pilotman

English

Etymology

From pilot +‎ -man.

Noun

pilotman (plural pilotmen)

1. (rail transport, UK) A railway employee who directs operations over a section of railway line temporarily reduced to single track, e.g. during maintenance work, or within an unsignalled area.
   • 1959 February, G. Freeman Allen, “Southampton—Gateway to the Ocean”, in Trains Illustrated, page 92:

     However, as soon as they are inside the dock territory, at the Canute Road crossing in the case of the Old Docks and Millbrook in the case of the New Docks, incoming main line trains must slow down to take on a pilotman, who directs the train on the instructions of Operational Control, either to one of the yard reception roads, or, if it is a boat train, to the appropriate quayside.

   • 1963 September, “Change of single-line rules”, in Modern Railways, page 147:

     These points will be padlocked, a green hand-signal will be shown and the keys handed to the pilotman, who will be expected to make a periodical examination of the points to see that they are secure and that the hand-signal is still properly displayed.

   • 2022 April 20, “Network News: RSSB to explore new terms to replace 'pilotman'”, in RAIL, number 955, page 16:

     Alongside its vital role of maintaining and reviewing each of the rail industry's 294 technical and safety standards, the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) is about to turn its attention to how to make the term 'pilotman' gender-neutral.

References

• “pilotman”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.