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{{smallcaps|Railroad Brakeman}}: Notably remembered for having to walk along the top of the cars and stopping the train by manually turning the braking wheels. The brakeman also handled car couplings and track switches. This was a dangerous job in terms of life and limb, eventually made somewhat safer with the invention of air brakes and automatic couplings. The Railroad Brakeman is the train employee most likely to get into a [[Traintop Battle]].
{{smallcaps|Railroad Conductor}}: Also known as a Guard in [[Separated
* "Mr. Conductor" from ''[[Shining Time Station]]'', though [[The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything|he never seems to do any actual conducting]].
* ''[[Young Frankenstein]]''. Frederick rides in two trains, one in the U.S. and the other in Transylvania. The conductor is exactly the same guy in both trains, except he's wearing a different uniform. See it on YouTube, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgGGx2Or0Wc starting at 3:45].
* The ''Flying Pussyfoot'' of ''[[
{{smallcaps|Railroad Engineer}}: The "driver" of a train. He's responsible for the maintenance of the engine, controls its speed, and requires an intimate knowledge of the route and its peculiarities.
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{{smallcaps|Signalman}}: A fairly important position, because they regulated the movement of trains so they wouldn't crash into each other. In olden days, they would work in a signalbox alongside the tracks, moving levers to operate points and signals. Today, railway signals are mostly automatic and computer-controlled, but rail traffic controllers are still very important.
* [[
{{smallcaps|Railroad Laborer}}: One of the many, many people responsible for building and maintaining the rails of the railroad. The most famous of these is John Henry of man vs. machine contest notoriety. An important subset of these workers were "gandy dancers", groups of men who would realign the rails using metal rods known as "gandys". A substantial number of laborers in [[The Wild West]] were from China, and they have their own page at [[Chinese Laborer]]. In the United Kingdom, these workers were known as "navvies" or navigators. The term comes from the days of canals, which were known as "eternal navigations".
* There is a very good description of what the builders did in one of the ''[[Little House
* Gordon Lightfoot's ''Canadian Railroad Trilogy'' is about building the Trans-Canada Line.
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