OJT First Day

Well, I survived the REDI.  The last week of grueling exams and operating rules tests came to an end this past Friday, and now I'm on my way to my first day at the North West Ohio terminal (NWO) in North Baltimore, Ohio, just outside of Findlay.

I am a jumbled up mess of nerves right now,my natural anxiety coming through in heart-pounding fashion.  I think I'm going to be sick.  I really hate change and this is no different than anything else.  In a few weeks, I should be more comfortable with everything and my new job anxiety should subside.  The good news is that I'll be there with 5 guys from the REDI, so all in all, I think that will help.

The terminal from which I'll be working is the new Intermodal hub for the CSX system. 

It is a centrally located point on the CSX system, that allows freight coming in from the east coast ports to head west.  From my initial impressions, it seems pretty big, but from what I hear, it's actually one of the smaller yards.  As I round the bend coming out of North Baltimore, I can see the bright green lights on the cranes overlooking the processing yard. Time to go to work!


We were met by a couple of our train masters and the manager of conductor training.  They gave us a run down of their expectations and some new equipment to use while we were there.  We also met with the two Remote Control Operator (RCO) instructors who will be in charge of us while we are in OJT.  They let us now that there would be more exams and classroom stuff on the way.  Just when I thought we were finished, it seems as though more bookwork is in order.  We will be in classes for the next week going over the RCO  rules and operations, and learning how to operate the "box" for the remote control operations in the yard.  It seems pretty neat.  We are controlling locomotives with a box strapped to our chest. 

So, I'll amend an earlier post of mine by stating that I guess we do get to drive the locomotives. No complaints here!

We ended our first day of orientation with a tour of the yard. 

This is an aerial photo of our yard looking east-west (top is east).  It's not as big as some of the yards in the bigger cities, but it does put through a lot of trains, and they are already looking to expand it.  The left middle section of nine tracks is the support yard, where trains are built and left for the road.  The far left track, just after the two main tracks is our receiving/departure track (RDT).  Inbound and outbound trains can be staged here.  To the right of the support yard is the processing yard with its eight additional tracks.  Intermodal boxes are swapped out on the trains staged here with the gigantic shipyard cranes like those pictured at the beginning of the post.  It is a continuous operation, with stuff coming in and going out all the time.  It seems a little overwhelming but I'm excited to get out there and to start working!