Job Description

Railroad Conductor  

Escanaba & Lake Superior Railroad Co.  

Locations:  

Wells, MI, Menominee, MI, Channing, MI & Crivitz, WI (ELS Railroad system-wide). Candidates must be willing to relocate to a centralized location of the railroad’s 4 work locations or must reside within reasonable driving distance of the on-duty stations. 

Job Description:

The conductor/switchman position will control and coordinate the train movements while switching railcars, whether in the yard of a railroad, industrial plant, or similar location to facilitate the unloading and loading of railcars in a safe and efficient manner to service our customers. This position is a manual labor position, which requires that the individual become proficient in the following skills, duties, and requirements within a prescribed training and introductory period. This position will require employees to be trained in a classroom setting on applicable rules and regulations prior to on-the-job training. This is a union position, which includes health and welfare benefits, accrued paid vacation time, paid holidays, and accrued months of service toward railroad retirement.

 
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES :

• Demonstrate predictable, reliable, and timely attendance. 
• Follow written and verbal directions to complete assigned tasks on schedule. 
• Effectively read, write, communicate with others, and understand basic math. 
• Learn from directions, and observations and use good judgment. 
• Ability to work in a team environment and be courteous to fellow employees and customers. 
• Receives oral or written instructions from Managers as to which railcars are to be pulled or spotted. 
• In constant communication with engineer of switching orders and, whereby, which cars are to be moved to specified locations of yard, using radio, verbal or hand signals. 
• Communicate with other train crews, yardmasters, or other yard workers via radio to give or receive switching information. 
• Communicate with the train dispatcher to issue or receive information or instructions concerning stops, delays, or other unforeseen circumstances.
• Give instructions to throw track switches and to couple and uncouple cars. 
• May assist workers to throw switches or perform other activities involved when performing switching operations. 
• Turn hand brake wheel or ratchet-type brake as well to apply and release handbrakes. 
• Observe track to detect obstructions or defects.
• Maintains records, number, origin, destination, and cargo of cars switched. 
• Raises coupling lever to couple or uncouple cars. 
• Throw track switches to facilitate coupling cars on various tracks and signals Engineer to move cars, using lantern, arm signals or handheld radio. 
• Connects air hose to cars when making up trains by bending and applying force. 
• May set warning signals, such as flares, flags, or lanterns in front of and at the rear of trains during emergency stops to warn oncoming trains. 
• Sits or rides in the cab of the locomotive to observe signals from other crew members. 
• Minor repairs to couplings and air hoses may be made, and any equipment requiring major repairs may be reported. 
• Regular communication with the train dispatcher or managers. 
• Willing to work variable hours, up to 12 hours per day, in compliance with federal hours of service regulations.

 
QUALIFICATIONS:
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily and in a safe manner. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. 

• Must be able to pass and or obtain all reporting, testing, and certifications as required for this position. This is a federally regulated position. 
• Candidates must be able to pass a pre-employment background check and pass a federal DOT pre-employment drug screen. This position requires employees to be placed into a random federal DOT drug and alcohol testing pool. 
• Must have a valid driver’s license, with no driving violations involving drugs or alcohol within the past 3 years. 

SKILLS and ABILITIES:

• High school education or general education (GED) 
• Ability to read and interpret documents such as safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions, and procedure manuals. Ability to write routine reports and correspondence. Ability to speak effectively. 
• Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram form. Ability to deal with problems involving several concrete variables in standardized situations. Must have the ability to quickly adapt and react to unforeseen circumstances in a safe manner.
• Must possess the physical ability to walk on uneven terrain for up to a mile at one time, work outdoors in all weather conditions, ride on the side of railcars for extended periods, and possess the strength to climb ladders on the side of railcars to apply handbrakes. 

The Escanaba & Lake Superior Railroad (E&LS) is a privately owned shortline railroad company operating in Northeastern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Under current ownership, the E&LS has expanded from the original core line of 65 miles that was purchased in 1978, to over 235 miles of operating railroad in 2005. The E&LS. is headquartered in Wells, MI, with an additional office located in Green Bay, WI.

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