a train crewmember who performs railcar and track management; often a single job description along with switchman ("brakeman/switchman"). Originally a brakeman performed manual activation of brakes on railroad cars before the advent of the air brake.

View pictures relating to railroads at Wisconsin Historical Images.

Learn More

Dictionary of Wisconsin History

Explore more than 1,600 people, places and events in Wisconsin history.

[Source: "Rail terminology" at Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rail_terminology)]