Eastern Railroad Discussion > Engineer ?s

Could someone explain how the pay scale works for Engineers on the road. CSX and NS mainly but any RR will do.Like what road trips pay great and those that just pay well. Iv'e heard that runs to Chicago on CSX pay better then some. Is it still milage or more point to point? How about coal loads vs mtys. Is there a difference? Thanks

Road jobs are paid by the mile,but if you exceed the mileage they go on overtime.If you run a 200 mile trip your o/t won't start until you've been on duty for 12 hours(this is called tow-in).If you have a 180 mile run your o/t might start in 11 hours and 19 minutes. The road rate is a dollar a mile,while the o/t rate is time and a half.This does not include things such as initial/final terminal delay,meals enroute,or any other arribitaries.We do get paid for the number of units in a consist(.50 per unit),and conducters get paid more if there are alot of cars,but I don't know how much. Yard jobs get paid by the hour,after 8 hours they go on o/t. All of these are paid differnetly all over the country because we all have different agreements.

A story that was told on the NKP years ago about a railroad man who always picked up his pay checks and one payday got sick and his wife went to the railroad to pick it up. She came home with it and said how come it was for so much more that all of the others he had brought the money home. He stated that the last pay period they hauled all loads, the other checks were for hauling empties.

The first responder must be a pre 85 employee. For us post 85 employees there is no ITD/FTD, just mileage and overtime, and straight time for deadheading. The basic day is 130 mles, which for me is about $112.00 (dont remember exactly). It may vary upwards a dollar or two depending upon the size of train. Our runs from Columbus to Walbridge is 130 miles, for the extra few miles to the PI docks is 140 miles, and to Lang Yard is 142 miles. Yard rate is about $123 a day, and OT has to be approved by the yardmaster. Yard engineers get extra money for locomotive axles, which may vary his pay by several dollars a day.

Our trips ou of Allentown on the NS vary as well... WE have the Hagerstown runs, which pay 169 miles, and the NJ runs, which pay 85 miles. Then there is the median to Philly Terminal area, which pays 109 miles, regardless whether one goes to Abrams Yard or to Camden, NJ (about 20 miles apart). The best runs so I'm told in the HBG Division are the Altoona-Hagerstown trains (126/127); and the NS 211/212 from Croxton-Hagerstown, which eventually go to Atlanta (230 miles, pays about $500 round trip.

High Mileage runs pay better, road work runs on a scale versus the basic day of 130 miles. In short there is a basic daily rate on the road lests say $100 for ease of math.
On runs of 130 miles or less covered in 8 hrs or less you'd get $100
above 8 hrs you'd recieve overtime (time and 1/2 of the hourly rate of 100 divided by 8 times 1.5)
ok now the fun part, on runs over 130 miles you rceieve miles lets say you'r on a run of 150 miles and cover it in less than 8 hrs,
yoiu'd recieve 150/130= 1.15 x basic rate of 100= $115 for under 8 hrs. overtime doesn't start on such jobs until you've "run off" the Mileage in excess of the basic day, in this case not until after 9 hr 14 min on duty would you begine to get overtime.
The higher the miles the more money you make, but you get to a point where you get paid the same no matter if it takes you 8 hrs or 15 hrs to get to your off duty point.
Yard and Travelling switcher(locals) are based on a 100 mile day(OT after 8 hrs , and on Locals, any miles in excess of 100 have toi be runoff before OT starts
Muddy as hell now isn't it.
BE23