Seen in the Press
Railroad training goes full throttle Dakota County Technical College
Ken Speake, Kare 11 News, June 1, 2006
The line may be short, only one-quarter mile long, but six full-sized railroad cars get jockeyed around on it just like real life.
"This is real life... right here," said Lead Instructor Don Spanno.
He was referring to the steeply banked ballast that holds the rail ties in place.
He was in need of fifteen conductor students to learn how to work on the ballast, the rails, the switches, the moving locomotive and cars... safely.
Spanno had worked 22 years as a freight conductor, yard master, and safety coordinator before he began teaching railroading at Dakota County Technical College.
He began teaching when the college began its conductor training program.
"Like most people, we didn't think railroading was a growing industry," said Customized Training Coordinator Larry Raddatz.
"But when they showed us the statistics, it wasn't hard to make that decision."
Raddatz was talking about the decision to begin the conductor training program at DCTC.
"Railroads are losing 10,000 conductors to retirement in the next ten years," he said.
"In Minnesota, that translates to about 100 conductors a year for the next five or ten years, and that's just to replace retirees. That's not accounting for any growth," he said.
Fifteen students were in their third week of a seven week long conductor training class.
It costs $4,500, and everybody who wants a job has a job by the time they graduate.
"Some don't even complete the class," said Raddatz.
"That looks bad on our graduation statistics," he said, "but the railroads need the conductors so badly that they hire some before they finish."
Raddatz says some don't take the jobs they're offered. The reasons vary, some want to work for a different railroad than the one that offered them the job while others get called back to jobs from which they've been furloughed.
"And it's a tough job," he said.
"Conductors are on call all the time. They work a shift... then get ten hours rest, but after that they're likely to be called out to work another shift, no matter what time, no matter where, no matter what the holiday," he said.
"Conductors earn about $40,000 to start, and average salaries of more than $60,000. Then after a couple years experience they're eligible to begin training as locomotive engineers. And engineers earn an average salary of more than $75,000," Raddatz said.
Most people enrolled in the program are changing careers. Some have come from job losses at Northwest Airlines others have come from Ford Motor Company.
Perhaps the most unusual career change is represented by Rick Lukens. "I tracked the research and breeding population of chimpanzees for the National Institutes of Health," said Lukens.
Four classes of 58 conductors have graduated from the Dakota County Technical College Conductor Training program. The sixth class, which begins in October, is already half full.
By Ken Speake, KARE 11 Sports