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. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (AAR reporting marks ATSF), often abbreviated as Santa Fe, was one of the largest railroads in the United States. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ... Cajon Pass (elevation 4190 ft. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... It has been suggested that Local trains be merged into this article or section. ... A railroad car (or, more briefly, car, not to be confused with railcar), also known as an item of rolling stock, is a vehicle on a railroad (or railway) that is not a locomotive — one that provides another purpose than purely haulage, although some types of car are powered. ... Knuckle (AAR Type E) couplers in use AAR Type E railroad car coupling A coupling (or a coupler) is a mechanism for connecting railway cars in a train. ... A railroad switch is a mechanical installation enabling trains to be guided from one set of rail tracks (or tramway tracks) to another. ...

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. Piping diagram from 1920 of a Westinghouse E-T Air Brake system. ...

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.

See also

• Jimmie Rodgers "the singing brakeman."

• Bright Eyes "when the brakeman turns my way."

‹ The template below has been proposed for deletion. ... Bright Eyes is a band consisting of singer-songwriter/guitarist Conor Oberst, multi-instrumentalist/producer Mike Mogis, Nate Walcott, and a rotating lineup of collaborators drawn primarily from Omahas indie music scene. ...

References