towerman

[ tou-er-muh n ]

/ ˈtaʊ ər mən /

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noun, plural tow·er·men.

Railroads. a person who works in a switch tower and, by means of a signal box, directs the movement of trains.

Aviation. an air-traffic controller.

Nearby words

tower of strength, tower wagon, tower-mill, towered, towering, towerman, towery, towhead, towheaded, towhee, towie

Origin of towerman

An Americanism dating back to 1890–95; tower¹ + -man

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for towerman

If the towerman set those switches and signals 319 times in the course of a day, they must be set absolutely correct 319 times.
The Modern Railroad|Edward Hungerford
He also asked the towerman to telegraph ahead to Dover for a substitute engineer.
Ralph on the Engine|Allen Chapman
The point of convergence is known to the towerman and all the other workers as the “throat” of the yard.
The Modern Railroad|Edward Hungerford
Eight times that towerman tried there in the midst of the storm to open that switch and eight times he reported failure.
The Modern Railroad|Edward Hungerford

But the towerman at Middleport said that he could not move the siding-switch there; it was packed in with ice and snow.
The Modern Railroad|Edward Hungerford