Rail Yard Engineers, Dinkey Operators, and Hostlers

• Summary

• Details

Work Activities

• Read switching instructions and daily car schedules to determine work to be performed, or receive orders from yard conductors.
• Operate flatcars equipped with derricks or railcars to transport personnel or equipment.
• Spot cars for loading and unloading at customer locations.
• Provide assistance in aligning drawbars, using available equipment to lift, pull, or push on the drawbars.
• Signal crew members for movement of engines or trains, using lanterns, hand signals, radios, or telephones.
• Receive, relay, and act upon instructions and inquiries from train operations and customer service center personnel.
• Read switching instructions and daily car schedules to determine work to be performed, or receive orders from yard conductors.
• Perform routine repair and maintenance duties.
• Record numbers of cars available, numbers of cars sent to repair stations, and types of service needed.
• Inspect the condition of stationary trains, rolling stock, and equipment.
• Report arrival and departure times, train delays, work order completion, and time on duty.
• Ride on moving cars by holding onto grab irons and standing on ladder steps.
• Apply and release hand brakes.
• Couple and uncouple air hoses and electrical connections between cars.
• Observe water levels and oil, air, and steam pressure gauges to ensure proper operation of equipment.
• Drive locomotives to and from various stations in roundhouses to have locomotives cleaned, serviced, repaired, or supplied.
• Observe and respond to wayside and cab signals, including color light signals, position signals, torpedoes, flags, and hot box detectors.
• Inspect engines before and after use to ensure proper operation.
• Confer with conductors and other workers via radiotelephones or computers to exchange switching information.
• Pull knuckles to open them for coupling.
• Operate track switches, derails, automatic switches, and retarders to change routing of train or cars.
• Couple and uncouple air hoses and electrical connections between cars.
• Inspect track for defects such as broken rails and switch malfunctions.
• Drive engines within railroad yards or other establishments to couple, uncouple, or switch railroad cars.
• Record numbers of cars available, numbers of cars sent to repair stations, and types of service needed.
• Provide assistance in the installation or repair of rails and ties.

Skills

• Operations Monitoring
  • Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
• Systems Evaluation
  • Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
• Management of Financial Resources
  • Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
• Management of Material Resources
  • Managing equipment and materials.
• Technology Design
  • Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
• Writing
  • Writing things for co-workers or customers.
• Mathematics
  • Using math to solve problems.
• Coordination
  • Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
• Active Listening
  • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
• Learning Strategies
  • Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
• Service Orientation
  • Looking for ways to help people.
• Repairing
  • Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
• Time Management
  • Managing your time and the time of other people.
• Programming
  • Writing computer programs.
• Equipment Maintenance
  • Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
• Systems Analysis
  • Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
• Operations Analysis
  • Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
• Active Learning
  • Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
• Instructing
  • Teaching people how to do something.
• Social Perceptiveness
  • Understanding people's reactions.
• Quality Control Analysis
  • Testing how well a product or service works.
• Troubleshooting
  • Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
• Installation
  • Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
• Critical Thinking
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
• Negotiation
  • Bringing people together to solve differences.
• Complex Problem Solving
  • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
• Judgment and Decision Making
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
• Speaking
  • Talking to others.
• Reading Comprehension
  • Reading work-related information.
• Equipment Selection
  • Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
• Operation and Control
  • Using equipment or systems.
• Management of Personnel Resources
  • Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
• Science
  • Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
• Persuasion
  • Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
• Monitoring
  • Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.

Abilities

• Problem Sensitivity
  • Noticing when problems happen.
• Number Facility
  • Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
• Memorization
  • Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
• Flexibility of Closure
  • Seeing hidden patterns.
• Control Precision
  • Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
• Gross Body Coordination
  • Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
• Written Comprehension
  • Reading and understanding what is written.
• Peripheral Vision
  • Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
• Visual Color Discrimination
  • Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
• Written Expression
  • Communicating by writing.
• Finger Dexterity
  • Putting together small parts with your fingers.
• Visualization
  • Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
• Multilimb Coordination
  • Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
• Explosive Strength
  • Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
• Selective Attention
  • Paying attention to something without being distracted.
• Response Orientation
  • Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
• Dynamic Strength
  • Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
• Far Vision
  • Seeing details that are far away.
• Oral Comprehension
  • Listening and understanding what people say.
• Speed of Limb Movement
  • Quickly moving your arms and legs.
• Fluency of Ideas
  • Coming up with lots of ideas.
• Originality
  • Creating new and original ideas.
• Deductive Reasoning
  • Using rules to solve problems.
• Information Ordering
  • Ordering or arranging things.
• Category Flexibility
  • Grouping things in different ways.
• Rate Control
  • Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
• Trunk Strength
  • Using your lower back and stomach.
• Arm-Hand Steadiness
  • Keeping your arm or hand steady.
• Stamina
  • Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
• Speech Clarity
  • Speaking clearly.
• Near Vision
  • Seeing details up close.
• Sound Localization
  • Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
• Extent Flexibility
  • Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
• Glare Sensitivity
  • Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
• Night Vision
  • Seeing at night or under low light.
• Speech Recognition
  • Recognizing spoken words.
• Oral Expression
  • Communicating by speaking.
• Dynamic Flexibility
  • Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
• Inductive Reasoning
  • Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
• Mathematical Reasoning
  • Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
• Speed of Closure
  • Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
• Perceptual Speed
  • Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
• Spatial Orientation
  • Knowing where things are around you.
• Static Strength
  • Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
• Time Sharing
  • Doing two or more things at the same time.
• Reaction Time
  • Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
• Gross Body Equilibrium
  • Keeping your balance or staying upright.
• Manual Dexterity
  • Holding or moving items with your hands.
• Wrist-Finger Speed
  • Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
• Auditory Attention
  • Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
• Hearing Sensitivity
  • Telling the difference between sounds.
• Depth Perception
  • Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.

Knowledge

• Medicine and Dentistry
  • Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
• History and Archeology
  • Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
• Education and Training
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• Telecommunications
  • Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
• Fine Arts
  • Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
• Physics
  • Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
• Customer and Personal Service
  • Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Mechanical
  • Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
• Mathematics
  • Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Economics and Accounting
  • Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
• Design
  • Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• Food Production
  • Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
• Chemistry
  • Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
• Sales and Marketing
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
• Building and Construction
  • Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
• Transportation
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
• Communications and Media
  • Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
• Philosophy and Theology
  • Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
• Biology
  • Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
• Engineering and Technology
  • Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
• Therapy and Counseling
  • Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
• Law and Government
  • Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• Production and Processing
  • Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
• Psychology
  • Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
• Administration and Management
  • Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• English Language
  • Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
• Geography
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
• Personnel and Human Resources
  • Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
• Public Safety and Security
  • Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
• Foreign Language
  • Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
• Sociology and Anthropology
  • Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
• Computers and Electronics
  • Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Administrative
  • Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

Education

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

1 to 12 months on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

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Education and Training Opportunities

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Pay

U.S. Annual Salary

58030/yr

U.S. Hourly Wage

27.9/hr

Washington Employment Trends

Currently Employed

170

Yearly Projected Openings

10

Personality

Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They do well at jobs that need:

• Cautiousness
• Attention to Detail
• Dependability
• Integrity
• Stress Tolerance

Tools

• Air hoses
• Capstan
• Cold chisels
• Derricks
• Diagonal cut pliers
• Diesel freight locomotives
• Drum openers
• Ear plugs
• Flags or accessories
• Flares
• Hammers
• Hand sprayers
• Hard hats
• Heavy rail turnout switch
• Kerosene or propane or natural gas or butane lantern
• Oil gauges
• Personal computers
• Pressure indicators
• Punches or nail sets or drifts
• Rail switching systems
• Railway rolling stock lifting jack
• Railway signaling systems
• Ratchets
• Safety boots
• Safety glasses
• Socket sets
• Specialty wrenches
• Temperature gauge
• Train braking systems
• Two way radios
• Utility knives
• Wheel chocks
• Winches
• Wire brushes

Technology

• Data base user interface and query software
• Expert system software
• Facilities management software
• Industrial control software
• Internet browser software
• Inventory management software