Skilled Trades
Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers
Operate or monitor railroad track switches or locomotive instruments. May couple or uncouple rolling stock to make up or break up trains. Watch for and relay traffic signals. May inspect couplings, air hoses, journal boxes, and hand brakes. May watch for dragging equipment or obstacles on rights-of-way.
Median salary
$65,480
Typical range
$44k – $81k
Job outlook
+1% (about average)
AI exposure
Plan a path to Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers
Education
Typical entry: No degree required
Plan my path to this →Typical progression
Junior Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers
Entry / Junior
$43,750
~2 yrs to advance
Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers
Established
$65,480
~3 yrs to advance
Senior Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers
Senior
$73,160
Key skills
A typical day
- •Observe train signals along routes and verify their meanings for engineers.
- •Signal locomotive engineers to start or stop trains when coupling or uncoupling cars, using hand signals, lanterns, or radio communication.
- •Pull or push track switches to reroute cars.
- •Observe signals from other crew members so that work activities can be coordinated.
- •Monitor trains as they go around curves to detect dragging equipment and smoking journal boxes.
Fields of study
Any field
Top colleges for Skilled Trades
Explore all- Purdue University50% admit · $78,000 grad pay
- Ohio State University53% admit · $68,000 grad pay
- Pennsylvania State University55% admit · $70,000 grad pay
Reputation-based selection; stats shown are outcome data per school.