[Est.July.4.1776]

Originally Posted by CamaroSkooter

I'm curious about this as well. And as an extension, how long is a typical or average round trip?

I imagine it's something similar to a long-haul trucker type round trip, but I have always been curious if the train ever stops for the conductor to sleep...

We are bound by federal hours of service regulations which limit our maximum hours on duty to 12. When we hit twelve hours, we're done... if the train is out on the mainline somewhere, we have to stop and tie it down (hand brakes) until a relief crew shows up. Most railroads have a basic day of 8 hours, which means that's what their pay is based on. Unlike most jobs, we're somewhat salary, somewhat hourly in that when we get called, we are guaranteed a 'basic day's pay'... IE: If you work five hours, you still get your full day's pay, but if you go beyond that basic day, it's overtime. The railroad I work for has a basic day of 10 hours, so that's what my day consists of. After our day is over, and we clock out (which is called 'tying up' for us) Federal law grants us a mandatory 10 hours of rest, which means if I tie up at midnight, I can be back on duty at 10AM, but no earlier. Our trips usually just last two days... I'll take a train from my terminal to another, work the train (set out railcars, pick up railcars, etc...) and go to the hotel, then catch a train home the next day (usually)