Steam & Excursion > Steam and Diesel Locomotive Mechanic Position Open at the NN Ry

Nevada Northern Railway Museum Job Posting
 
JOB TITLE:              Steam and Diesel Locomotive Mechanic
DIVISION:                Shop
STATUS:                  1 Full-Time, Hourly Position
CLOSING DATE:    Applications and resumes accepted until the position is filled.
APPLICATION:       Download at https://www.nnry.com/pages/openings.php

Postion Overview: Performs a variety of technical and mechanical duties as needed in the daily operations of a railroad; performs inspections on steam and diesel locomotives, rolling stock and makes diagnosis and repairs of the same

Supervision Received: Employee will work under the general supervision of the Master Mechanic or Shop Foreman.

Essential Functions: Works in the locomotive shop or out on the line as required. Duties will include maintaining, servicing and repairing the locomotives and rolling stock of the museum. Cleaning and maintaining the work area. Additional duties will include maintaining vehicles, buildings, track, and grounds. 

Marginal Functions: On an as needed basis, the Mechanic could serve as an Engineer, Fireman, Hostler or Brakeman. During the off-season, he/she will serve with other maintenance staff and volunteers to carry out identified projects.  May be required to operate specialized vehicles and maintenance equipment.  The employee will fulfill special assignments as directed by the Master Mechanic or Shop Foreman.

Minimum Qualifications: Education and Experience: Graduation from high school or GED,  Must have a valid driver’s license and clean driving record,. Must be able to pass drug test and background check. 

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: Must have a mechanical aptitude and have maintained diesel and gasoline engines. Experience working on diesel or steam locomotives is a plus. Familiar with modern construction methods, practices, materials, tools, and equipment; basic drafting techniques, able to understand blueprints and being able to use most hand tools and power tools. Must be able to perform simple arithmetic calculations, read and understand instruction books. The employee must be willing to learn the operation of specialized vehicles and maintenance equipment.
 
Ability to learn; interpret codes accurately and effectively; communicate effectively verbally and in writing; read and interpret plans and specifications; work independently to accomplish various projects and meet deadlines; develop and maintain effective working relationships with managers, co-workers, volunteers and the public.

Special Qualifications: The candidate must be able to be certified as a Hostler and Brakeman under Nevada Northern Railway standards. This is to be accomplished within four months (4) months of the hire date.  The candidate must be able to be certified as Fireman and as an Engineer (both steam and diesel) under Nevada Northern Railway standards. This is to be accomplished within twelve (12) months of hire date.

Special Skills: Machining or welding skills are desirable.     

Work Environment: Tasks require a variety of physical activities periodically involving muscular strain.  Physical activity and demands are frequently related to walking, standing, stooping, climbing, sitting, lifting and reaching.  Talking, hearing, and seeing are essential to job performance.  Mental application utilizes memory for details, emotional stability, discriminating thinking and creative problem solving common to most job functions.  You may have to leave the shop to repair equipment on location which requires locating equipment malfunctions under hazardous conditions. Some emergencies may require additional irregular hours. You may be subject to high locations, awkward positions, heat, noise, dirt, chemicals, confined spaces, cold and fuels in the performance of day-to-day tasks. Incumbent may have occasional stress from emergencies and in meeting project deadlines. Interruptions may occur while performing work requiring accuracy and concentration. Periodic local travel may be required in course of performing portions of job functions. 
 
Salary: This is an hourly position from $11.00 to $18.00, hourly rate is dependent on experience and skills. Benefits include paid holidays, paid vacation, matched IRA and medical insurance. Workweek will consist of working most weekends and holidays. The workday can vary from 3:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.
 
Applying: Letters of interest, resume and a completed Nevada Northern Railway Employment Application (available at https://www.nnry.com/pages/openings.php) should be e-mailed to employment@nnry.com, in the subject line please put Mechanic Position. Letters, resumes and completed Nevada Northern Railway Employment Application can be mailed to Mark S. Bassett, Nevada Northern Railway Foundation, PO Box 150040, Ely NV 89315.
 
 

In-n-Out Burger pays similar wages.  What is it with these operations wanting all kinds of experience, abilities, etc., then they offer you some lowball wage, while calling it "full-time?"

coach Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> In-n-Out Burger pays similar wages.  What is it
> with these operations wanting all kinds of
> experience, abilities, etc., then they offer you
> some lowball wage, while calling it "full-time?"

Come on now. Who in the steam/railroad preservation industry is in it for the money?

NathanNon-Lifting Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> coach Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > In-n-Out Burger pays similar wages.  What is
> it
> > with these operations wanting all kinds of
> > experience, abilities, etc., then they offer
> you
> > some lowball wage, while calling it
> "full-time?"
>
> Come on now. Who in the steam/railroad
> preservation industry is in it for the money?

Hey...you gotta eat.
Chris

You're not going to make it in Ely on $11/hr and barely on $18. If you've got the skills listed you'd be
making at least twice that in mining. It's tough for a museum operation to compete out there for help.

Out

coach Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> In-n-Out Burger pays similar wages.  What is it
> with these operations wanting all kinds of
> experience, abilities, etc., then they offer you
> some lowball wage, while calling it "full-time?"

I don't see people with these skills and talents lining up for poverty wages.
A person may like trains, but they have to be able to have a good life.

Posted from Android



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/07/19 11:50 by needles_sub.

The average annual income in Ely Nevada is $28,621 or $13.76 an hour. The hourly rate is a beginning rate. The first pay increase happens at the completion of the probationary period. Qualification as brakeman, fireman and engineer bring pay raises of $1/hour per qualification. As mention in the job posting there are benefits such as paid health insurance, paid vacation, matched IRA.  

mxbassett Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The average annual income in Ely Nevada is $28,621
> or $13.76 an hour. The hourly rate is a beginning
> rate. The first pay increase happens at the
> completion of the probationary period.
> Qualification as brakeman, fireman and engineer
> bring pay raises of $1/hour per qualification. As
> mention in the job posting there are benefits such
> as paid health insurance, paid vacation, matched
> IRA.  

Averages don't mean much when you have to feed a family. $1.00 raises every three or four months depending on how fast they qualify you for the trades.
Benefits and vacations don't put food on the table or a roof over your head.


Posted from Android



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/07/19 13:08 by needles_sub.

needles_sub Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> mxbassett Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > The average annual income in Ely Nevada is
> $28,621
> > or $13.76 an hour. The hourly rate is a
> beginning
> > rate. The first pay increase happens at the
> > completion of the probationary period.
> > Qualification as brakeman, fireman and engineer
> > bring pay raises of $1/hour per qualification.
> As
> > mention in the job posting there are benefits
> such
> > as paid health insurance, paid vacation,
> matched
> > IRA.  
>
> Averages don't mean much when you have to feed a
> family. $1.00 raises every three or four months
> depending on how fast they qualify you for the
> trades.
> Benefits and vacations don't put food on the table
> or a roof over your head.

I agree, besides averages tend to meaningless for this sort of math. For example, the average depth of the Mississippi River is less than 4 feet. 

Very meaningless in this case, as the number of domestics involved in hotels and other lodging plus the number of
people in other low paying service industries brings down the average. I can tell you that when I was calling on Quadra-
Robinson some fifteen years ago that the described skill set would have easily brought $60K.

Out

What do you expect Mark to do? Fire up the printing press and start churning out cash?  The railroad pays what it can pay.  I suppose someone could go make more money working at the mine or working at the prison, but there are those who will happily take the pay cut to work in nicer conditions. 

 

Todd Clark
Canyon Country, CA
Trainorders.com

webmaster Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> What do you expect Mark to do? Fire up the
> printing press and start churning out cash?  The
> railroad pays what it can pay.  I suppose someone
> could go make more money working at the mine or
> working at the prison, but there are those who
> will happily take the pay cut to work in nicer
> conditions. 
>
>  

If your single, no wife or kids, maybe. Asking your family to live in poverty, holding on to every penny tight enough that Lincoln screams while you improve your working conditions maybe to much to ask of your family. Love only goes so far. You gotta love your family and provide for them. Just my opinion.

Posted from Android

Todd's point is very much on point and really is the crux of the problem. You need people to continue operation,
how do you afford to pay them? For all the BS from the Ely Town Council I give Mark mass props for keeping
the NN in operation. The whole thing ends up being scaled to the help you have and the NN in that regard has
way over performed!

Out

It boils down to supply and demand.  If Mark can find somebody who gets the job done for $10/hour, more power to him.  On the other hand, for all the reasons others have cited, it may be tough to find a GOOD employee at that wage, and Mark will have to up the ante.  But the upper limit is set by what the museum can afford to pay, recognizing that "afford" is a complex and judgemental calculation.  Making a career in steam preservation, tourist railroads, or the museum business is rarely a path to riches, and those of us who enjoy the fruits of their labor are lucky that some folks (and their families) are willing to trade some of the things money will buy for the pleasure of working a job they really enjoy.

JBWX 

But do you think the applicant will stay? Will he/she move on to higher pay somewhere else in about three years with the skills learned and the investment made by the employer?

Victor A. Baird
http://www.erstwhilepublications.com

Often times the only way to Move up, is to Move-on...

Ever since the sixties, That’s the way America’s employers wanted it... no loyalty from the the employer, no loyalty TO the employer.....401(k), and all...

Thank you Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway, American Can, and all those Corporate Raiders  that absconded with the cash assets of companies that they had crashed the stock prices...then bought 51% of the outstanding stock, took over the boards,
and laid everybody-off, & then kept the $$$Billions of Corp “retirement assets”.... which they used to buy other companies with ‘fat’ 
retirement assets... all the ‘property’ of the Corporations ...

Congress responded with the ERISA Act and its variants...too late..

W.

There has been alot of employees that have come and gone at the NNry. Its neat place to work but some people have problems with the current management that has been in place. Heck back in the early 2000's there was about 6-7 volunteers that where told there services where no longer needed and where banned from the property, volunteers being fired in a sense. There was also a mass exodus of paid employees during that time period.  I don't know if its the same way today.

CS

Re: Volunteer laborers...

There might have been ‘insurance issues’ involved with the use of volunteer labor on the property.
The insurance carrier might have demanded the prohibition of the volunteer laborers as a result of (real)
exposure to injury liabilities and possible lawsuits that could expose the insurer to exhotbitant ‘award costs .....”
which could have meant greater insurance premium costs...if the RR had wanted the liability coverage
for the use of volunteers on RR property.

If I was a corporate officer, I would also have bowed to the insurance carrier’s ‘conditions’, as well as any other similar demands..
Or, I could have hired the volunteers, & put them on the payroll....

To what end?

​W.
 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/12/19 00:47 by wcamp1472.