How do train engineers eat?

What do freight train engineers (drivers) eat for lunch? Do they have to bring their own, or does the railroad figure out a way to feed them? Freight train engineers typically bring their own meals or purchase food at train stations or nearby convenience stores.



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In north America, freight locomotives have a toilet in the nose of the cab. This is a rather clean example of such.

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Neither the conductor nor the engineer is allowed to sleep on the train. They must be awake and alert throughout their entire shift. So, where do they sleep? After their shift, conductors and engineers sleep either at home or in a motel at an away terminal.

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Yes, locomotive engines typically have a toilet, also known as a lavatory or restroom, for the use of the crew members who operate the train.

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Training is extensive for all rail employees and is especially rigorous for the conductors and engineers operating freight trains. Years of experience as a conductor are typically required to become a freight rail engineer.

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Most train engineers do not work a standard 40-hour workweek. Their work hours tend to vary with irregularly scheduled days off. Many train engineers are required to work weekends, nights and holidays. Some train engineers are paid hourly, while others receive an annual salary.

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Only sleeper car passengers have access to the showers. They are located in the sleeper cars on the lower level in Superliner train cars on down the hall on the Viewliner train cars. Amtrak provides a few items for you and the room attendant keeps the shower clean.

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New locomotives (mostly) have heated and air conditioned cabs, a cooler (usually still ice cooled), and a toilet in the nose.

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Some train drivers are changing sanitary towels in bushes by the side of the track – that's outrageous in a first world country in 2021. Others urinate or defecate into carrier bags and bottles.

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In the USA, staff were instructed to lock toilets when the train was stopped in a station and unlock them when the train was again underway. Mercifully, new trains no longer dump waste on the tracks. Instead, trains are fitted with chemical holding tanks.

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Today, most road freights operate with just two crew members, a conductor and an engineer. Many local freights that deliver and collect cars along their routes also have one trainman, and some have two, to help with the “ground work” of throwing the ground switches and uncoupling the cars.

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Some trains may have composting toilet tanks, which use bacterial action to break down solid and liquid waste. Only the broken down clean liquid is released to the trackbed after sterilisation. The solid waste only has to be emptied every half year.

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Does the Railroad Crew Sleep on the Train? People who work on a passenger train including the porters and other staff may have to stay onboard the train for up to 48 hours at a time. In these situations, the onboard crew will often sleep in a dormitory car on the train.

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Conductors do not sleep on trains. As operating personnel they are awake for their entire shift, and can be on duty no more than 12 hours. At crew change points, they stay in hotels that the railroad has arranged for them. The same situation applies to engineers (in other countries, the “driver”).

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While modern trains won't litter the tracks with human excrement, the traditional method did just that. This is what was known as a hopper toilet. It could either be a simple hole in the floor (also known as a drop chute toilet) or a full-flush system.

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The traditional method of disposing human waste from trains is to deposit the waste onto the tracks or, more often, onto nearby ground, using what is known as a hopper toilet. This ranges from a hole in the floor to a full-flush system (possibly with sterilization).

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Note that there are two types of sleeper cars: Superliner (two-level train car) and Viewliner (one-level train car), with the main difference being that the Viewliner roomettes and bedrooms have toilets, sinks and higher ceilings. Learn more about occupancy and amenities of roomettes and bedrooms to plan your trip.

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