Railroaders' Nostalgia > A Thank-You Letter For Successfully Passing Your "Whiz Quiz"

Once upon a time, Amtrak used to send out letters of appreciation to employees who were subjected to "random" drug tests and passed them successfully.  

Then some bean counter figured out how much it was costing them to do that.  

Once upon a time.  

For a funny story I wrote awhile ago about a former co-worker of mine who DID NOT successfully pass his drug test, go to this link:  

https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?18,2949184

 

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CA_Sou_MA_Agent Wrote:
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> Once upon a time, Amtrak used to send out letters
> of appreciation to employees who were subjected to
> "random" drug tests and passed them
> successfully.  
>
> Then some bean counter figured out how much it was
> costing them to do that.  
>
> Once upon a time.  
>
> For a funny story I wrote awhile ago about a
> former co-worker of mine who DID NOT successfully
> pass his drug test, go to this link:  
>
> https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?18
> ,2949184
>
>

I used to get a letter from CSX showing I had a good test....but no more....I guess you WILL hear from them if you pee dirty! 

engineerinvirginia Wrote:
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> I used to get a letter from CSX showing I had a good test....but no more....

I guess it's been an across-the-board budget cut.  Part of PSR?  

> I guess you WILL hear from them if you pee dirty! 

Oh, there's no doubt about that!   ;) 

Yes, over the years I got several of those letters of appreciation for successfully passing a drug test. 

When the yard office began handling train orders we became eligible for drug testing.  The question came up at the Clerk's union meeting if anyone had a drug test.  I was the first one.  Everybody got a good laugh out of it.  No one was less likely to have drugs in their system than I.  There was even some suspicion that my name was at the top of the list to start off the yard office with a clean bill of health. 

Years later when the drug tester came to you, I had to give a young woman a lot of credit for finding me at Hobart Tower.  You had to turn off eastbound Washington Blvd where it goes underneath the U.P. and up a short ramp to what were city streets, but actually dirt roads.  Make a left turn at the 'intersection' and go to the end of that dirt road, and then turn right into the dirt and follow the railroad track about 100 yards to Hobart Tower.  All this at 2 or 3 AM. 

She must have been flustered, I had to remind her to pour dye into the toilet and tape the faucets closed. 

And then there was the time a car was driving up to Hobart Tower as I came out of the bathroom.  I could drink some water, but the drug tester still had to wait a while. 

Eugene Crowner 

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Personally, although I hated the "pee tests" just for general principles, they could be fun and profitable also. I didn't/don't drink, never did drugs of any kind, so I knew my tests would always come up clean and as such had nothing to hide. However, I simply hated them and would rebel in my own ways.

Shortly after they started giving them I was working an early daylight hump engine in Eugene (there were 2 engines per shift). We finished our first cut and came into the shanty while the late engine humped a track. Just after we got into the shanty the yardmaster called down and told us we won the lottery and had to take a random pee test at the retarder tower. We all sauntered over there and as soon as we walked in the three switchmen couldn't wait to give the sample; I was pissed. When she got to me I simply told her I had gone "on the engine before being notified of the test and didn't have to go". She then advised me that I had up to 2 hours to give the sample and as far as she was concerned that time started when she asked for it. Oh, man, music to my ears!!! So for the next 2 hours I drank water, chatted with her, chatted with the retarder operator, and by the time the 2 hours was up my eyeballs were floating in my head; I had no problem giving a sample. But it doesn't stop here.

I sauntered back to the shanty and as soon as I walk in the foreman jumps up and wants to get out and hump another cut. Whoa!!! I tell him I'm not going anywhere because it's past my lunch break and I am going to lunch. He got a big smile and told the yardmaster that - he was not happy. I had a nice relaxing lunch and by the time that was over we had very little time left to work before the early afternoon crew would be in. As such we simply humped a very short track and then tied up. We ended up humping about 1/3 the number of cars we would have normally humped. I never once heard of them having a yard crew in Eugene take a random test in the middle of the shift after that; coincidence, you decide.  LOL

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I used that "2 hours" a few times after that also if they wanted a sample after a shift. I figured I would either be on FTD or overtime and I never had to "go" right away; I made sure I got extra pay for my pee. It even got to the point the job I was on got selected for a random but for unknown reasons the terminal superintendent told me specifically that I did not have to take the test (in front of witnesses) and I was to simply tie up and go home. Gee, wonder why?

 



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 10/01/19 14:44 by Railbaron.

It wasn't for a whiz quiz but I recently received a "Thank You" card on corporate stationery from my terminal manager for not only passing an ops test on a foreign railroad, but for keeping the dunce engineer I had from running through a switch. I didn't know we were being tested but after I got him stopped and lined the switch, I went up on the engine and read him the riot act for not paying attention, and for passing the clearance mark with a switch against us. Then all the clean hi-viz appeared from the shadows. I thought for sure we were screwed as the management team separated us to get each of our stories separately.

Fortunately, the dunce engineer corroborated my story so, apparently, the RFE called my manager and related the events to him. As a result, a couple days later my engineer got a discipline letter and I got a thank you card. I was just doing my job so it was a total shock in this day and age to get a "atta boy" from a manager. 

trainjunkie Wrote:
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> It wasn't for a whiz quiz but I recently received a "Thank You" card on corporate stationery from my terminal manager . . . 

Pack it away and post it here after you're retired!  

Railbaron Wrote:
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> I made sure I got extra pay for my pee.

I had friends on the Maine Central (an agent and track foreman) whose first task every morning after unlocking the station was to use the head so they could do their "duty" on company time. There was a pecking order: first the agent, then the track foreman, then his helper. By the time they were all done the coffee was ready and the workday could begin.

LOL, sounds like a well planned morning.

Railbaron Wrote:
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> LOL, sounds like a well planned morning.

And at 5:01 p.m., out came the whiskey!

Railbaron Wrote:
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> Personally, although I hated the "pee tests" just
> for general principles, they could be fun and
> profitable also. I didn't/don't drink, never did
> drugs of any kind, so I knew my tests would always
> come up clean and as such had nothing to hide.
> However, I simply hated them and would rebel in my
> own ways.
>
Never had poppy seed muffins like Elaine on "Seinfeld'?  8>)

mapboy

Mapboy wrote:------------------------------------------>  Never had poppy seed muffins like Elaine on "Seinfeld'?  8>)>> mapboy    Actually, never did; never liked muffins - too healthy.  



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/03/19 09:10 by Railbaron.

Shafty Wrote:
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> And then there was the time a car was driving up
> to Hobart Tower as I came out of the bathroom.  I
> could drink some water, but the drug tester still
> had to wait a while. 

One time when I was a truck driver, I had just gotten back to the terminal from Fresno and had to pee bad. Pulled in the yard, set the brakes jumped out of the truck and ran to the bathroom. As I come out 5 minutes later, dispatcher comes up to me and says your turn came up for random test, go to the clinic. So I went and then sat there for over an hour drinking water until I could produce a sample.