Brakeman

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A Santa Fe Railroad brakeman atop a train that has paused at Cajon, California, to cool its brakes after descending Cajon Pass in March 1943.

A brakeman is a trainboard rail transport worker. Historically, the brakeman was the person who would walk the length of a train atop the cars while the train is in motion and turn the brake wheel on each car to apply the train's brakes. A brakeman's duties also included ensuring that the couplings between cars were properly set, lining switches and signalling to the train operators while performing switching operations.

As rail transport technology improved, a brakeman's duties have been reduced and altered to match the updated technology, and the brakeman's job has become much safer than it was in the early days of railroading. Individually operated car brakes were replaced with automatic air brakes, eliminating the need for the brakeman to walk atop a moving train to set the brakes. Link and pin couplings were replaced with automatic couplings, and hand signals were replaced with two-way radio communication.

[edit] Duties

Freight and yard crews consisting of conductor, engineer and brakeman usually employ the brakeman in throwing hand operated track switches to lineup for switching moves and assisting in cuts and hitches as cars are dropped off and picked up.

In passenger service, the brakeman (called trainman or assistant conductor) collects revenue, may operate door "through switches" for specific platforming needs, makes announcements and operates trainline door open and close controls when required to assist the conductor. A passenger service trainman is often required to qualify as a conductor after 1 to 2 years experience. The rear end trainman signals to the conductor when all the train's doors are safely closed, then boards and closes his/her door.

[edit] In popular culture

Jimmie Rodgers was a brakeman for railroads in the American Midwest before making a name for himself as a guitarist and singer. He capitalized on his railroad experience, using the title "the singing brakeman."

Bright Eyes wrote a song called "If The Brakeman Turns My Way" that appears on the 2007 album Cassadaga