The extra board is there basically so that there are always a few people available to cover in the event that someone has to call in sick, goes on vacation, does not answer the phone, or when the normal pool conductors are all at work and there are still trains to move. At least, that is the idea behind the extra board. The pool conductors are on jobs that are permanently assigned to a specific pool. In Glendive they would either be on the West Pool, which goes to Forsyth, or the Helper Pool, which pushes coal trains up the hill to the east. An Extra Board conductor on the other hand is not assigned to a permanent job, or pool. They can fill in for any job, on the west pool, the helper pool, or in the yard. Additionally, extra board personnel can be called to relieve crews short on time, and to do other oddball jobs, like pick up gravel at the local gravel pit, or dump ballast for the under cutters, which are not regular jobs that happen every day.
Some of the benefits of working the pool jobs include having a better idea of when the railroad will call and always knowing what you will be doing. On a pool job, if the guy ahead of you decided to get sick and lay off, you do not move up. You are assigned to a specific job which is planned for a specific train. If the guy ahead gets sick, his job gets assigned to someone from the extra board. So when you check the lineup of trains, you know which train you will be on and when it will go out, assuming the lineup is accurate (which is often not the case, but more on that later!). On the pool jobs, you get paid every time you go to work, and if traffic is slow and you spend a lot of time at home, you simply have unpaid time at home. Additionally, the west pool in Glendive gets regular rest cycle days. After seven days available, people working the west pool get three days off. They have the option of working some or all of their rest days, but there are scheduled days off if they want them.
On the extra board, things are a little different. Because the vacancies needing to be filled by the extra board can be unpredictable, the lineup for the extra board is always less predictable than the pool lineups, even if the extra board is only covering pool jobs. Also, when someone ahead of you lays off, you move up. This can mean that if you check the lineup at 10:30pm, and you are second out, standing for a 9:00am vacancy, that you could stand for an earlier train if the person first out lays off. Now, typically at midnight, whatever vacancy list there was changes a lot. This is because most people taking vacation days and rest cycle days start them at 12:01am. When that happens, all those vacancies suddenly show up on the list. The vacancy list only shows vacancies at the moment it is checked, and not any anticipated vacancies, so you can check it at 11:30pm, and then half an hour later two people go on vacation, three on rest cycle, and one on a personal day, and instead of standing for 10:45am, you suddenly stand for 1:30am. This makes sleep planning challenging at times! In my opinion, there are two advantages to working the extra board, especially when traffic is slow. Personally, I like variety, and working the extra board means I am not on the same route all the time. I may work a couple of trips covering for West Pool jobs, but then I might get a yard job and a run up the Sidney line. It helps to break up the monotony of sitting in sidings waiting for the dispatcher to get you to Forsyth. Although I do get a lot of reading done in sidings! Additionally, since work on the extra board is largely dependent on vacancies, there is a minimum guaranteed pay rate every month. This is nice when traffic is slow, because it means that no matter how much time you sit at home between trips, you still get paid. You get paid a lot more if you manage to work every day, but if not, you still get the minimum guaranteed monthly amount. The biggest disadvantage to working the extra board is the unpredictability in the work schedule. There have been times when I have looked at the extra board and been four or five out, only to be called half an hour later. There are also times when I have been first out for over 30 hours, expecting the call any minute for the whole time!
Right now I am working the extra board, and I plan on staying there for a while. That being said, I am one number short in seniority to hold the West Pool this week, but even if that were to change, I plan on staying where I am at until traffic picks up a little. It will be years before I can hold the Helper Pool, so I try not to even think about that! Once summer gets here and the work trains get going in full swing, I will probably try to get on the Brakemans' Extra Board. Actually, I would get on that now if I could, but a Conductor cannot voluntarily demote to a Brakeman. I need to be bumped by someone before I can do that. The Brakeman's board is really nice because there is less responsibility, and most brakeman jobs have you home every night. The guarantee pay is slightly lower, but when things are going quickly, that does not even matter.
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