page_title: Brakeman
hierarchical_section_title: Brakeman
caption_attribution_description: English: A Santa Fe Railroad train stopped at Cajon Siding, California. The brakeman is standing atop the train during a stop to cool the train's braking equipment after descending Cajon Pass.
context_page_description: A brakeman is a rail transport worker whose original job was to assist the braking of a train by applying brakes on individual wagons. The earliest known use of the term to describe this occupation occurred in 1833. The advent of through brakes, brakes on every wagon which could be controlled by the driver, made this role redundant, although the name lives on in the United States where brakemen carry out a variety of functions both on the track and within trains.
context_section_description: A brakeman is a rail transport worker whose original job was to assist the braking of a train by applying brakes on individual wagons. The earliest known use of the term to describe this occupation occurred in 1833. The advent of through brakes, brakes on every wagon which could be controlled by the  driver, made this role redundant, although the name lives on in the United States where brakemen carry out a variety of functions both on the track and within trains.
caption: A Santa Fe Railroad brakeman atop a train that has paused at Cajon, California, to cool its brakes after descending Cajon Pass in March 1943.
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