switchman

American  

[swich-muhn] / ˈswɪtʃ mən /

noun

plural

switchmen

1. a person who has charge of a switch on a railroad.

2. a person who assists in moving cars in a railway yard or terminal.

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switchman British  

/ ˈswɪtʃmən /

noun

1. Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): pointsman.  a person who operates railway points

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Etymology

Origin of switchman

First recorded in 1835–45; switch + -man

Example Sentences

Hult, who worked as a railroad company switchman for three decades after his military service, has plenty of company.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 22, 2023

His father was a switchman for the Canadian National Railway, and his mother was a nurse who encouraged his interest in acting, beginning with an appearance on a CBC radio play when he was 8.

From Washington Post • Nov. 12, 2018

Coach Williams’s longtime man Friday, Wayne Walden, a former academic counselor, played switchman, steering basketball players to these classes.

From New York Times • Mar. 31, 2017

Included among Iowa lawmakers are pharmacists, doctors, teachers, small-business owners, a railroad switchman and a whole crop of farmers.

From Washington Times • Feb. 27, 2016

William Jacobson, switchman, injured at Delavia, May 19; he left caboose on side track too near the lead, and then rode some cars down the lead, and was struck by the caboose.

From Railroad Accidents Their Cause and Prevention by Richards, R. C.