Following this, we departed and drove 4 hours to Duluth/Superior. We spent the night at Univ. of Wisconsin Superior, and the next morning, we had another VERY BASIC lecture about intermodal logistics and safety. We then went to the Duluth Railroad Museum, where we got a tour and got to ride their train for an hour and a half. After this, we headed over to Duluth's Canal Park, where they have a marine museum. After an hour and a half there, we headed back to Houghton. The next day we had another VERY BASIC lesson on the track and track structure, and in the afternoon, visited the Lake Linden rail museum. This was the last activity, and I headed back on the bus Friday night. There is a bus that departs the Meijer in Northville on Saturday night and returns the following Saturday. The bus stops at other locations as well. I would reccomend this program to anybody who desires to learn more about the operations of a railroad, and the basics of the physical plant, etc. It was also a great opportunity to see Michigan Tech and to learn about the railroading program they have there, which was very impressive. Dr. Pasi Lautala, the leader of the RR program was heavily involved in the program, and I had many conversations with him. The experience was great overall, and I now positive that MTU is my top choice for college. There IS a lot of free time after the day's session, but there are many activities, and there is always the TV room. Once again, I would like to thank Raildude's Dad for telling me about this program."Rail and Intermodal Transportation"
"Rail and Intermodal Transportation"
For all of those who don't know, Michigan Tech University offers myriad Summer Youth Programs, where students can learn about a subject that is more specific than something that could be taught in school. The programs run from Sunday to the following Friday, with five actual days of learning. Overall, the information conveyed was VERY basic, and I learned very little from it. Other people's knowledge might vary, and they may find this portion more interesting. The classroom sessions were, however, offset by the field visits. On tuesday morning, we drove to the LS&I's eagle mills yard, where we got to walk through a locomotive and tour the car shops. We then drove to their ore dock, where we got to see how it works, how the cars are unloaded, and saw a switch crew switching the dock. After this, we went back to Eagle Mills, where we got a tour of the yard, and got a "talk" from some LS&I employees. Following this, it was back to Houghton. The next day, we spend the morning getting a VERY BASIC lesson on high speed rail, and had to build a foam Maglev "train" after lunch Following this, we departed and drove 4 hours to Duluth/Superior. We spent the night at Univ. of Wisconsin Superior, and the next morning, we had another VERY BASIC lecture about intermodal logistics and safety. We then went to the Duluth Railroad Museum, where we got a tour and got to ride their train for an hour and a half. After this, we headed over to Duluth's Canal Park, where they have a marine museum. After an hour and a half there, we headed back to Houghton. The next day we had another VERY BASIC lesson on the track and track structure, and in the afternoon, visited the Lake Linden rail museum. This was the last activity, and I headed back on the bus Friday night. There is a bus that departs the Meijer in Northville on Saturday night and returns the following Saturday. The bus stops at other locations as well. I would reccomend this program to anybody who desires to learn more about the operations of a railroad, and the basics of the physical plant, etc. It was also a great opportunity to see Michigan Tech and to learn about the railroading program they have there, which was very impressive. Dr. Pasi Lautala, the leader of the RR program was heavily involved in the program, and I had many conversations with him. The experience was great overall, and I now positive that MTU is my top choice for college. There IS a lot of free time after the day's session, but there are many activities, and there is always the TV room. Once again, I would like to thank Raildude's Dad for telling me about this program.
Following this, we departed and drove 4 hours to Duluth/Superior. We spent the night at Univ. of Wisconsin Superior, and the next morning, we had another VERY BASIC lecture about intermodal logistics and safety. We then went to the Duluth Railroad Museum, where we got a tour and got to ride their train for an hour and a half. After this, we headed over to Duluth's Canal Park, where they have a marine museum. After an hour and a half there, we headed back to Houghton. The next day we had another VERY BASIC lesson on the track and track structure, and in the afternoon, visited the Lake Linden rail museum. This was the last activity, and I headed back on the bus Friday night. There is a bus that departs the Meijer in Northville on Saturday night and returns the following Saturday. The bus stops at other locations as well. I would reccomend this program to anybody who desires to learn more about the operations of a railroad, and the basics of the physical plant, etc. It was also a great opportunity to see Michigan Tech and to learn about the railroading program they have there, which was very impressive. Dr. Pasi Lautala, the leader of the RR program was heavily involved in the program, and I had many conversations with him. The experience was great overall, and I now positive that MTU is my top choice for college. There IS a lot of free time after the day's session, but there are many activities, and there is always the TV room. Once again, I would like to thank Raildude's Dad for telling me about this program.-
Raildudes dad
- Roadmaster
- Posts: 4762
- Joined: Fri Dec 23, 2005 9:12 am
- Location: Grand Rapids, MI
Re: "Rail and Intermodal Transportation"
Going to join Pasi's Posse eh? My nieces boyfriend graduated with a BSCE from Tech in 2005 and went to work for BNSF. He was a Road master for a few years, first in Minneapolis and then Albuquerque. Now he is the system wide grinding train supervisor based out of Ft Worth.
Re: "Rail and Intermodal Transportation"
He wasn't hired as a roadmaster right out of college, was he? If so, that's a lot better than what I expected.Raildudes dad wrote:Going to join Pasi's Posse eh? My nieces boyfriend graduated with a BSCE from Tech in 2005 and went to work for BNSF. He was a Road master for a few years, first in Minneapolis and then Albuquerque. Now he is the system wide grinding train supervisor based out of Ft Worth.
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Raildudes dad
- Roadmaster
- Posts: 4762
- Joined: Fri Dec 23, 2005 9:12 am
- Location: Grand Rapids, MI
Re: "Rail and Intermodal Transportation"
Yup - started as a Road-master in Minneapolis, then was transferred to Albuquerque. They don't hire many for strictly engineering - most of that work goes to consulting firms. If the economy had been better in 1972, I probably would have taken a job with BN or CNW - both were interviewing at Tech back then (but not in 1972). Instead I ended up back hone in GR with a govt agency. It's been a good gig (going on 39 years this yearShorthaul wrote:He wasn't hired as a roadmaster right out of college, was he? If so, that's a lot better than what I expected.Raildudes dad wrote:Going to join Pasi's Posse eh? My nieces boyfriend graduated with a BSCE from Tech in 2005 and went to work for BNSF. He was a Road master for a few years, first in Minneapolis and then Albuquerque. Now he is the system wide grinding train supervisor based out of Ft Worth.
). I've managed to get my RR'ing in with the C&M and Lake Central Rail Tours on the TSBY 
.The bad part with the RR is getting transferred from location to location for promotions and getting called out in the middle of the night when the boys and girls put a train on the ground and the track needs to be put back together ASAP. But the pay and benefits are good.
Re: "Rail and Intermodal Transportation"
That's ok that the railroads don't directly hire many, if I have a job that is related to railroads AT ALL, I will be happy. Also, In my opinion, the unpredictability of the job just makes it better. I LOVE change. We discussed this EXACT same thing several months ago, but I was bnsfMAN93 in those days. Thanks again for the advice about the program.Raildudes dad wrote: The bad part with the RR is getting transferred from location to location for promotions and getting called out in the middle of the night when the boys and girls put a train on the ground and the track needs to be put back together ASAP. But the pay and benefits are good.
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Raildudes dad
- Roadmaster
- Posts: 4762
- Joined: Fri Dec 23, 2005 9:12 am
- Location: Grand Rapids, MI
Re: "Rail and Intermodal Transportation"
The RR's hire a fair number of CE grads from Tech. Mostly for Roadmaster positions. In 2005, both CSX and BNSF hired that I know of Since CN donated $250,000 to the program there, I suspect they will be hiring also.