Rail-Track Laying & Maintenance Equipment Operators

Also Called:

Track Inspector,

Track Laborer,

Track Maintainer,

Track Repairer

What they do: 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.

Supply Chain & Transportation icon

Supply Chain & Transportation

Career Cluster

What do they typically do on the job?

  • 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.

Personality

People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions.

Cautiousness

Attention to Detail

Dependability

Interests

Career interests describe the perspectives and interests of people who enjoy the type of work involved in this career.

Discover what your interests are by taking the Interest Profiler Quiz

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Realistic

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Conventional

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Investigative

Abilities

Whether you have received formal training or not, these types of abilities are helpful in this career.

Hand and Finger Use

  • Hold or move items with your hands

  • Keep your arm or hand steady

Controlled Movement

  • Quickly change the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat

  • Use your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down

Visual Understanding

  • See hidden patterns

  • Quickly compare groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things

Spatial

  • Imagine how something will look after it is moved around or changed

Skills

People who want to pursue this career have skills in these areas.

Basic Skills

  • Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements

  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem

Problem Solving

  • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it

Does this sound like something you'd like to do?

1. Do some research

  • Identify how your interests, values, and strengths match this occupation
  • Talk to someone who works in this field or spend a day job shadowing
  • Use the colleges and training directory to explore programs related to this career

2. Plan your next move

  • Talk to your college and career counselor or school admissions staff
  • Visit Idaho Launch
  • Search for available Rail-Track Laying & Maintenance Equipment Operators jobs on Idaho Works

Data for NSI career cards comes from the following: Idaho Department of Labor, US Bureau of Labor Statistics, O*NET, MyNextMove, and Career OneStop