Rail yard engineers: Salary, career path, job outlook, education and more
Rail yard engineers operate train engines within the rail yard. They move locomotives between tracks to keep the trains organized and on schedule. Some operate small locomotives called dinkeys. Sometimes, rail yard engineers are called hostlers and drive locomotives to and from maintenance shops or prepare them for the locomotive engineer. Some use remote locomotive technology to move freight cars within the rail yards.
- Education Required
- Rail companies typically require a high school diploma or equivalent, especially for locomotive engineers and conductors.
- Training Required
- Locomotive engineers generally receive 2 to 3 months of on-the-job training before they can operate a train on their own. Typically, this training involves riding with an experienced engineer who teaches them the characteristics of that particular train route.
- Job Outlook
-
The projected percent change in employment from 2016 to 2026: -3% (Decline)
(The average growth rate for all occupations is 7 percent.) - Advancement
- Rail yard engineers, switch operators, and signal operators can advance to become conductors or yardmasters. Some conductors or yardmasters advance to become locomotive engineers.
- Licenses/Certifications
- Locomotive engineers must be certified by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). The certification, conducted by the railroad that employs them, involves a written knowledge test, a skills test, and a supervisor determining that the engineer understands all physical aspects of the particular route on which he or she will be operating.
- Median pay: How much do Railroad Workers make?
- $57,160 Annual Salary
- $27.48 per hour
Careers for Railroad Workers
- Coal tram drivers
- Conductors
- Diesel locomotive firers
- Dinkey drivers
- Dinkey engine firers
- Dinkey operators
- Engine hostlers
- Freight brake operators
- Freight conductors
- Freight engineers
- Locomotive engineers
- Locomotive firers
- Locomotive switch operators
- Passenger car conductors
- Railcar switchers
- Railroad brake operators
- Railroad brake, signal, or switch operators
- Railroad engineers
- Railroad firers
- Railway engineers
- Railway switch operators
- Switch couplers
- Train brake operators
- Train conductors
- Train engineers
- Yard conductors
- Yard hostlers
- Yardmasters