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A switchman (North America) or pointsman (British Isles) is a rail transport worker whose original job was to operate various
A switchman (North America) or pointsman (British Isles) is a rail transport worker whose original job was to operate various railway switch
A railroad switch (), turnout, or ''set ofpoints () is a mechanical installation enabling railway trains to be guided from one track to another, such as at a railway junction or where a spur or siding branches off.
The most common type ...
es or points on a railroad. It also refers to a person who assists in moving cars in a railway yard or terminal.
History
Working in railway yards or along sidings, during the pioneering years of rail transport, switchmen as a group suffered large numbers of grievous bodily injuries, including in particular crushing injuries and amputations, owing to their work in close proximity to moving trains. An early issue of ''Switchmen's Magazine'' recounted the work process for a general audience:"The vocation is the most dangerous of any of the different branches of railroading, and thatToday's switchman often works as part of three-member switching crew consisting of a Locomotive Engineer, Foreman and Switchman. The Foreman, in charge of the loading of rail cars, is responsible for giving direction to the switchman in order to ensure cars are lined into the correct track and blocked correctly with like cars scheduled to a similar destination, with the engineer in charge of moving the locomotive.ome Ome may refer to: Places * Ome (Bora Bora), a public island in the lagoon of Bora Bora * Ome, Lombardy, Italy, a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Brescia * Ōme, Tokyo, a city in the Prefecture of Tokyo * Ome (crater), a crater on Mars Tran ...live for years is only due to their extreme carefulness. The least misstep will often result in crippling a man for life. Their hours of work are long, and the labour very hard, and rain or shine they have to be at their posts. There is no protection for them from the rains of summer, nor the freezing winds and snows of winter. On their efficient work, the great commercial interests of the country largely depend, and only a little carelessness on their part may result in immense damage to the goods in transit, and an error in delivery sometimes causes the loss of an entire consignment of freight, if it happens to be perishable.""Old-Time Switchmen," ''Switchmen's Journal,'' vol. 1, no. 2 (June 1886), pg. 49.
See also
*Railway signalling
Railway signalling (), also called railroad signaling (), is a system used to control the movement of railway traffic. Trains move on fixed rails, making them uniquely susceptible to collision. This susceptibility is exacerbated by the enor ...
* Switchmen's Mutual Aid Association
* Switchmen's Union of North America
* United Transportation Union
Footnotes
{{rail-transport-stub Railway occupations