Daily AncestorYardmaster
A yardmaster was the railroad employee in charge of a rail yard, directing the switching crews that made up and broke up trains.
The yardmaster managed everything in a rail yard: combining cars into trains, breaking incoming trains apart, and switching cars from track to track.
Today a person must work as a brakeman or signal operator before becoming a yardmaster. The 1900 census instructions list switchman and yardman among railroad workers to be reported by the nature of their work.
As seen in a recordOccupation and industry columns of the 1910 to 1940 census
Thos. Burke, 49, Yardmaster, Steam railroad
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Daily Ancestor. "Yardmaster." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/occupations/yardmaster. Last checked 2026-10-10.