Brakemen

[Anonymous]

what do brakemen do on a railroad because i dont hear much about them?

[edbenton]

They have all but disappered now. Before the invention of airbrakes they actually ran along the tops of the cars spinning the brake wheels to stop the train. After airbrakes were devolped they were used to flag crossings and also rear end protection for a breakdown. Also they were the ones who had to replace knuckles in couplers when they broke.

[Anonymous]

help with switch moves. Sure makes it alot faster and easier to have a second man on the ground when switching. Also gets the heck outta the way faster so the DS can get back to runnin trains if it is a local or roadswitcher.

[tatans]

then what did a switchman do?

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by tatans

then what did a switchman do?

switchmen generally are confined to the yard.

[edblysard]

Switchmen do just that...they man and line switches and switch out trains in yards...although depending on the railroad they are also used as road conductors, as is the case on my railroad.
We have to qualify as conductors, because we operate on BNSF and UP tracks, through CTC and ABS systems.

Technically, I am a Switch Engine foreman, and my helper is a switchman...I kick cars and he lines the switches.

But because my railroad also runs our own trains out of our terminals to industries along the ship channel, we are all qualified as freight conductors.

I act as a conductor, my switchman acts as a brakeman, with all the responsibilities and duties of the conductor’s title.

On a Class 1, switchmen work the major yards, switching out the inbounds and building the out bounds.

Ed

[tatans]

Are there absolutely no brakeman at all ?------ thanks for the answers @ switchmen, Now another comment, I saw a movie from Europe at a train station and in the scene behind a guy was tapping the wheels with a long handled hammer, we called these guys "knockers" Do they still exist???

[edblysard]

Car knockers modern day equivalent are today’s carmen, or car department, also know and the mechanical department. (depends on the railroad and location)
They no longer "knock" the wheels and listen for the dull tone, as opposed to the "bell ringing" a good wheel would produce.
Metallurgy has advanced to the point that cracked wheels are, while not unheard of, kinda rare.
Hot box and impact/wheel detectors on the Class 1 roads will pretty much catch all of them, and the way the wheels are made, and the steel they are made out of have virtually eliminated the problem.

Ed

[ValleyX]

There are occasionally brakemen assigned to local crews, where there is a great deal of work. A brakeman can help make the work go much faster. It's a tradeoff, how much work does the carrier want the local to get done or what are the job requirements of that particular local. Sometimes, one can't help but think that management has a unrealistic expectation of what they think one person should be able to accomplish but I speak as labor.

[Anonymous]

lol oh well when you talk about small railroads, the CORP in Oregon uses a brakeman as a driver betweens stops, as the engineer runs the train between the mills and the brakeman drives the company pickup and lines switches, lines the couplers and hooks up the airlines!!! Such is life on a small railroad is being inventive!!!

[Anonymous]

On a passenger r.r. the brakeman generally,but not always works the hind end of the train. He or she is the eyes and hands on a reverse move (if qualified) checking for switch line up,signals ,derails, crossing gates etc. They are also responsible for operating the doors, checking the platform as the train leaves the station,applying the hand brakes to the equipment when left in the yard,chocking wheels and anything else assingned to them by the conductor. They are a part of the team moving passengers safely across the road. A conductor and sometimes brakeman.

[Anonymous]

The same duties are preformed by both so a
Switchman = works in the yard
Brakeman = works on the road
When I started on the MoPac RR now the UPRR each train had a 5 man crew. Engineer,Fireman,and Brakeman on the engine. A Conductor and Brakeman on the caboose. With the advent of the EOT the crew was cut down to a Engineer,Conductor,and Brakeman all riding on the engine. Now there is only a Engineer and Conductor. Which the Conductor does the job of Brakemen now.
Carmen AKA "car knockers" don't hit the wheels with a hammer anymore due to the cast iron wheels being outlawed in the 1970's and a certain type of cast steel wheels( defective heat treatment) outlawed in the 1980's. But some still use a hammer to knock the backing rings(holds the rear grease seal in place) of the roller bearings.

[Eric Stuart]

Interesting subject. Shows how the industry has changed.
Us "old timers" can remember all these things, but it's good to pass the stuff on to those who have joined the hobby, so they can appreciate the past.
We had "wheel-tappers" in the UK, of course and I remember hearing the tapping as the chap went past, whilst the train was laying over at big stations. All part of the past that made travel so interesting.
I have an old book that tells of a typical trip from London to Glasgow (approx 400 miles). It tells how the train changed locos about three times on the way and all the meals the travellers had in the Restaurant Car. Now, its one loco or no loco at all (intergral train sets!) and often just a stand-up buffet on many journys of that length.
But, then, the train goes about 2-3 times as fast!!!

[usafrsq]

On the shortline I work on we use the brakeman as a training position to work up to conductor. the brakeman works on the ground with the conductor putting the train togather and switch it out at the end of the day. Brake test and all are inckuded in the training. Our brakeman is not our brake man ( who is the one who repairs the brakes).

[Eric Stuart]

Use of Brakeman job for training.
This came up in the topic of one-man crews the other day. A job may be un-necessary or not very important in its own right, but be good as a training position for new staff seeking promotion.
A second person on a train can be like that - learning the job off the senior man. Whilst there, s/he might as well do some of the jobs, as there's no better way of learning than doing things!!!
S/he can even drive the train under supervision by the senior person.
All good stuff.
Eric Stuart

[usafrsq]

We also use conductor as a way to see if crew members would be interested in possible engineer. two of our conductors are doing that now. and I know someone in UP who did it that way too.