Pros
Good hard working people. Most people there are salt of the earth locals whose families have been in the railroad industry for generations. Company has great benefits, and salaries are "decent" for that economically depressed area of NY State.
Cons
There is NO training for new employees in Engineering. No development. Produce immediately or be fired. During my time at the Hornell facility I watched as MANY good people were fired at the drop of a hat. It seemed like all you had to do was sneeze out loud to get fired! (I was not fired, by the way. I left on good terms... these are just my observations) Many are in management because they have been at the Hornell facility for 30 years, not because they are qualified. This leads to a serious "old boy" network at the place. While it is great to have that amount of experience at a company, most who are calling the shots from middle management down have never worked outside of that facility ever, and so they tend to not be open to "new" ideas and there is a prevailing attitude of "we've never done it that way before! It worked for us in 1987, it will work for us now!" Also, if you consider moving to the area to take a job at Alstom you need to be aware that Hornell, NY is a very economically depressed area of NY State. There is literally nothing there. The closest Walmart Super Center is almost 60 miles away. Visit the town before you make a decision, drive around the area. Most who take a job there from out of town choose to live near Rochester NY and travel the hour and 15 mins to work every day rather than live in or around Hornell, NY.