Railroad Conductors and Yardmaster Coordinate activities of switch-engine crew within railroad yard, industrial plant, or similar location. Conductors coordinate activities of train crew on passenger or freight trains. Yardmasters review train schedules and switching orders and coordinate activities of workers engaged in railroad traffic operations, such as the makeup or breakup of trains and yard switching.
Railroad Conductors and Yardmaster is Also Know as
In different settings, Railroad Conductors and Yardmaster is titled as
- Conductor
- Freight Conductor
- Railroad Conductor
- Train Master
- Trainman
- Yardmaster
Education and Training of Railroad Conductors and Yardmaster
Railroad Conductors and Yardmaster is categorized in Job Zone Two: Some Preparation Needed
Experience Required for Railroad Conductors and Yardmaster
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 Railroad Conductors and Yardmaster
These occupations usually require a high school diploma.
Degrees Related to Railroad Conductors and Yardmaster
- Bachelor in Railroad and Railway Transportation
- Associate Degree Courses in Railroad and Railway Transportation
- Masters Degree Courses in Railroad and Railway Transportation
Training Required for Railroad Conductors and Yardmaster
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 Railroad Conductors and Yardmaster in different industries are
- Locomotive Engineers
- Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers
- Rail Yard Engineers, Dinkey Operators, and Hostlers
- Subway and Streetcar Operators
- Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and Ambulance
- First-Line Supervisors of Material-Moving Machine and Vehicle Operators
- Transportation Vehicle, Equipment and Systems Inspectors, Except Aviation
- Air Traffic Controllers
- Traffic Technicians
- Airfield Operations Specialists
- Transportation Inspectors
- Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors
- Transit and Railroad Police
- Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity
- Power Distributors and Dispatchers
- First-Line Supervisors of Passenger Attendants
- Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers
- Signal and Track Switch Repairers
- Highway Maintenance Workers
- Ship Engineers
What Do Railroad Conductors and Yardmaster do?
- Signal engineers to begin train runs, stop trains, or change speed, using telecommunications equipment or hand signals.
- Receive information regarding train or rail problems from dispatchers or from electronic monitoring devices.
- Direct and instruct workers engaged in yard activities, such as switching tracks, coupling and uncoupling cars, and routing inbound and outbound traffic.
- Keep records of the contents and destination of each train car, and make sure that cars are added or removed at proper points on routes.
- Operate controls to activate track switches and traffic signals.
- Instruct workers to set warning signals in front and at rear of trains during emergency stops.
- Direct engineers to move cars to fit planned train configurations, combining or separating cars to make up or break up trains.
- Receive instructions from dispatchers regarding trains' routes, timetables, and cargoes.
- Review schedules, switching orders, way bills, and shipping records to obtain cargo loading and unloading information and to plan work.
- Confer with engineers regarding train routes, timetables, and cargoes, and to discuss alternative routes when there are rail defects or obstructions.
- Arrange for the removal of defective cars from trains at stations or stops.
- Inspect each car periodically during runs.
- Observe yard traffic to determine tracks available to accommodate inbound and outbound traffic.
- Document and prepare reports of accidents, unscheduled stops, or delays.
- Confirm routes and destination information for freight cars.
- Supervise and coordinate crew activities to transport freight and passengers and to provide boarding, porter, maid, and meal services to passengers.
- Supervise workers in the inspection and maintenance of mechanical equipment to ensure efficient and safe train operation.
- Record departure and arrival times, messages, tickets and revenue collected, and passenger accommodations and destinations.
- Inspect freight cars for compliance with sealing procedures, and record car numbers and seal numbers.
- Collect tickets, fares, or passes from passengers.
- Verify accuracy of timekeeping instruments with engineers to ensure trains depart on time.
- Instruct workers to regulate air conditioning, lighting, and heating in passenger cars to ensure passengers' comfort.
Qualities of Good Railroad Conductors and Yardmaster
- Oral Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
- Oral Comprehension: The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
- 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.
- Speech Clarity: The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
- Speech Recognition: The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
- Far Vision: The ability to see details at a distance.
- Near Vision: The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
- 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.
- Inductive Reasoning: The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
- Written Comprehension: The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
- Reaction Time: The ability to quickly respond (with the hand, finger, or foot) to a signal (sound, light, picture) when it appears.
- Category Flexibility: The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
- 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.
- Visualization: The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
- Selective Attention: The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
- Auditory Attention: The ability to focus on a single source of sound in the presence of other distracting sounds.
- Written Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
- Control Precision: The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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).
- 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.
- Hearing Sensitivity: The ability to detect or tell the differences between sounds that vary in pitch and loudness.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Speed of Closure: The ability to quickly make sense of, combine, and organize information into meaningful patterns.
- Visual Color Discrimination: The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness.
- 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.
- Gross Body Equilibrium: The ability to keep or regain your body balance or stay upright when in an unstable position.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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).
- Static Strength: The ability to exert maximum muscle force to lift, push, pull, or carry 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.
- Stamina: The ability to exert yourself physically over long periods of time without getting winded or out of breath.
- Extent Flexibility: The ability to bend, stretch, twist, or reach with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Spatial Orientation: The ability to know your location in relation to the environment or to know where other objects are in relation to you.
- Gross Body Coordination: The ability to coordinate the movement of your arms, legs, and torso together when the whole body is in motion.
- Speed of Limb Movement: The ability to quickly move the arms and legs.
- Mathematical Reasoning: The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
- Number Facility: The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.
- Memorization: The ability to remember information such as words, numbers, pictures, and procedures.
- Glare Sensitivity: The ability to see objects in the presence of a glare or bright lighting.
- Peripheral Vision: The ability to see objects or movement of objects to one's side when the eyes are looking ahead.
- Dynamic Strength: The ability to exert muscle force repeatedly or continuously over time. This involves muscular endurance and resistance to muscle fatigue.
- Night Vision: The ability to see under low-light conditions.
- Sound Localization: The ability to tell the direction from which a sound originated.
- Wrist-Finger Speed: The ability to make fast, simple, repeated movements of the fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Dynamic Flexibility: The ability to quickly and repeatedly bend, stretch, twist, or reach out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Explosive Strength: The ability to use short bursts of muscle force to propel oneself (as in jumping or sprinting), or to throw an object.
Tools Used by Railroad Conductors and Yardmaster
- Adjustable wrenches
- Automatic container locks
- Bridge plates
- Cable sheath cutters
- Car pullers
- Desktop computers
- Intercom systems
- Laptop computers
- Locking ratchet wrenches
- Mainframe computers
- Personal computers
- Portable bar code scanners
- Portable satellite communications systems
- Radio frequency identification RFID devices
- Starter punches
- Switch adjusting wrenches
- Switching system controls
- Terminal wrenches
- Tie-down winches
- Two way radios
- Ultra high frequency UHF radio communication systems
- Uncoupling levers
- Weigh-in-motion scales
Technology Skills required for Railroad Conductors and Yardmaster
- Automated equipment identification AEI software
- Bourque Data Systems YardMaster
- Freight reservation software
- Inventory tracking software
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Office software
- Microsoft Outlook
- Microsoft PowerPoint
- Microsoft Word
- Positive train control PTC systems
- RailComm DocYard
- SAIC government services and IT support software
- Softrail AEI Automatic Yard Tracking System
- Softrail AEI Rail & Road Manager