Pros
The Core Values are actually really helpful and have great long-term impacts if done correctly (Standard Work, A3 problem solving, etc) The long-term monetary perks are pretty enticing (from a non-union standpoint) Safety is honestly a big deal to the company Interesting co-workers If you learn a lot and acquire a good enough reputation, you MAY be able to finally settle in the promised land in the Omaha office, which you can work 40 hour weeks Monday-Friday. The Omaha office employees (or at least a few departments) really try to put an effort to change the current railroad culture outside of their safe haven. In my experience, I also appreciated how they did their best to warn me of the culture shock I was about to receive when I started working in the field. Every day is different. Some may not enjoy this, but I loved the variety.
Cons
The hours can be brutal. My shop's managers worked a salaried 55+ hour work week, half of us were the night shift managers w/ 12-13 hour shifts. This means you'll be lucky to have 1 rest-day that falls on a 'normal' weekend (Fri, Sat, Sun). At my shop, if you took a vacation day, that usually meant that another manager had to come in off their rest day to cover your shift. In the case that an older manager takes a week off, you may be working 7-9 consecutive days. As much as my management raved about the annual salary, I only saw ~61% of my paycheck (assuming no 401k contribution), which is the the downside of railroad retirement :( If working as a non-Omaha manager, prepare to relocate to a random location every 1-2 years (if you perform your job really well or are hated by your coworkers at your current location). IF you were hired as a manager right after graduating college, you will be resented and disliked by quite a few union workers. By all means, this isn't a deal breaker, but you'll have to learn how to improve union relations right off the bat. It was interesting to see the management vs. union struggles during my time with Union Pacific.