Secondman
Sign in to saveAlso known as driver's assistant
A secondman or '''driver's assistant''' is a railway employee who assists the driver of a train.
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- profession
- Subclass of
- railway worker
Show 1 more fact
- replaces
- fireman
via Wikidata · CC0
~4 min read
Encyclopedic overview
4 sectionsContents
- Background
- Diesel and electric traction
- Modern use
- References
A secondman or '''driver's assistant' is a railway employee who assists the driver of a train.
== Background == Historically, due to the pervasive use of steam traction, locomotives were always crewed by at least two people: a driver and a fireman. The driver handled the driving controls, whereas the fireman was responsible for tending to the fire and ensuring that the appropriate boiler pressure was maintained.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Secondman” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.