Happy? Not Quite

Well I got what I asked for, didn't I? I got a new job. I'm an employee of VIA Rail Canada now. Or almost. I'm a locomotive engineer trainee at VIA, and I suppose that means I'm an employee there. Last Thursday was my last CN payday. I'd rather expected Life here to be much better than before, less stressful in a number of key areas. I was wrong. This move to VIA has been a real eye-opener for me. Well, it would be an eye-opener, Ms J, if I could open my bloody eyes. I'm ill. Yes, what a lovely way to begin a new job. I've got a nasty cold that seems to have made it's home in my lungs, and as if that weren't enough, conjunctivitis. Bi-lateral conjunctivitis. Pink eye. In both eyes.



Click on the pic, but be prepared. It ain't pretty. It's very contagious, Ms J. So says the doctor. It's not terribly painful, but it is uncomfortable. And embarrassing. And neither welcome nor well-timed. I've made only one trip so far at VIA - a marathon journey to Ottawa and back. Eighteen hours round trip with only four hours rest in between. I was completely knackered on Thursday and due out again on Friday. I phoned my boss.

"I'm really sorry," I said, "but I won't be able to work tomorrow. I've got pink eye."

Thankfully, he's a very understanding man.

"Take the weekend off, Dale," he told me. "Rest and get better. Hopefully, you'll be able to work on Monday."

I'm scheduled to spend an eight hour shift in the train yard here in Mimico where I'll learn the layout of the tracks and how to handle the various types of equipment. I haven't learned much so far, Ms Journal, but I have learned a couple of important things:

My world at GO Transit was small - maybe 150 miles of track in total. But here at VIA, I must become familiar with more than 1000 miles of track. There are new operating procedures, new engines, new faces, new places. It's a whole new world here, Ms J. And I feel like a little fish in a big pond. It's overwhelming, frankly. I'm used to working four hours and then coming home for a nap. There's none of that here. Trips are often eight hours followed by a period of time in a strange bed in a lonely hotel room.

Now don't misunderstand me. I know I've made the right move by escaping the madness at CN, but at the moment, and over the next few months, I'll have masses of facts and information to study, learn and remember. This is REALLY hard!

The other thing I've learned is how busy it is in the cab of a VIA locomotive. At GO, things moved at a slower, more relaxed pace. It was not unlike a subway train, or perhaps London's famous Tube - continually stopping and starting. Here at VIA, the speeds are higher (100 mph) and there's a constant stream of information being shared between the two enginemen. A couple of times, on the way to Ottawa, the lads called a halt to our casual conversation to return to the business at hand.

"Let's focus here," they'd say. "Let's keep our minds on our jobs."

These men are a whole new breed of railroader, Ms J. Very competent. Very knowledgeable. Very dedicated. Always putting the safe operation of the train before anything else.

I'll spend the next four months training, but I'll bet I don't feel comfortable at work again for a year.

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