Article on train engineer salaries


alocsin said:
In a departure from my standard model railroad articles, here's one on what locomotive engineers earn:

Workin' on the Railroad: Locomotive Engineer Salaries

Thanks.

Aurelio
Click to expand...

Wow! Many don't even make as much as some big city bus drivers do in Canada. In Vancouver a bus driver makes (after two years) $57,000.00 annually and that doesn't include OT or Sunday Premiums, which can easily put you over 90,000.00 a year if your willing to work an 8 to 8.5 hour day. Also paid vacation too, for 3 weeks within the first year of employment after 6 months of continuous service and an additional two weeks totalling 5 weeks off paid if you don't want to be paid OT on your Stats. Six weeks off after 8 years of service.

http://www.coastmountainbus.com/careers/

Canadian Locomotive Engineers make about 80,000 to 100,000 annually. Know nothing about their vacation benefits. It seems New Mexico has the closet to their counterparts north of the border.
 
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The Province of Ontario (ON), must publish once annually the names and salaries of all civil servants who earn more than $100k. There are many city transit drivers whose names get published each year.

I would think a Class One RR engineer with more than, say, five years of service, would be earning upwards of $70K these days, as a base salary. Not suggesting that is the case, only what my expectation would be based on what other operators of equipment, and other carded union members who have trades in demand under their belts earn. Your typical plumber these days does very well, and so does an electrician. If you don't get laid off now and then, those two trades should clear $80K per annum, often a lot more than that. People working as journeymen mechanics up in Ft. MacMurray clear $100K just getting out of bed on work days.
 
I'm excited to be hearing from folks with personal experience of engineer salaries. As the article states, the info is from the Department of Labor and is the latest available. The department will most likely update the salary figures in May of 2012.

In the meantime, feel free to post your own salary information here, especially if you can attribute them to specific railroads.

Aurelio
 
From what I have learned from a close family friend who has 30+ years with the RF&P/CSX, he clears 80-105K. It varies depending on if he works the local or through freight most of the year.
 
I recently applied for a Conductor position in Manassas, Virginia with Norfolk and Southern (my application was rejected). Based on the very detailed description in the job listing, it appeared that within a few years you would become an engineer with an income of just over $200,000. Prior to that it looked like the first full year after completing training the conductor would be making well over $100,000.
But, it also appeared that you pretty much need to be away from home much of the time (well more than 10 days a month), and when you are home you are always on call and if called, would need to report for work within 2 hours.
Add in the heavy lifting (and my aging back) and the requirement to be able to work outside in Any weather for long periods of time (think Chicago in February and Florida in August) and its probably a good thing I didn't get the job.
 
I applied for NS back when I turned 18 and again when I was 22 and made it through 2 interviews both times including one with the roadmaster out of Manassas, but never received the call to go to GA for training. Anyways we were told coductors started at around 40=50k the 1st year and then within a years time become certified locomotive engineers making 60=70k the first year as engineers and increase a percentage every year following that with toping out at over 100k as engineers. and yes we were told for the first 25 years of service to expect to be on call and away for up to 20 days in a month. Now that was 10* years ago so things might have changed some.
 
Well I can say first hand at CP the salary for a conductor's minimum guarentee on the spare board is $4100/month. If you get all your miles in every month (3800) then you will be making about $8500/month. I am not sure what a hoghead gets, but from what I have seen, there are quite a few who get all their miles in and are gettin a paystub showing 10K+/month. My neighbour has been with them for 33 years and he sorta let it slip one day that as a hoghead he is makin around $140K/year...
 
An old friend of mine was recently hired with NS as a conductor, heard he was going to make 50K his first year. I didn't even know the guy was interested in trains :confused:
 
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