Well cool! Best of luck to you Michael! They're hiring like crazy again right now, so here's hoping.

Hey tanks eh!

I only found out about you guys just recently - even though I've been in Uxbridge and Stouffville multiple time. Didn't know there was a heritage railway there! I'm going to look youse guys up next time I'm down there. :)

maybe some advancements are necessary to save lives, but it would be expensive to have large LED screens or other types of lights I suppose. I remember a crash where two people died and it took one million dollars to put a crossing system up. stuff ain't cheap for some reason.

You feel better now getting that off of your chest Geesh

And you can make $65k to $150k /year as a conductor, with a high school education. :)

I didn't know conductors make that much? How many years does it take from starting out of high school as a gofer to becoming a conductor?

You start off as a conductor! As long as you can get hired and qualify (pass the rules, on the job training, yada yada), you start off as a conductor. I don't know about other railroads, but CN after two years as a conductor, then they want to move you up to Engineer. How much you make as a conductor varies radically depending on who you work for, where you work for them, and what jobs you do. Usually (at least at CN) you start off on yards or spareboard and can count on being there for a few years because seniority is a huge factor. Some folks never leave the yards because they like it. And I don't blame them - it's a blast, and it has it pros: usually scheduled with two days a week off. So while it pays the lowest, you know when you're working. Spareboard you have no idea when you're working, and depending on where you are and what the agreement is, you may have a guaranteed pay. So in other words, you're paid whether you work or not, and that guarantee is usually very generous. The guarantees I'd seen worked out to ~$95k/year. The disadvantage: no life. You are on call 24/7, 365 days a year and often have no idea when you're going to work. Road pays the highest, and is typically on a pool rotation, so you at least have an idea of when you're going to work. You can still go to work at any time, hence the reason for the high pay, and you miss things like your kids birthday parties and stuff. Because this is the el primo job, you usually need lots of years of seniority to hold road jobs. But the pay is typically $110k and up. A lot of that is dependent on how much you want to work, the runs you do, how the company pays you (i.e., by the mile or by time), and how they work out rest. For instance, here at CN we can book up to 24 hours off after a trip. Or you can book zero hours and as soon as you fulfill your mandatory rest time you can potentially be right back at it again. Then when you hit your miles (4,300 for CN conductors) you get the rest of the month off. Some terminals and work trains you can hit your 4,300 miles in two weeks. You're exhausted, but you get two weeks off for the rest of the month. It's a sweet gig, pay is really high, but make no mistake about it: It's dangerous work and the railroad owns you. They pay you accordingly.

+ianjuby *Stateside, the seniority rules for train crew are somewhat different.* Low man on the ladder is the Brakeman, who is very much necessary for assembling trains both in-yard and at Client premises, where cars need be spliced into or unspliced from the train, and responding first to enroute emergencies such as broken couplers, blown brake hoses, and payload fires. Next up is the Engineer, who controls the train's systems from the head locomotive cab. As captain of the train and the crew's contact to Dispatch, the Conductor has charge of the bills of lading and other legal documentation necessary to carry out the railroad's business.

Honestly, I forget - it's royalty free music I get with this membership I bought.

No, you HAVE to get 100%. They may or may not give you a second chance but it's either you pass or you get fired. It's not an option. lol

Lol wow. Thanks Ian

+jay romano Don't know what I would do for an OCS video. :) I really enjoyed OCS as it was very technical, but don't know what I could do for a video.

+Ian Juby Maybe try drawing schematics of the method of control on a white board might help a bit. Or any possible way you believe would work. Sounds like a lot of work but would really help me out. I'm not in the railway industry but trying to get in.

OCS is more or less identical to Track Warrant Control (TWC) in the United States. There are several technical descriptions about that to be found on the internet.

It is approach slow according to csxt signal rule 1290.

Did you see it in the US? It’s a restricting signal on all the systems I’m familiar with. CROR (Canada) does not have lunar white lights.

If the signals are too close together for the heaviest, fastest train to be able to stop in 3 signal blocks (CLEAR → ADVANCE CLEAR TO STOP → CLEAR TO STOP → STOP) then additional aspects are introduced to slow the train down earlier. Each aspect progression is tailored to the needs of the specific location (track speed, train weight and speed, signal spacing). For example, a train could encounter CLEAR → CLEAR TO LIMITED → ADVANCE CLEAR TO STOP → CLEAR TO STOP → STOP. The CLEAR TO LIMITED would cause the train to need to slow down much sooner, even though there is no actual "limited speed" indication at the third signal. If that isn't enough, then even more aspects could be added: CLEAR → ADVANCE CLEAR TO MEDIUM → CLEAR TO MEDIUM → ADVANCE CLEAR TO STOP → CLEAR TO STOP → STOP. See?

Hmmm... I don't know - that would be something Amereecan, quite possibly unique to the communter railroad itself. I wouldn't know, someone else here might.

Flashing green is for cab signals.

Depends on the arrangement of the dwarf signal. Is the signal alone or in combination with one or two other lights?

Lunar White is the common fourth signal color found in North America. It is usually used to mean the same as RESTRICTING SIGNAL and can often be used interchangeably for a Flashing Red light. If you are familiar with North American traffic signals, specifically the pedestrian signals, then DONT WALK (or the hand) is shown in Portland Orange, and WALK (or the human figure, mid-step) is shown in Lunar White. So you may have already seen the color and not known it! A regular incandescent bulb has a red/yellow tint to it (not quite white hot), but Lunar White resembles the look of the moon from Earth as it reflects the sun-very little red/yellow in it. Lunar White is not historically used in Canada signals because Canada has employed (until recent years) only searchlight signals. And, as you saw in the first video, searchlight signals can only show up to three colors. Were a signal head ever needed to show all four (Red, Yellow, Green, Lunar White) then it would not be possible. One advantage the use of Lunar White offers is it removes the need for the lowest signal head showing Yellow to mean RESTRICTING SIGNAL. This means that SLOW TO STOP could be Red/Red/Yellow instead of Red/Red/Flashing-Yellow while RESTRICTING SIGNAL would be Red/Red/Lunar. Red/Red/Flashing-Yellow could be used for something else. It also means that MEDIUM TO STOP could be shown as Red over Yellow. Right now, Red over Yellow also means RESTRICTING SIGNAL; the MEDIUM TO STOP aspect is Red over Yellow over Red, and that lower red _must_ be there. It is not merely just a placeholder.... this is something important that Mr. Juby should have mentioned. (LIMITED TO STOP can be shown as Red over Flashing-YELLOW alone just fine, since the Flashing Yellow will also imply Limited speed.)

See: signals.jovet.net/rules/index.html

Right. Ya, we have similar signals on the Allanwater sub here, and I think it's just a throwback to the very old, original lights. When we go into a siding, it's a restricting signal, but I think originally (when the signals were build - probably early 1900's) that was supposed to be a slow to stop signal. But, restricting signal works - it accomplishes the same thing really. So when we come up to a siding to go into it, we'll get a clear to stop, then a restricting signal at the siding. The restricting signal is kind of a form of stop signal I guess, kind of like a form of stop and proceed.

Yeah, I guess. Just one more thing, although it doesn't matter much, it was indicating for a spur, on the CN main line (CN Rivers Sub)

You failed the test. It's RESTRICTING SIGNAL not just "Restricting" 😉

raymondlee3327 Excellent question. Not an emergency stop, but we have several rules in the CROR we follow. Namely, we read the light as if the burnt out lights were red. This puts the signal to its most restrictive form so we either stop or govern ourselves accordingly. if we have to stop, we just bring it to a stop and call RTC and get direction then, reporting the failed signal. Actually, I'll add your question to the questions I was going to address in the next video on CTC signals cause that's quite an involved answer actually. :)

+raymondlee3327 It depends on the indication of the malfunction signal. There are 3 different situations. 1. Movement stops if the most restrictive that the signal can display is STOP - with the exception of a solid yellow light on the bottom. Then the train can go at restricted speed. 2. If the most restrictive indication the light can display is restricting, proceed or slow down to restricted speed. 3. If there is a yellow or green light displayed the movement slows down to slow speed when practicable - as in if they're going to be going through a switch.

+grvolans Those are all signals that are entirely based upon local special instructions. They are not standard lights and the indications that would be displayed on them would be in the regional special instructions for the territory applicable.

They are also very rare, not just in Canada but the United States as well. One and two heads is economical and covers 99.9% of situations needed.

No, the railroads in Canada retained the imperial measurements. We do everything in miles, miles per hour for the reasons of the rules which were in effect long before Canada went metric. And so a lot of the rail operating rules (i.e., identifiable locations, mile posts, and trains speeds like slow speed, medium speed, limited speed, etc...) were based on imperial measurements and set up. Converting everything to metric would've involved a major overhaul of the rail operating rules which had been around for decades prior. CN even pays us "by the mile."

@@ianjuby I remember the pre-2020 O-Train Trillium line in Ottawa being denoted and marked in kilometres, but I think this was an oddball exception. The entire system is being switched to CBTC and now disconnected from the mainline rail network.

Okay, I'll see what I can do.

Thx

Hi Lan, so can you make the video or not?

Yes, I'm a conductor. I don't know about other railroads or schools, but I know CN does signals tests right from pretty much day one of conductor class. So you do the tests dozens and dozens of times before you get to the final test where you have to get 100%. That's over the space of the 7 week course.

Yes, someone pointed that out on one of the other videos too, and I have to agree.

+Ian Juby It looks like that system can't take many more imaginative upgrades.... Excellent series btw

+Taylorover9001 That indication is only used in a few specific points. I am sure the crew would know something is up. Also, that would give you an improper signal progression and the crew should realize this and take action.

+EduEnYT The Canadian system is quite fancy.

+Ian Juby Hey this was a really cool series would you mind doing one on the us signals?

Nope. And in fact, the QSOC classes (conductor's rules classes for new conductors) may have switched how they perform the tests. When I went for my recertification last year, they simply had an answer sheet which listed all of the signal definitions and you had to match up the letter of the appropriate definition with the signal on the test sheet.

Ian Juby awesome thank you very much for your help

+Dmitriy Shmanko Are not really things in Canada.

A number 3 over a number 4?

+Dutchfruitjar Explain in more detail.

***** I'm pretty sure we don't have that in Canada. Never seen or heard of it.

***** if you've got them out there they must be places listed in special instructions.

I would suggest you get a copy ot the Canadian Railway Operatinr Rules. You can download them online by searching "CROR" which will take you to Transport Canada's website. Rule #402 will answer your first question. A "B" sign indicates the end of a track circuit for ABS and CTC signals between those territories and OCS zones.

In obscure corners of the United States. It was very common on old semaphore signals. The aspect is also common in Australia.

They're trying to make them more complicated, though, with those flashing yellow turn arrows and the "Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon" signals (which are dumb). And then there's Canada with its flashing green traffic signals....

We have a footage counter in the locomotive. We push the button, and it tells us how many feet we've traveled. We set the counter at the light as we enter the siding, and we know our train length by the train journal information.

Ok thanks, that makes perfect sense. This does take some time to understand this but I can see the importance of the fail safe system. Is there any reason why the lashups of power units often combine a EMD and a GE units say in a SD70 ACe and a C44-9W?

Nope. No reason. They just slap together whatever is available. I've seen them stick old beaters on the hot shot trains, so obviously it the power isn't even assembled according to the need on the train. But I've had brand new units (literally 2 weeks old) die on me, so new or old doesn't mean a whole lot when it comes to reliability.

It's called a distance measuring device or DMD. When the engineer gets on board, he takes the total length of the train plus 3% slack action and enters it into the counter. He hits the button when the engine reaches the signal or switch and it counts down until zero. When it's at zero, you've cleared the signal or switch.

+Aidan Bush Haven't made it yet. Just a follow-up answering some of the questions people posted.

Yes, or more specifically, a switch. They call it different names - turnout, switch, etc... It's the switch itself.

If all three were green, you pay attention to the top signal regardless. Remember, the two bottom lights are placeholders.

Actually the Czech signals are very easy to read, followng uniform rules across all aspects, naming speeds by numbers instead of monikers (like "slow") etc. Very easy. There are only a few tricky points. The Canadian system is fiendishly complex compared to the Czech one. What an aspect means in a specific location in the Czech system is, however, trickier (eg. at places with insufficient braking distance). And the Czech operating rules are a mess. The precise spelling ... I see it in the same way. First, you learn signal definitions by heart. Next, you secure a train improperly in a siding and wipe out a small town.

The spelling is important because the rules must be followed to the letter. At least, "to the letter" within the purview of your boss. The excuse "but I couldn't remember the rule exactly" cannot be tolerated. It's one thing to add or remove a more-or-less meaningless word like "the" but it would be another to mess up a speed name or the order the words are in. The simplest and safest course is to make _all_ of the words equally important instead of playing games with some words more important than others. You either know it or you don't. Additionally, the words "advance" and "advanced" are rather different in meaning in English.

Update: interviewed in December, hired in January, sent to Winnipeg for training in February. Aced signals, and, the CROR. The signals seem daunting, but, once you know how to read them, it isn't a case of memorizing them. Each one is like a sentence in a book. Reading each sentence, is easier than memorizing the entire book.

Congrats brother let us know how you are liking your job 👍🏽🙏🏽

@@zackkunkel9495 hated every second of working at CN. Moved on to CP. Hated every second of that as well, and left the industry altogether. The railways treat people like cattle.

But if a venti signal shows foam over green, what's that mean? :)