won't be hired off the street at 18 to be an Engineer at Amtrak.

Just get into the company!!! It takes time but you can work your way up.

@@HouseDancerNyC Yes And I Want To Be With The Amtrak Acela Express Trains And I Am Really In Love With The Amtrak Acela Express

@@HouseDancerNyC this kid is annoying He goes on every acela video and says how much hes in live with it

It's usually 6 days a week when your on the extra list ( AKA on-call).

Bruh, wtf 🤣🤣🤣

Depends on the railroad. Amtrak Engineers make around 100 K for a base salary at 40 hours a week.

Not the same

@@king_tony215 what do u mean? ☹ I can't be a train jacker.

I don't know what a train jacker is but the sim that your talking about has a very watered down version of the trains

Not the same.

No, but it’s recommended.

@@NortheastCorridorFilms why

@@IndigosClothing Railroads will find you more responsible and more smarter if you went to college. It’s just a better chance that you will get in if you went to college. But it’s not a requirement

@@NortheastCorridorFilms ahh okay

Absolutely not. Just show you have a decent work history and can hold down a job. Having a college degree doesn't make you smarter or more desirable as an Engineer candidate then someone who hasn't gone. They simply want people with a good work ethic.

Panda Fish -_-

Same

Not the same.

@@Railoffroader2you literally train on a simulator in Wilmington

Wilmington Delaware

I've heard this o plenty. Just getting in when you're seemingly not qualified

Yes you do. It’s a federal requirement that any railroad issuing licenses must have a locomotive engineer training program. Amtrak’s program is the longest and most advanced in the US. 13 weeks of classroom and then as long as 2 years OJT

The program i'm in is over two years (in America). It seems that you're wrong.

We call them locomotive engineers around here....And you don't "drive" a train, you OPERATE a train.

Well, 11 weeks is what they've said in the video. I know that becoming a tramway "operator" takes just 8-10 weeks, so it didn't sound completely wrong to me, although 11 weeks is nothing. As I said, it took me 1.5 years to become a train driver (sorry bud, it's what I am and what we call it on this side of the pond), I am trained on half the country (route knowledge) and 6 completely different train types. You couldn't learn this knowlege in less than a year, never.

As stated within the first 25 seconds of the video: "The Engineer training program basically has two phases, phase ONE is the classroom portion and is approximately 11 weeks". Looks like they caught you sleeping. The program that i'm in is almost two years total for the hiring/testing process, and it only covers HALF of a state (NY). They hire people and test them rigorously on their attention to detail (you would have just failed, bud). 1.5 years for half a country? Sounds like they'll let anyone operate a train over there!

I did not re-watch the whole video after your comment, but even if, the theory part took us 11 *months*. We were not allowed to operate a train before that. The remaining approx. 7 months is driving, shunting, doing the job on the rails before getting tested and approved to drive by yourself. I live in Switzerland, our whole country is 3.5x smaller than just the State of NY alone, but we definitely have more than 3.5x as much railroad lines. What brings inequality into the whole thing is the fact that I work for one of the most frequently used and most respected railways in the world. Maybe you've heard of us, maybe not, it's not that we're really known in the US, but whoever you ask in Europe what the best railroad company is, you'll hear our name a lot. Take a look: www.sbb.ch Sorry buddy, you've tried to bash me or what do I know. In the end, I work for a railway company that transports a fifth of all inhabitants of the whole country every single day to work and back in absolute perfection. Our schedules are laid out to the second and we're 97% on time. What makes you think I did not get tested on vigilance or detail? The recruiting process alone took half a year, plus 1.5 years of class, training on the job and multiple examens during the whole time. If you're interested in knowing more, I'll be glad to tell you more. If you're just about to be better or sound smarter, then not. What you're doing here would be the same as going to a japanese railroad guy and telling him you know better than he does. He'll laugh, because as you may know, the Japanese and us, the Swiss, we're famous for the best public transport. I am not saying you don't what you're doing, but public transport and railroad in the US is not exactly world famous. From an engineer to an engineer in training, I wish you safe trips and great journeys on the railroad. Maybe be a bit more considerate next time, I'm not the best, I am not god, but where I work, things work out really well and we know our business like only one other country on face of planet earth does, so we got that going for us.

You are 110% false about having to be Caucasian to be hired. That's an excuse. And "those of color with experience"? You just said you are on OTR truck driver. How does driving a truck make you experienced to be a locomotive engineer? What is this experience you have that makes you more qualified? I have been an Engineer with Amtrak for close to 20 years. Yes, prior Military gets preference and 100% rightfully so. But being a Caucasian helps you get hired?🤣🤣 Not at Amtrak. You have that backwards.

@@FFred-us9tw I know people who work there they told me. Both races. So I've moved on and have a better job now. Pays more and less bull. I look down at that used to do and wanted to do job everyday.. I'm not one dimensional and educated. God is good 👍

That's a false statement..the best way to get in is know someone and even better was in the armed forces..I'm a person of color.

@@anthonywindfield8439 You're pretty delusional to think you can go from being a Truck Driver to a commercial passenger train engineer just like that... as Fred said. What train experience do you have besides being a passenger lol? It's good you have a good job. But you were naive and extremely delusional to think you could just go from being a truck driver to a train engineer without any type of train experience (heck even being a ticket agent on the train, or a conductor could have helped). You applied for 30 years but haven't done anything in those 30 years to get some kind of train experience or foot in the door.

Ur wrong