This silver metal cap badge bears the engraving “G.N.RY.L./BRAKEMAN” filled with black paint. This badge would have been worn by a brakeman on the Great Northern Railway Line, which operated from St. Paul, Minnesota to Seattle, Washington from around 1890 until 1970. The badge identified the wearer's crew position for passenger convenience, identifying the crewmember the passenger could speak with if there were questions, problems, or complaints. 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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