Just on the remote chance that I'm not responding to a troll, I'd have to say that the system apparently worked exactly as it should have in your case, and that's best for you, the company, and most of all the individuals who would have had to work with you.

Working on the railroad is the last place you belong if you can't competently master the required skills, remember the rules well enough to pass some easy tests (yes, they're easy if you study), and stay focused on what you are supposed to be doing. The latter is generally referred to as situational awareness, and lapses in this department will come back to bite you and those you're working with quicker than anything else on the railroad, at least from my experience. Those individuals trying to train you had every right to be irate, and I would hope that the frustration and concern that they experienced was clearly expressed in the performance/rating sheets they completed on you at the end of the shift.

I've been in several "new hire" classes, and I don't recall a single one where everyone made it over the hump, thank God. And I don't know if railfans have more problems out there than non-railfans; I tend to think those who don't suppress the hobby side just sort of stand out, and when something does happen, it reaffirms the stereotype, right or wrong.

My experience with Class 1's (NS; BNSF) has been that they will not hire you if they have the remotest inkling that you're a fan; however, that was one of the questions when I interviewed with the WC, and my affirmative response did not keep me from being employed. It really depends on the company and the interviewer, and if you lie, they will find out.

Don't kid yourself, there are a lot of railfans working out there, but the successful ones maintain a low profile, leave the fan aspect at home and are professional railroaders at work. That last point was what mattered most to me, in the way I approached my job and who I chose to work with, when choice was an option.

Good luck in finding a career completely separate from your avocation.