CSX Com

CSX Com

On fast-forward, we've met environmental engineers, process engineers, acoustic engineers, mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, structural design engineers, technical development engineers, flight control systems engineers, agricultural engineers, civil engineers and industrial engineers. Just to name a few, but we just found one kind of engineer.

We haven't met yet, today's the day, I wake you today fast forward is visiting CSX a company that combines cutting edge technology with one of the nation's most established modes of transportation. CSX is the biggest railroad east of the Mississippi, with more than 3000 people across the state of Georgia working on the railroad. So, I'll let them tell you, a little more about the place CSX hauls Freight anywhere from grain ethanol propane gasoline plastics. Just about anything that you would come in contact with on a daily. Basis was hauled by a train across, the United States, we mainly deliver for the East Coast, we run as far south as Florida. All the way up to Canada everything, you see within this room with in your classrooms where you're at at one time or one form is probably, riding on one of our trains and it's.

How I make my living nice, so how big is this operation CSX operates 36,000 miles of track throughout. Its 23 state network, 36,000 miles that's a lot of track to well keep track of and CSX employees actually weld. All those rails together, we'll help desk Collins expertise. There then, he's the perfect person to tell us about the different types of welding, the electrical welding is what everybody thinks of. When we, when we talk about welding that's where they're striking, the arc and you see the guys wearing a welding hoods and what not termite welding is pretty railroad specific termite welding. It's actually a chemical reaction what we do is in order to make the rail bond.

We have to eat the rail ends up 800 degrees and that gets the metal consistency where we need to let the molten steel bond to it. But, the actual termite itself is a powder. It's aluminum oxide and iron ore powder, and we use a magnesium starter and that ignites it and once it ignites the chemical reaction actually produces so much heat, that it melts the steel, the pure iron will drop down into the mold in between the two rails fuse them together, and it makes our rail - clickety-clack, and the joints. They're out there, we get rid all that, we make it a smooth transition, it's a no more speed bumps from a train now.

If only you could do something about those speed traps, so tell me about the trains the lightest rail car, that we have is over 15 tons and that is one car. So, a standard freight train could haul over a hundred cars; could be tens of thousands of tons CSX trains depending on the track passenger trains from travel up to 79 miles an hour. The larger locomotives are rated for up to 4,000 horsepower, your smaller locomotives can range anywhere from 1,000 to 2,000 horsepower. That's a lot of horsepower and speaking of that time for a teachable moment, horsepower is simply a way of measuring power and to understand exactly what power is you need to start with force, which is the push or pull exerted on an object measured in Newtons.

When you measure that force over a distance such as the energy it takes to move a 50 thousand ton train a thousand miles you get the work measured in joules and when you measure that work over a period of time, you get the power or in this case horsepower, that's a cow better anyhow inventor, James Watt first coined the term horsepower back in the 18th century, while looking for a way to measure the power of his steam engine. Because, there was no accepted unit of measurement, at the time he used horses as a benchmark for comparison therefore one unit of horsepower equals the average effort generated by a single draught horse. Later a different unit of measure, was developed that could be used in conjunction with the metric system. This new unit was named the watt after James Watt and 761 watts are about equal to one unit of horsepower sorry guys.

So, what kinds of jobs, do you have here at CSX, the railroad has jobs available for all aspects of talent. We look for people that are high school graduates, all the way up to college graduates. We can start off with conductors yard masters, you have train masters, you have terminal superintendents division managers and you even have other departments, such as safety health and environment. We even have personnel here that do personal training for us. So, a lot of opportunities and CSX is also a great place to work. If your future includes military service military is has become very important part of CSX and the people that that come from the military have a discipline, that is needed to work in the railroad industry.

In fact, one out of every five CSX employees, has a military background any one. I am actually in the Army Reserves, the US Army National Guard. I went went in the military, I got the GI Bill and now I'm utilizing it. I'm working here for CSX and getting my college paid for by the GI Bill. So, after high school whether you're heading to the military or college or getting straight to work CSX could work for you. I really enjoy watching the young people come through here, we have men as well as women that are very well trained and good at their job.

You know, the biggest benefit of working for CSX is that you know that you're working for a company, that's making a contribution company, that is that is really helping to drive our economy as the railroad goes. So, does our American economy and so does the Georgia economy. I think the opportunities here, are beyond the limits limits never pay too much attention which is probably why fast forward and CSX are such a great match. Right now, I've got a train to catch. But, I'll see you on another episode of fast forward.