Railroad Cap Badge, Brakeman, Southern Pacific Railroad

This metal cap badge reads “BRAKEMAN” in silver-colored skeleton letters. The badge has two posts protruding from the back that allowed it to be affixed to the uniform cap of a railroad employee who served aboard passenger trains. This badge identified the wearer as a brakeman on the Southern Pacific Railroad. The Southern Pacific Railroad ran throughout the southwest United States, opening in 1865 and operating until 1996 when it was taken over by the Union Pacific Railroad. The brakeman’s duties included moving from car to car to trigger the brakes and slow the train, dropping cars at stations, lining switches, and signaling to crew members about train operations.

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