Kazimierz Dziedzic Road Foreman of Engines and Certified Locomotive Engineer Altoona, 16601, United States [email protected] · (814) 555-1056
11 September 2026
Mr. Roald Bittner Manager of Operating Practices Susquehanna Northern Railroad Harrisburg, United States
Application for Locomotive Engineer, Susquehanna Northern Railroad Harrisburg Division
Dear Mr. Bittner,
I am applying for the Locomotive Engineer vacancy on your Harrisburg division. I hold certification in train service under 49 CFR part 240 and I am territorially qualified on four subdivisions totaling 340 route miles, including the Summit Subdivision with its 1.8 percent descending grade. I was last examined on the General Code of Operating Rules in June 2025.
Most of my 22 years have been mountain railroading, which is a particular kind of work. I run 8,000 to 11,000 ton manifest trains with dynamic braking and retainer practice on SD40-2, SD70M and ES44AC power, under centralized traffic control and track warrant control. As road foreman of engines I run our efficiency testing program across two divisions, conduct annual engineer evaluations and check rides, and have trained 14 engineers from classroom through solo qualification, 12 of them still in train service. After reviewing two undesired emergency events on the Summit Subdivision I rewrote the heavy grade train handling instruction, and there has been no repeat event on that territory since 2022.
Your Harrisburg division runs the eastern approach to territory I already know from the Juniata Subdivision, and I understand you are rebuilding the engineer training pipeline after the retirements of the last two years. That is the work I would most want to be part of, whether as an engineer taking a job on the seniority roster or in a training capacity alongside it.
My operating record is clear: no operating rules violation in 22 years, no reportable train accident and no decertification event. I am available at 30 days' notice and I live within the Altoona to Harrisburg corridor. Thank you for your time.
Sincerely, Kazimierz Dziedzic
Summary
A train operator cover letter names the class you are certified in, the subdivisions you are qualified on, and one operating fact that shows what kind of railroading you have done. This guide gives you a full adaptable letter, what changes when you are applying to a railroad whose territory you do not hold, and the openings that get a file read to the end.
Train Operator cover letter examples by experience level
A train operator cover letter is a one-page letter that tells a railroad what class you are certified in, which territory you already hold, and what kind of railroading is behind those two facts.
Railroads hire against specific jobs on specific subdivisions. The reader is usually a manager of operating practices or a road foreman, and their first question is whether you can be crewed without a re-qualification. A letter that answers it in the opening sentence has done more than three paragraphs of enthusiasm.
Guide to a train operator cover letter
This guide and the corresponding train operator cover letter example will cover:
- How to structure the letter, paragraph by paragraph
- Why the certification class and the territory belong in the first two sentences
- What to write when you do not hold the railroad's territory
- What counts as evidence in a craft with no sales figures
- The openings that get a file read to the end
How to write a train operator cover letter
| Paragraph | Its job | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Opening | The job, the certification class, and the territory you hold | 2 to 3 sentences |
| Evidence | One operating fact, one record, one thing you improved | 4 to 5 sentences |
| Fit | Something specific about this railroad, and what you would take on | 3 to 4 sentences |
| Close | Rules examination date, availability, thank you | 2 sentences |
Open with the class and the subdivision, in those words
The Federal Railroad Administration certifies locomotive engineers under 49 CFR part 240, and § 240.107 sets out three classes: train service, locomotive servicing and student. They are not ranks and a reader cannot guess which one you hold.
Territorial qualification under § 240.7 is knowledge of a railroad's operating rules and timetable special instructions, including familiarity with the physical characteristics of the track. It is specific to one railroad and one territory, which is why naming yours is useful. Open with both: "I am a certified locomotive engineer in train service, qualified on the Summit and Juniata Subdivisions and the Tyrone Secondary." Two facts, one sentence, and the reader can place you.
A train operator cover letter example you can adapt
Dear Mr. Bittner,
I am applying for the Locomotive Engineer vacancy on your Harrisburg division. I hold certification in train service under 49 CFR part 240 and I am territorially qualified on four subdivisions totaling 340 route miles, including the Summit Subdivision with its 1.8 percent descending grade. I was last examined on the General Code of Operating Rules in June 2025.
Most of my 22 years have been mountain railroading, which is a particular kind of work. I run 8,000 to 11,000 ton manifest trains with dynamic braking and retainer practice on SD40-2, SD70M and ES44AC power, under centralized traffic control and track warrant control. As road foreman of engines I run our efficiency testing program across two divisions, conduct annual engineer evaluations and check rides, and have trained 14 engineers from classroom through solo qualification, 12 of them still in train service. After reviewing two undesired emergency events on the Summit Subdivision I rewrote the heavy grade train handling instruction, and there has been no repeat event on that territory since 2022.
Your Harrisburg division runs the eastern approach to territory I already know from the Juniata Subdivision, and I understand you are rebuilding the engineer training pipeline after the retirements of the last two years. That is the work I would most want to be part of, whether as an engineer taking a job on the seniority roster or in a training capacity alongside it.
My operating record is clear: no operating rules violation in 22 years, no reportable train accident and no decertification event. I am available at 30 days' notice and I live within the Altoona to Harrisburg corridor. Thank you for your time.
Sincerely, Kazimierz Dziedzic
Openings that work
| Instead of | Use |
|---|---|
| I am writing to express my interest in your locomotive engineer opening | I am a certified locomotive engineer in train service, qualified on four subdivisions |
| I have many years of railroad experience | Twenty-two years, most of it mountain railroading over a 1.8 percent descending grade |
| I have an excellent safety record | No operating rules violation in 22 years, no reportable train accident, no decertification event |
| I am familiar with operating rules | Last examined on the General Code of Operating Rules in June 2025 |
What counts as evidence in this craft
Train service produces no revenue figures, but every tour produces facts a railroader recognizes.
| Kind of evidence | What it looks like in a sentence |
|---|---|
| Territory | Four subdivisions, 340 route miles, including a 1.8 percent descending grade |
| Train handling | 8,000 to 11,000 ton manifest trains with dynamic braking and retainer practice |
| Record | No operating rules violation in 22 years and no reportable train accident |
| People | Fourteen engineers trained to solo qualification, twelve still in train service |
| Something you fixed | Rewrote the heavy grade train handling instruction; no repeat undesired emergency since 2022 |
When you do not hold the railroad's territory
Say what you are qualified on anyway, because qualifying on four territories is evidence that you can qualify on a fifth. Name the signal and authority systems you have worked, since those transfer as familiarity even when the territory does not. Give the rule book you were examined on and the year. State your operating record as facts with a period attached, because § 240.109 requires the railroad to review prior safety conduct before certifying you and the question is coming either way. Address a named person; managers of operating practices and road foremen are usually listed publicly.
Do not write "certified engineer" without the class from § 240.107. Do not summarize territories as a region when the subdivision names are what a reader is matching against. Do not describe operating a train in words any applicant could use. Do not leave a furlough or a period on another craft unexplained, since railroads verify service records. Do not send a letter with no railroad name in it.
A narrow door into a well paid occupation
Railroad workers held 80,500 jobs in 2025, with employment projected to grow 1 percent through 2035, slower than the average for all occupations, and about 6,100 openings a year on average over the decade (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, Railroad Workers, published 27 August 2026).
The median annual wage was $78,820, or $37.90 an hour, with locomotive engineers at $81,410 and railroad conductors and yardmasters at $78,000 as of May 2025 (BLS, published 27 August 2026).
Six thousand openings a year against eighty thousand jobs means a railroad is almost never hiring in general. It is filling a named job on a named territory, and the letter that names a territory back is the one that gets read to the end.
Length, format and sending it
One page, four paragraphs, 250 to 400 words. PDF unless the application portal says otherwise, named for yourself and the job: kazimierz-dziedzic-locomotive-engineer-cover-letter.pdf.
Address a person. Managers of operating practices and superintendents appear in railroad announcements and on division pages, and "Dear Hiring Manager" on an otherwise specific letter reads as one sent to five railroads.
Use the same facts as your resume so the two agree. Our train operator resume example is written with the territories and numbers used here, and the free ATS checker will tell you whether the portal can read either file.
Key takeaways
- Name the certification class from § 240.107 in the first sentence.
- Name the subdivisions you are qualified on, with end points or route miles.
- Give one train handling fact: tonnage, grade, braking practice, power.
- Name the signal and authority systems, because they transfer even when territory does not.
- State the operating record as facts with a period attached.
- Name one real thing the railroad is doing, taken from their own announcements.
- Give the rule book and the year you were last examined on it.
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Train operator cover letter questions, answered
How long should a train operator cover letter be?
One page, four paragraphs, 250 to 400 words. A manager of operating practices is reading between check rides and investigations, and length does not read as effort.
Do I need a cover letter if the railroad uses an application portal?
Attach one wherever there is a field for it. The portal collects the same structured data from every applicant. The letter is the only place you can name your territories, explain a furlough, or say that you would take on training work alongside a job.
What do I write if I have never worked for a railroad?
Write whatever shows you can hold a rules-governed, shift-based safety job: commercial driving, military service, plant operating or track work. The Handbook records a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education for railroad workers, with moderate-term on-the-job training after hire (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, published 27 August 2026), so a railroad expects to train you.
Should I mention my operating record in the letter?
Yes, as facts with a period attached: years without an operating rules violation, reportable accidents and decertification events. Section 240.109 requires the railroad to evaluate prior safety conduct before certifying you, including operating rules compliance under § 240.117, so the review happens whatever you write.
How do I apply to a railroad whose territory I do not hold?
Lead with the territories you do hold and the number of them, because qualifying repeatedly is the transferable evidence. Then name the authority and signal systems you have worked and the rule book you were examined on. Finish by saying you are ready to qualify on their territory and how quickly you could start, which is the answer the reader is looking for.