# Choo Choo! I'm going to train to drive a train! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 10, 2008, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choo-choo-im-going-to-train-to-drive-a-train/476528 "2008-12-10T06:52:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Incubus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c68b51/32.png) [@Incubus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incubus)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choo-choo-im-going-to-train-to-drive-a-train/476528/1 "2008-12-10T06:52:18Z")
šŸ˜ƒ Last week I passed my entrance exam to be a Light Rail operator. As mundane as it sounds (perhaps approporiate for this particular board) Iā€™m very excited because of the technical nature of the job. For those unfamiliar, there is much more to it than just ā€˜goā€™ and ā€˜stopā€™. The training is very rigorous and about half of the applicants end up flunking out. However, I am very confident I will do well because a big part of the training revolves around following specific directions and studying, both of which I am very familiar with. When I told my friend, she told me, ā€œI hope you donā€™t turn into one of those train hobbyist weirdos that are obsessed with trainsā€ The fact is, I really wasnā€™t particularly interested in trains until I got a job at the VTA and had the opportunity to possibly drive one. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choo-choo-im-going-to-train-to-drive-a-train/476528/2 "2008-12-10T07:02:58Z")
Congratulations! šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choo-choo-im-going-to-train-to-drive-a-train/476528/3 "2008-12-10T07:11:35Z")
Becauseā€¦? Eh, I guess you had some loco motive. šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choo-choo-im-going-to-train-to-drive-a-train/476528/4 "2008-12-10T07:32:01Z")
My much younger self thinks that is really, really cool and offers you hearty congratulations. (Although itā€™s not really the _big_ trains youā€™ll be driving.) ---
**Author:** ![Dervorin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Dervorin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dervorin)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choo-choo-im-going-to-train-to-drive-a-train/476528/5 "2008-12-10T10:18:03Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > Becauseā€¦? > > Eh, I guess you had some loco motive. šŸ˜ƒ Iā€™m trying not to over-engineer this pun, but clearly this is a field where you need to spy out the terrain before you get on track. Congratulations, **Incubus**! (Or should that be Incu-train?) ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choo-choo-im-going-to-train-to-drive-a-train/476528/6 "2008-12-10T10:43:24Z")
> [@Dervorin](#): > > Iā€™m trying not to over-engineer this pun, but clearly this is a field where you need to spy out the terrain before you get on track. > > Congratulations, **Incubus**! (Or should that be Incu-train?) Points to ponder, although the subjectā€™s not tender to my heart. But if you want to make it a platform for pun-upmanship, fire away (but get some training first). Doesnā€™t it just steam you when you start a perfectly sensible thread and then someone comes along and derails it? Makes you want to kick 'em in the caboose. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choo-choo-im-going-to-train-to-drive-a-train/476528/7 "2008-12-10T11:22:52Z")
Well done, that man. Now [here](http://www.nymr.co.uk/) is a chance to learn about steam trains! šŸ†’ ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choo-choo-im-going-to-train-to-drive-a-train/476528/8 "2008-12-10T13:41:51Z")
Congratulations! One of my secret ambitions is to be a Chicago el operator when I grow up, so I am jealous! ---
**Author:** ![rhythmonly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ee59a6/32.png) [@rhythmonly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhythmonly)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choo-choo-im-going-to-train-to-drive-a-train/476528/9 "2008-12-10T16:15:13Z")
Congratulations. Does your train have a Caboose or does it have a Fred? ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choo-choo-im-going-to-train-to-drive-a-train/476528/10 "2008-12-10T16:33:11Z")
Man, youā€™re living my dream. The only reason I became and Engineer was to drive a train, stupid school lied to me. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choo-choo-im-going-to-train-to-drive-a-train/476528/11 "2008-12-10T17:10:11Z")
> [@rhythmonly](#): > > Congratulations. Does your train have a Caboose or does it have a Fred? Itā€™s [light rail](http://world.nycsubway.org/perl/show?34722) - think of streetcars coupled together. No cabooses or end-of-train devices other than the tail lights. Caltrain uses FREDs, but theyā€™re [heavy rail inter-urbans](http://farm1.static.flickr.com/197/451864364_392a88f35d.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Leah\_M](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/57b2e6/32.png) [@Leah\_M](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leah_M)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choo-choo-im-going-to-train-to-drive-a-train/476528/12 "2008-12-10T17:14:25Z")
I already said it, but congrats šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![The\_Blue-Sighted\_Shadow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecae2f/32.png) [@The\_Blue-Sighted\_Shadow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Blue-Sighted_Shadow)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choo-choo-im-going-to-train-to-drive-a-train/476528/13 "2008-12-10T17:40:35Z")
Congratulations! Morbid question: do they talk about fatalities at all? I only ask because my co-workerā€™s husband has been on a couple of ā€œdeath trainsā€ in the past couple of months. But maybe thatā€™s the baby bullet and not light rail, since heā€™s going up to S. San Francisco. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choo-choo-im-going-to-train-to-drive-a-train/476528/14 "2008-12-10T18:45:05Z")
Do you have the option of wearing those cool striped overalls and cap? That would rock. I recommend you prepare for your job by watching the 1964 Burt Lancaster movie [The Train](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059825/). It has nothing whatseover to do with light rail, but itā€™s a great movie. And, in an idle moment you can imagine youā€™re hauling priceless art out of Paris while the Nazis look over your shoulder. Also, congrats.