local driver

van driver

driver

dispatcher

mechanic

HALLCON

This company was completely mismanaged or NOT MANAGED!!!   Dispatched out of Kansas, the dispatchers were unaware of local conditions and distances, Dispatching was poor and they were always in the weeds and behind.  Dispatchers were rude.  Locally there was no training at time of hire, they promised a company vehicle and you ended up sharing the vehicle with 2 or more people. You van swapped at any hour of the day. They hired with the promise that you would have plenty of hours and overtime and as soon as you exceeded 40 hours you were pulled from your van. LOCAL MANAGEMENT WAS TERRIBLE!!! THERE WAS ABSOLUTELY NO CHAIN OF COMMAND AND NO ONE YOU COULD REACH OUT TO OR TRUST WHEN OR IF THERE WAS A PROBLEM OR ISSUE...AT ALL!!! 

The RAILROAD PERSONNEL were left to suffer because of the mismanagement and the Kansas dispatch and local management would place the blame on the drivers, and would never take responsibility for their own failed actions  Drivers could only work with what they were given which wasn't much. The Railroad BNSF (Crewmembers and Dispatchers) were frustrated with Hallcon and their procedures every time you would picked them up, not with the drivers, but with mismanagement. 

  The pay was ridiculous and Hallcon was making a hefty profit off of every run they did for BNSF but HALLCON paid the drivers a fraction. Drivers were allowed to work 12hrs per day but it could take sometimes over 24 hrs. to get to your 12hrs of work, which means you would not get down time to rest, then you were dispatched exhausted and a danger to yourself or others on the road, let alone the crew.  Drivers were also responsible to pay to clean the vehicles that they use out of their own pocket, but since you didn't get to keep the van, you ended up paying for another driver to only mess it up. There were No guarantees on getting the vehicle back in the condition you had it.  Maintenance on the vehicles was not maintained and it was the drivers responsibility to take it to the shop if it was needed. THERE WAS NO ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE IF YOU HAD A PROBLEM.  I cannot express how terrible the local management was. I cannot speak for the rest of the country and its management, but would say it was probably the same? I can say payrates very for drivers across the county, they were not equal. 

   As for the job, if it would have been run correctly and the pay was appropriate, it could have been a decent job.  Hallcon never took into consideration that every time a driver hit the road with a crew they had more than doubled their chance of a wreck or injury and in this line of work Hallcon showed no empathy.  And based on how Kansas dispatches and drag out the drivers days, the drivers end up fatigued.  BUT  "It's never Hallcon' s Fault"!!!   Based on local area for drivers positions, the job payrate should be about $30K per year plus bonuses, but there were no bonuses, no incentives to work for this company, no "GOOD JOB"!  Hallcon was making good money off the richest Railroad company in the world, but the employee was not being compensated fairly.  They were also not open to suggestions at all, if so, you were a threat.


  DRIVER TURN OVER was probably around 75-100 new hire drivers per year based on how many I saw hire and quit yet HALLCON REFUSED to change their procedures or culture.  It's was always about the company never about the employee.  Benefits were worthless and covered nothing.  

BNSF could save a fortune by dumping Hallcon and Creating their own Internal Crew Transportation company and they could still afford to pay a decent wage to their employees without hurting their bottom line.  That and it could make sure their crewmembers would be much safer.  That or HALLCON could change their ways.


No company is perfect, but this company cared about itself, not their employees.

I have worked here for about a year now, and there are so many things that aren't very good. First I'll start with training. In the Kansas City division we have propane vans that run on both unleaded gasoline and propane. Well, obviously everybody knows how to fill it up with gasoline. But what about propane? ... You would think that we are trained on how to fill up with propane. No, we're not.. At least not formally... the way I learned and the way a lot of people have learned was through senior drivers that have been there for a while, and that's how I taught the new hires, and it was just ridiculous knowing that they were not trained either. Propane is a very dangerous gas and if you're not trained on how to handle it you will be in the hospital. Next, the management shows nepotism and lack of professionalism. There's a great deal of animosity amongst drivers, which stirs up a lot of issues. You cannot miss any calls from dispatch, and speaking of dispatch ...9 times out of 10 they don't always answer or return your calls in a timely manner. We are not commended for dealing with problems we really shouldn't have to, like Van swaps that take up to an hour, irate railroaders and other drivers. Which, I too have been a victim of sexual harassment from some of the male drivers. Altogether, it's a good place if you want to make some quick money, but you're not getting compensated for some of the things you're really doing. I've just been holding on, but if you have a strong mind you can make it through here. But most of the people that have been here for a long time have to live with constant sleep problems and depression.You would too if you had no set schedule, no social life, not even a chance to watch TV or do anything and you get called and don't know when you're coming home. You could be in the middle of nowhere sitting for hours in the dark, and loud trains going 70 miles per hour plus are going past you. It kinda messes with you when you do it for a long time. So all in all, if I had to choose what I hated the absolute most. It would definitely have to be not being able to have a life, this is more ideal for retirees and people that don't have small children at home. As far as what I really like, is just getting to see how the railroad operates and being of service to the conductors an engineer's, a lot of them are so kind to me and buy me lunch and we have a lot of laughs together. Those guys understand what us driver's go through , because they kind of have the same schedule too. I like to travel and see new things. In a years time I have been to over 30 to 40 different cities and little towns.

Where do I begin?????? At first sight of seeing the job posting it sound like something that had the potential to be a somewhat productive place to earn money. Well, boy was I wrong! Firstly, the job ad was posted under another company's name. The posting that I responded to had another company's name attached to it, yet when called about an interview another company (Hallcon) responded. I thought someone had shopped my information on the website. But after going to the interview, it was explained that the company was in the process of a merger. Red flag number 2: The pay was far different than what was described in the job description. Red flag number 3: This company REFUSED to provide a formal orientation and company handbook outlining who I worked for and exactly how I got paid. Instead, the supervisor whom I interviewed, kept speaking "pimp" lingo and jargon like he had hoes on a corner. Well I guess you can say in a way he did, because we worked long hours , was treated like trash by Canadian National, which is who the services were provided for. PLEASE KEEP READING IT GETS BETTER! Let's talk the actual work itself: You are available to them 12-24 hours a day. Why indeed you are just driving, and you do get breaks here and there, there is so much work and not enough drivers and the dispatchers make it their business to place you on really long trips before you are scheduled to get off so therefore you maybe working 2-3 hours after you planned to be off. If you have kids or a life outside of work forget them and it! You would have to work unbelievable hours to see a actual halfway decent paycheck. The actual vans you drive are kept in poor conditions and the GPS is always broken so therefore you are always lost. Normally in the middle of nowhere. If you are a lady I advise you don't work this job at night because it present you sometimes sitting and waiting for rail crews in unsafe areas for up to 2 hours. In dark wooded areas that sometimes inhibit you getting a cell phone signal. The nasty and unprofessional attitude the Canadian National dispatchers take with you just to give you a call is unbelievable! Management refuses to address it because I assume it's how they get paid, so you are encouraged to take the abuse. In a nutshell, if this is your last resort for a job, hang in there and keep looking! Because this will be the worst employer experience you will ever have. Poor management, poor ethics and poor pay!!!!! BTW, I'm not disgruntled, this was just my experience and had someone given me a serious and factual review prior to applying, I could have avoided this very poor choice to work for them.

I started with HallCon in 2019 as a Road Driver; which is an on call 5 days a week job. You are guaranteed 2 days off. Im my area, Southern California, you can work upto 12 hrs a day. Which means, if you do a 4-8 hr shift earlier in the day, they can call you back for another shift and will try to max you out at 12 hrs per day. I liked it because the sooner I made my 12hrs the sooner I had the rest of my day off.

 They use a dispatch system, out of KS which isn’t so efficient, they give you roughly 8 hrs after a shift before calling again as ‘rest’ but the company policy requires 9 hrs rest. It does require travel up to 250 miles radius, the further the more hours as benefit though. Locking into a routine is the only way to find a better work life balance at this job. You can put yourself on rest, or if too tired to drive, often times people do this throughout the week to ensure they can get a real 8hrs rest. Roughly 10 hr gaps between jobs, is common. If I work 8am, I’ll get another call about 8 hrs after it’s completed, typically to arrive at the 9-10hrs mark later again. But max of 12 hrs a day, 10hrs driving.

I was fortunate enough to move to Yard Driver in my area, which was a $1 paycut but a set schedule, and I don’t leave my town, set 8 hr shifts. But everything is based on seniority for these positions, luckily a position opened up after 2 months as a Road Driver. Both positions are risky though, dealing with trains there are many safety concerns that require proper procedures. The opportunity for differential nighttime pay is a perk though in both positions.

They are union; they do offer health, dental, vision, life insurance and 401K but on the low ball scale of quality. You can sign up within 60 days of hire though. Road drivers although on call, get paid lunches, as were Yard Drivers do not. Management is available 24/7 to call, but unfortunately for them... they must run on like no sleep. 

If you like to drive, don’t mind waiting time and down time... this is a good place for you. Do expect to inspect vehicles and deal with different crews/people everyday. It’s a great way to get familiar with the railroad process if you’re interested in moving your career that way. HallCon is a contractor so their isn’t much growth unless you want to move to management.

I WOULD NOT recommend working for this company AT ALL. To begin with you are on call 24/6 and even on your day off you are expected to do work related things without getting paid. You are required to get oil changes and other maintenance done on the vehicle without getting paid. You could potentially sit there for hours and you make no money and they WILL ask you to do it on your day off. They also require you to drive an hour away in your own vehicle or a friends vehicle to go pick up vans. While being on call you sit at home waiting to receive a call from dispatch and the trip could be three hours from that time or the pick up could be five minutes before they even called you. According to DOT regulations you cannot work more than 12 hours in a row without getting a 9 hour rest period, but the company doesn't care if you go over that on your drive home as long as you aren't transporting anyone. Meaning if you live in Saint Joseph, MO and did an assist with a crew in god knows where and then took them to Springfield, MO ending with 12 hours, you still have to drive home and your whole trip could be 15 hours. You would still only get a 9 hour rest period. Also, they say that you can make a lot of money at this job and that may be true, but that's only if you get hours. There were times I got a call almost immediately after my 9 hours rest was over, and then there were times i sat on the board without a trip for 48 hours. You don't get paid unless you are driving. On average I worked about 30 hours a week. That was not nearly enough to cover my bills. You also cannot have a life with this job. I didn't even have time to go the grocery store let alone make plans with friends and family. I had to request an additional day off just to move from one place to another and I barely got that approved. I was fired because the crew member i had thought that her musical preference was more important than me staying awake while driving. They don't care if you get sleep but they expect you to be well rested. I have many complaints about this company and i would not tell my greatest enemy to work here. I thought this would be a good job because I don't go out drinking with friends or anything and i don't have a husband or kids but honestly this job isn't good for anyone.

The Basics:
-Hiring time caries, I was hired within a week, but some had to wait over a month due to processing.
-On call for minimum of 14 hours per day (in FDL area only)
-There is no maximum for your hours
-Dispatchers are not your friends, you could be on for 15 hours with no trip and had forgotten to book rest due to being overtired, they will still try to send you on a 6hr+ run, and threaten you or give attitude if you refuse.
-Other drivers are not your friends, they will attempt to undercut you at will.
-Management does not care about you
-Everyone above Site and Regional management cares even less about you.
-You will not get more than one day off, unless they have double the drivers for the amount of vans available.
-You will only be paid if you're driving.
-Paid wait time is ONLY at a yard office, or at a siding for a train, otherwise if you're not in a trip, you're not being paid.
-Crews will not like you at first, get over that, you show you're a capable driver and they'll warm up to you over time.

Personal Experience:
Worked there for the better part of 3 years.
During this time, we received ONE raise, of $0.20, and only after a "union" was brought on board.
Winter is your bread-earning season, spring and summer are your slowest times.
Management is more efficient at wasting your time than they are at management.
Fond Du Lac area was the only "trustworthy" yard for the entire time I was a part of it, most other drivers are a hazard to the crews and yourself.
Management doesn't care if you're sick and/or overtired. You work or they'll threaten to fire you. Could be the first time you've been in that way over the last year, or could be the 30th time in 3 years, the threat is the same.
Has been through 3 Regional Managers and 3 site managers, only ONE site manager was worth anything, and he's long since been gone.
Being originally from IL, it was nice to travel and learn alot of Wisconsin's locations, and be able to visit where I grew up. 
Some of the crews I am still on first name basis with after being gone almost a year, but these relationships take alot of time due to sub-par drivers making them wary.

If you're a long-haul driver AKA road driver then you work on call for about 24/7. They tell you, you get a day or two off but generally they're so short staffed they can't really afford to give people their days off. Management is a joke, some sites don't even have a supervisor that is in or near the town you work in. It's difficult to get management support when you need it, everything is done over the phone. The way on call works is you work up to 10-12 hours and then you have 9 hours of rest and then you can get called out again at any point and work another 10-12 hours. There have been times where you work over those hours because they need you to take a crew somewhere that puts you out longer and they don't take in account for the time it takes for you to drive back to your site. They can have you work up to 60 hours a week, which is great for the paycheck but you'll find yourself burned out. Starting pay is 10.50 an hour for the road, it is 10.25 an hour if you work in the yard. Some sites are union and some are not, you will have to ask management during your interview process if it's union or not. Yard is pretty easy, set schedule, but lower pay. Some shifts are a full 40 hours a week and some are less. This job gives zero incentives and benefits that are offered are insulting.

There is a position called the Lead Taxi driver, it is a literal 24/7 job. You have to do your driving job and then the van maintenance responsibilities on top of that. But there is so much more involved in that position that most people can't hack it because there is almost a constant flow of calls or texts night and day. You can't ever sleep properly. Employees call when they get tire flats, something wrong with the lock box, van breaks down... The pay increase for that position is laughable. Not worth your time or stress!



By far the WORST job ive ever had... A typical day at work involves being woke up out of bed by phone call at every hour of the day, to have to drive to the office, get in a company vehicle, then be at the railroad office all with in 40 minutes of your phone call. All to drive anywhere from 20 miles to 550 miles you dont know really til your at work and your way.
You are on call 6 days a week 24 hours a day. and cant refuse a call for any reason with out getting wrote up, even if the reason is simply that you are to tired to safely be on the road and drive.
Once you get to work, you wait for railroad crews who more often then not, are arrogant and wont hardly speak to you... Sometimes talking down to you, yelling at you, and throwing garbage all over the van that you are later responsible for picking up.
Every single paycheck they rip you off a little here and there, all the while sometimes forcing you to break dot saftey laws about the amount of time you can legally drive in one shift with out rest. In which if you get caught is I believe a $1500 fine to you.
You constantly have a camera in your face that goes off and records you for things like hitting potholes, if you have so much as a drink in your hand you get wrote up.

Management is a joke, half the time they wont answer thier phones, when you need them to. Then most of the time that they do they answer your question then hang up on you befor you can ask anything else.
They are extremely unprofessional as they will just tell everyone about disiplanary actions they have taken on employees.
If they dont like you, ive seen them fire people for hitting deer. When you drive in the middle of no where averaging over 1500 miles a week its bound to happen.
After 8 months with this company I asked to change my one day off a week from a monday to anything, the answer was not a chance.

As far as coworkers go, you dont really have that much time to interact and meet them.

Hardest part of the job, staying awake at the wheel with no sleep, and peoples lives in your hands!!!

After training for a position in Skagit county, I soon discovered the hours were awful, management is clueless and indifferent (unless they need you). Let me paint you a picture of what your "days" will look like.

1) You get "two" days off. And by two days, I mean if you got off work your last work day at 3am on Mon and your days off are Tues and Wed...you will go to sleep Wed night only to wake up in a few hours at 3am Thurs.  

2) Hope you don't plan on making friends with the rail crews. These guys are trash. Rude, most of them expect you to magically know where the railroad names for areas are. They DO NOT provide you with any information on where to meet or pickup crews. You must magically know through osmosis that "hole in the fence" means a specific location in Burlington. And if you don't get the instructions exactly correct, the engineer for the train called the "Burlly" will yell at you on the radio. It's great fun.

3) The call center that handles your dispatching are out of state and usually making arrival promises that are impossible. And should you happen to miss one of their phone calls for a drive, expect to be scolded by your tragic supervisor based in Everett. Pro tip: If you need to get a-hold of her, but she's dodging your calls - just miss a shift, then magically she's available for a phone call.

4) You will be on camera at all times. Not just the drive, but all the time. Also, any sudden braking (such as to avoid an accident) will be met with a scolding from your supervisor as they use software to track your driving. Good luck explaining to the crews you're not allowed to back up with them in the truck or go 5 over the speed limit. You will be yelled at either by the crew or your super. Again, great fun.

5) You will learn to distance yourself from sanity, a schedule outside of work and family. You will drive tired, sick and on holidays. Run away from this horrible job. Get a job as a carnie or crash test dummy -- better work/life balance.

While the actually job of driving RR crews to and from various locations is not very hard. And some of the locations can be less than desirable to sit at for hours in the wee hours of the night. The real challenge with working for Renzenberger is that they run you for 24 hrs a day period.  The dispatch group is clueless as is the management staff. The expectations of what u do for nothing is over the top.  

2 driver types Road Driver or Yard Driver. You would think that Road drivers would be at the upper end of the pay scale as they are expected to haul crews on long extended trips with multiple stops that could have you out for in excess of 13 hours and driving from Mid day till Midnight or later. Personally I have done a 13 hour haul and all i got for it was a lip service from dispatch and management AFTER the trip was over. But during the trip did anyone in management or dispatch even suggest they send another van/driver to take the crew......of course not. This is a knee jerk reactive company nothing here is even close to positive or at least in the region where I am. Everything is confused and last second. Got a call at 4am to be at a location at 4:15am that was 20 miles away. And when dispatch was told NO they were like why not. All this for 7.25 an hour when sitting in the ghetto or .17 cents a mile while driving. To be fair the hourly rate goes as high as 8.50 in some months IF u remind management of that. Yard drivers have a fixed shift and haul crews around locally in rail yards and appear to be at the upper end of the hiearchy, Road drivers leave to go to Yard driver jobs but as i hear it yard drivers never Leave to be Road drivers

 

So be warned and think very hard about hiring in here. Be desperate for a job that keeps u on call 24/7 and where u will make less than if u worked at Whataburger. Be prepared to be jerked around and forget  support. But they will hire just about anyone that can fog a mirror and pass a drug test. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Local driver 10 salaries reported	$18.03 per hour
Van driver 1 salary reported	$22.26 per hour
Driver 1 salary reported	$10.00 per hour
Dispatcher 6 salaries reported	$15.83 per hour
Mechanic 7 salaries reported	$35.64 per hour

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