Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators

What the job really is

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.

At a glance

• Sector: Construction & Extraction
• O*NET-SOC code: 47-4061
• O*NET job zone: 2 — some preparation
• Work sample tasks on file: 12
• Tools and technologies listed: 12

What you actually do

Work sample tasks recorded for this occupation:

• Patrol assigned track sections so that damaged or broken track can be located and reported.
• Repair or adjust track switches, using wrenches and replacement parts.
• Weld sections of track together, such as switch points and frogs.
• 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.
• Operate track wrenches to tighten or loosen bolts at joints that hold ends of rails together.
• Cut rails to specified lengths, using rail saws.
• Lubricate machines, change oil, or fill hydraulic reservoirs to specified levels.
• Drill holes through rails, tie plates, or fishplates for insertion of bolts or spikes, using power drills.
• Clean tracks or clear ice or snow from tracks or switch boxes.
• Clean, grade, or level ballast on railroad tracks.
• Raise rails, using hydraulic jacks, to allow for tie removal and replacement.

Tools and technology

Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Adjustable hand wrenches, Air drills, Air purifying respirators, Air-powered wrenches, Backhoes, Claw bars, Crowbars, Dollies, Dump trucks, Enterprise resource planning ERP software

What employers expect you to already be comfortable with.

Where this job leads

Related occupations — the usual moves up and sideways:

• Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators
• Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators
• Millwrights
• Pile Driver Operators
• Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining
• Rail Car Repairers
• Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Except Engines
• Construction Laborers

Getting in

O*NET assigns this occupation job zone 2 (some preparation). The related occupations above are the realistic routes in and out.

Find openings

Browse the verified job sources directory, or explore more occupations.

Check this against the source

O*NET OnLine: Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators — the authoritative public-domain profile this page is derived from, including the full task list, reported skills and the wage estimates for your region.

Derived and rewritten from the public-domain O*NET database (U.S. Department of Labor / Employment and Training Administration). Figures are observations, not promises — always confirm salary, licensing and visa requirements with the employer and the relevant authority.