Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operator Lay, repair, and maintain track for standard or narrow-gauge railroad equipment used in regular railroad service or in plant yards, quarries, sand and gravel pits, and mines. Includes ballast cleaning machine operators and railroad bed tamping machine operators.
Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operator is Also Know as
In different settings, Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operator is titled as
- Machine Operator
- Rail Maintenance Worker
- Track Equipment Operator (TEO)
- Track Inspector
- Track Laborer
- Track Maintainer
- Track Repairer
- Track Walker
- Trackman
Education and Training of Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operator
Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operator is categorized in Job Zone Two: Some Preparation Needed
Experience Required for Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operator
Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is usually needed. For example, a teller would benefit from experience working directly with the public.
Education Required for Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operator
These occupations usually require a high school diploma.
Degrees Related to Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operator
- Bachelor in Construction/Heavy Equipment/Earthmoving Equipment
- Associate Degree Courses in Construction/Heavy Equipment/Earthmoving Equipment
- Masters Degree Courses in Construction/Heavy Equipment/Earthmoving Equipment
Training Required for Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operator
Employees in these occupations need anywhere from a few months to one year of working with experienced employees. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
Related Ocuupations
Some Ocuupations related to Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operator in different industries are
- Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators
- Millwrights
- Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators
- Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Except Engines
- Pile Driver Operators
- Rail Car Repairers
- Construction Laborers
- Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining
- Hoist and Winch Operators
- Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas
- Highway Maintenance Workers
- Continuous Mining Machine Operators
- Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers
- Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand
- Riggers
- Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators
- Roustabouts, Oil and Gas
- Electric Motor, Power Tool, and Related Repairers
- Rotary Drill Operators, Oil and Gas
- Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers
What Do Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operator do?
- Patrol assigned track sections so that damaged or broken track can be located and reported.
- Clean tracks or clear ice or snow from tracks or switch boxes.
- Repair or adjust track switches, using wrenches and replacement parts.
- Lubricate machines, change oil, or fill hydraulic reservoirs to specified levels.
- Dress and reshape worn or damaged railroad switch points or frogs, using portable power grinders.
- Cut rails to specified lengths, using rail saws.
- Raise rails, using hydraulic jacks, to allow for tie removal and replacement.
- Adjust controls of machines that spread, shape, raise, level, or align track, according to specifications.
- Drill holes through rails, tie plates, or fishplates for insertion of bolts or spikes, using power drills.
- Grind ends of new or worn rails to attain smooth joints, using portable grinders.
- Operate track wrenches to tighten or loosen bolts at joints that hold ends of rails together.
- Observe leveling indicator arms to verify levelness and alignment of tracks.
- Operate single- or multiple-head spike driving machines to drive spikes into ties and secure rails.
- Engage mechanisms that lay tracks or rails to specified gauges.
- Clean or make minor repairs to machines or equipment.
- Clean, grade, or level ballast on railroad tracks.
- Drive graders, tamping machines, brooms, or ballast spreading machines to redistribute gravel or ballast between rails.
- Operate single- or multiple-head spike pullers to pull old spikes from ties.
- Drive vehicles that automatically move and lay tracks or rails over sections of track to be constructed, repaired, or maintained.
- Turn wheels of machines, using lever controls, to adjust guidelines for track alignments or grades, following specifications.
- Spray ties, fishplates, or joints with oil to protect them from weathering.
- Push controls to close grasping devices on track or rail sections so that they can be raised or moved.
- String and attach wire-guidelines machine to rails so that tracks or rails can be aligned or leveled.
- Operate tie-adzing machines to cut ties and permit insertion of fishplates that hold rails.
- Paint railroad signs, such as speed limits or gate-crossing warnings.
- Weld sections of track together, such as switch points and frogs.
Qualities of Good Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operator
- Control Precision: The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
- Multilimb Coordination: The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.
- Manual Dexterity: The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
- Reaction Time: The ability to quickly respond (with the hand, finger, or foot) to a signal (sound, light, picture) when it appears.
- Problem Sensitivity: The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
- Far Vision: The ability to see details at a distance.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness: The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
- Visualization: The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
- Flexibility of Closure: The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
- Near Vision: The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
- Depth Perception: The ability to judge which of several objects is closer or farther away from you, or to judge the distance between you and an object.
- Static Strength: The ability to exert maximum muscle force to lift, push, pull, or carry objects.
- Perceptual Speed: The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.
- Rate Control: The ability to time your movements or the movement of a piece of equipment in anticipation of changes in the speed and/or direction of a moving object or scene.
- Finger Dexterity: The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
- Response Orientation: The ability to choose quickly between two or more movements in response to two or more different signals (lights, sounds, pictures). It includes the speed with which the correct response is started with the hand, foot, or other body part.
- Trunk Strength: The ability to use your abdominal and lower back muscles to support part of the body repeatedly or continuously over time without "giving out" or fatiguing.
- Extent Flexibility: The ability to bend, stretch, twist, or reach with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Dynamic Strength: The ability to exert muscle force repeatedly or continuously over time. This involves muscular endurance and resistance to muscle fatigue.
- Selective Attention: The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
- Information Ordering: The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
- Deductive Reasoning: The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
- Auditory Attention: The ability to focus on a single source of sound in the presence of other distracting sounds.
- Oral Comprehension: The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
- Gross Body Coordination: The ability to coordinate the movement of your arms, legs, and torso together when the whole body is in motion.
- Inductive Reasoning: The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
- Hearing Sensitivity: The ability to detect or tell the differences between sounds that vary in pitch and loudness.
- Stamina: The ability to exert yourself physically over long periods of time without getting winded or out of breath.
- Oral Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
- Visual Color Discrimination: The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness.
- Glare Sensitivity: The ability to see objects in the presence of a glare or bright lighting.
- Speech Recognition: The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
- Speech Clarity: The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
- Written Comprehension: The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
- Category Flexibility: The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
- Time Sharing: The ability to shift back and forth between two or more activities or sources of information (such as speech, sounds, touch, or other sources).
- Speed of Limb Movement: The ability to quickly move the arms and legs.
- Speed of Closure: The ability to quickly make sense of, combine, and organize information into meaningful patterns.
- Gross Body Equilibrium: The ability to keep or regain your body balance or stay upright when in an unstable position.
- Spatial Orientation: The ability to know your location in relation to the environment or to know where other objects are in relation to you.
- Fluency of Ideas: The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
- Written Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
- Wrist-Finger Speed: The ability to make fast, simple, repeated movements of the fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Originality: The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
- Number Facility: The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.
- Mathematical Reasoning: The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
- Memorization: The ability to remember information such as words, numbers, pictures, and procedures.
- Peripheral Vision: The ability to see objects or movement of objects to one's side when the eyes are looking ahead.
- Explosive Strength: The ability to use short bursts of muscle force to propel oneself (as in jumping or sprinting), or to throw an object.
- Night Vision: The ability to see under low-light conditions.
- Sound Localization: The ability to tell the direction from which a sound originated.
- Dynamic Flexibility: The ability to quickly and repeatedly bend, stretch, twist, or reach out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Tools Used by Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operator
- Adjustable hand wrenches
- Air drills
- Air purifying respirators
- Air-powered wrenches
- Backhoes
- Claw bars
- Crowbars
- Dollies
- Dump trucks
- Fall protection harnesses
- Forklifts
- Gas-powered wrenches
- Global positioning system GPS receivers
- Grading equipment
- Grease guns
- Handheld computers
- Hard hats
- Hi-rail vehicles
- Hydraulic jacks
- Jackhammers
- Laptop computers
- Light pickup trucks
- Oxyacetylene torches
- Pesticide sprayers
- Picks
- Pneumatic hammers
- Portable track loading fixtures
- Power grinders
- Power washers
- Precision files
- Precision tape measures
- Protective ear plugs
- Rail benders
- Rail drills
- Rail profile grinders
- Rail saws
- Rail tongs
- Rail-mounted cranes
- Safety glasses
- Safety gloves
- Shielded arc welding tools
- Shovels
- Spike pullers
- Tamping machines
- Track chisels
- Track-wrench machines
- Tracked bulldozers
- Vernier calipers
- Weed cutters
- Welders
Technology Skills required for Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operator
- Enterprise resource planning ERP software
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Office software
- Timekeeping software