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SCOTT JAGOW: If you’re looking for a job or career change, why not work the railroad? Here’s Brian Watt.

BRIAN WATT: The rail freight industry has employed a lot of Baby Boomers and now many can hear the retirement whistle blowing.

ROY SCHROER: What the whole country will experience in the next 5 to 10 years, it’s starting to occur in the railroad industry right now.

That’s Roy Schroer. He’s in charge of recruiting at Union Pacific, the country’s largest freight carrier.

He needs to hire some 5,000 workers a year for the next several years.

SCHROER: We’re working close with the military for transitioning folks coming out of the military. We’ve been very active at all the various Ford plants that have been shutting down.

And this comes at a time when demand for freight services is picking up speed. High fuel prices have shippers moving their loads off of trucks and onto trains

I’m Brian Watt for Marketplace.