INTERVIEW
W Steve Nichols
Terminal Superintendent
Steve Nichols started working for Norfolk Southern Railway Company in 1973 as a brakeman in Selma, Alabama. He is now a terminal superintendent in Birmingham, Alabama.
How Steve Nichols Got Started
I grew up in a small town and there were few opportunities. The railroad has always been known for having a good salary and great benefits. Family and friends steered me toward the railroad. But at the time I was twenty years old and their hiring practice was 'must be over twenty-one.' Then they changed that rule and I was probably the first one in the door applying for a job.
Most of my training was on the job and some at other property schools such as Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia. The training was for management skills and transporting hazardous materials. I also participated in various seminars and courses through the years in alcohol and drug addiction, how to recognize it in the workplace, and operating and safety rules with yearly exams.
To get started on the job I first had to take a mandatory test. This is where you are tested for consistency. The railroad wants someone who is sure of themselves and the decisions they make not easily changing their mind. I was also tested for math and word usage and of course, the all-important 'common sense' tests.
The next step was the interview. Here, they wanted to see how I handled myself with questions such as, 'Why does the railroad need me what can I offer to the railroad?' Basically this was to see the stability of the applicant.
Once I was hired, I was trained on the job for six week. This has changed. Now you are trained for six months. This was the time to make sure I was capable of doing the job. It is a very physical job. After the six weeks, I established my seniority and was placed on a ninety-day probation period. This way is to see if I would stay in place for calls. When you are hired by the railroad, you must provide a phone number where you can be reached. When you finish your day's work, you are entitled to an eight-hour rest. After eight hours, the railroad can call you for another job. You must be at the number you provide. If you are going somewhere other than home, you simply give the call office the new number, but they have to have a number.
"I started as a switchman on the extra board on call. I was promoted in 1980 to a Terminal Trainmaster's position and was transferred to New Orleans. In 1985 I was promoted to Assistant Terminal Superintendent in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1986 I was promoted to Terminal Superintendent in New Orleans. In 1987 I was promoted to Terminal Superintendent in Macon, Georgia. In 1996 I was promoted to General Superintendent of Terminal Operations and Planning. In 1997 I was promoted to Terminal Superintendent in Birmingham, Alabama, which is my current position. Each position has held a higher ranking job with more responsibility and more people for whom I am responsible. I must say that the railroad has an excellent moving package for its employees."
What the Job's Really Like
As a superintendent of a large terminal, I am in the office by six each morning. I always talk to the Trainmaster on duty around four-thirty every morning to get a rundown on the state of the terminal, what kind of problems we might have, what problems we've had in the last twenty-four hours, with detailed descriptions of any delays to trains, any derailments, and any plans for calling extras if business levels dictate. I have to know everything on my terminal. If I have problems in moving trains, that will ultimately give problems to the yards down the rail a chain reaction. If Atlanta has a problem, Birmingham will, and then Chattanooga will, and so on.
I am also responsible for overseeing the humping of some 1,600 to 2,000 cars a day, of pulling them out of the class yard, and building trains to depart. We run, on any given day some sixty trains in and out of the terminal.
I am normally in the tower for two to three hours on a typical day (which means I am out of my office). I spend a couple of hours in the yard, making efficiency rule checks and safety audits. I do this a couple of times a week. Norfolk Southern is very safety conscious.
Every day I have about two to three hours of paperwork. Each day, typically, I attend meetings, meet customers, and end up back in the tower for a couple of hours.
It is always very, very hectic, but very interesting, however. I get to talk to all the other railroads and their superintendents around Birmingham about their operations.
The atmosphere around the office and the terminal appears to me to be getting more and more like a safety team working together. It has been growing that way for many years. All of the other railroads are fighting hard to be number one in safety and knock Norfolk Southern out of first place. We have been number one as the safest railroad of all class-one railroads for nine years, going on ten. That is a goal achieved. We continue to be successful because we continue to work hard putting safety first. It is our number one priority, but with that comes a lot of pressure. There are a lot of details, details that have to be paid attention to, such as federal reporting of injuries on the railroad. You could lose a safety award from something as simple as an employee getting a bee sting. The public normally hears only about railroad accidents that are major.
I normally leave the office between 5:00 and 6:00 P.M. Once home, I do spend a lot of time on the computer, looking at the different programs that NS has for us to use that makes it easier for us to be home but still working. We are becoming more and more automated and sophisticated.
I am essentially on call twenty-four hours and I am readily available by beeper and phone at all times. Rarely, do I have a night that my phone doesn't ring. I am notified immediately of derailments or personal injuries. If an employee calls in sick or just doesn't show, I have to know. I have an assistant who splits the twenty-four hour clock with me. We alternate weekends off.
My particular position with the company entitles me to five weeks' vacation, but the scheduling can interfere with weekends off. Sometimes I might work three weeks without any time off when my assistant is off on vacation. The long hours and the time away from home can be hard to deal with.
"But I don't know what I would be doing if I didn't work for the railroad and work these long hours. I enjoy my vacations, but after a week of being off, I'm usually looking forward to getting back."
Expert Advice
Get a college education. You should strive to come up through the ranks. I think you will learn more about the railroad after a few years of experience. You will gain a lot, which will help you in future positions. An education in transportation and/or engineering is a plus, especially at the management level.
You'll need lots of energy and patience. Also, you must be very safety conscious. At every hiring session, it is made clear from the beginning that you will work in all kinds of weather heat, cold, storms, ice, snow and holidays, and nights.
Norfolk Southern's Personnel Department travels over the Norfolk Southern system, testing and interviewing prospective new hires for all departments and positions. Our personnel people do all the hiring for all departments and all levels in that department.
"We have a toll-free job line number that prospective employees can call for hiring sessions. It is updated each Friday. (The number is available through 800 directory assistance.)
All new hires need to know we work on a seniority system. As a new hire you start at the bottom of the seniority roster. The only position that a new hire can hold is the extra board . . . meaning you are on call for the regular employees' off time. This means the senior employee probably will be taking off weekends and holidays.
As a new employee, you will have to be available and reachable. There are a lot of rules, all for the safety of the employee. You must be willing to study, to learn, and abide by these rules.
"The benefits of the railroad are, in my opinion, the best. A great salary, great insurance, and a great opportunity for career advancement, I wouldn't want to be working anywhere else."
