Rail-Track Laying & Maintenance Equipment Operator
Job Summary
Responsible for laying and maintaining railroad track for railroad companies. Track may also be used in plant yards, quarries, sand and gravel pits, and mines.
Primary Responsibilities
- Prepare track by cutting rails to appropriate lengths with rail saws.
- Utilize standard or narrow-gauge railroad equipment.
- Lay track or rails over section of track.
- Adjust guidelines for track alignments.
- Use wire-guideline machine to level or align rails.
- Lay track to specified gauge.
- Verify levelness and alignment with leveling indicator.
- Repair track switches.
- Pull worn-out spikes from ties.
- Clean and level ballast on tracks.
- Raise rails to remove or replace ties.
- Drill holes through rails, tie plates, or fishplates for insertion of bolts or spikes.
- Remove or raise tracks to new locations.
- Operate graders, tamping machines, brooms, and ballast-cleaning-spreading machines to pour gravel and ballast between rails.
- Service machine and fill hydraulic reservoirs.
- Remove damaged or unbroken track.
- Grind down rails into smoother joints.
- Tighten or loosen bolts at joints that hold rails together.
- Coat ties, fishplates, or joints with oil.
- Clear snow and debris from tracks regularly.
- Test tracks with proper equipment.
- Paint and erect railroad signs with the proper indications.
- Cut ties and insert fishplates onto rails.
