What the work involves, what it pays, and real lines you can start from. Answer a few small questions and leave with a resume.
Also called diesel engineer, diesel locomotive engineer, engineer and freight engineer.
$81,410
Median pay a year
33,470
People do this work
6
Resume lines ready for you
Pay and headcount are from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The lines are written from what the US Department of Labor records about this work.
An example
A Locomotive Engineer resume, filled in
Every line below comes from the same public record as the rest of this page. The greyed parts are the ones only you can answer.
Locomotive Engineer
Summary
Locomotive engineer driving electric, diesel-electric, steam, or gas-turbine-electric locomotives to transport passengers or freight, interpreting train orders and signals while monitoring equipment and ensuring safe operation
Experience
Locomotive Engineer
Where you worked
Month Year to Month Year
Operated locomotives to transport freight or passengers between stations
Interpreted train orders, signals, and railroad rules for locomotive operation
Conferred with conductors or traffic control center personnel via radiophones
Monitored gauges that measured speed, battery charge, and air pressure
Inspected locomotives for fuel, water, and mechanical problems before each run
Checked that brake tests were done at shunting stations
Prepared reports on problems like accidents or delays
Yours will not say this. It will say what you did, in your own words, and Rung writes it with you one question at a time.
Nothing to write from scratch
What to put on a Locomotive Engineer resume
Real duties for this job, already written the way a resume reads. Inside Rung you choose the ones that were yours.
What did you do each day?
Choose what fits, or say your own.
Followed train orders and signalsTalked with conductors on radioDrove locomotives using controlsChecked gauges for speed and pressureLooked for obstacles on tracksInspected locomotives for problems
becomes
On your resume
Followed train orders and signals to ensure safe and timely operations
Drove locomotives using controls, maintaining awareness of speed and pressure gauges
These are written the way a resume line reads. Rung asks which ones are actually yours, keeps your own words, and never claims work you did not do.
Then it asks for one more thing
The line that could show more, and the fact that lands it.
Make it stronger
A few lines could show more. Each one is asked, and answered by choosing.
Show what improved once the train orders were followed
The line
Followed train orders and signals to reduce delays during operations
Show what improved once the train orders were followed
Pick one that fits
Reduced delays during operationsIncreased safety for passengers and crewImproved communication with conductors
Or add your own.
In your wordsAdd it
Adding it to the line…
Added to your resume
Add how often you monitored the gauges during operations
The line
Drove locomotives using controls, maintaining awareness of speed and pressure gauges
Add how often you monitored the gauges during operations
Pick one that fits
Checked gauges every few minutesMonitored gauges throughout the journeyObserved gauges at each station stop
Or add your own.
In your wordsAdd it
Adding it to the line…
Added to your resume
Every ready answer is in plain words, never a figure. Nothing is invented to fill a gap.
What it is made of
Skills for a Locomotive Engineer resume
What this work is made of. Rung offers these and keeps the ones you claim.
What are you good at?
Operating locomotives or rail vehicles
Receiving performance instructions
Monitoring equipment availability
Monitoring equipment gauges
Monitoring loading processes
Monitoring operational quality
Monitoring surroundings
Inspecting locomotives
Preparing accident reports
Signaling others
The work itself
What a Locomotive Engineer does
The public record of what this job is, in one paragraph.
Drive electric, diesel-electric, steam, or gas-turbine-electric locomotives to transport passengers or freight. Interpret train orders, electronic or manual signals, and railroad rules and regulations.
What it pays
How much does a Locomotive Engineer make?
Annual pay across the United States. The middle figure is the median: half earn less than that, and half earn more.
25th percentile
$75,190
Median
$81,410
75th percentile
$93,260
About 33,470 people do this work in the United States.
This page is about the occupation Locomotive Engineers. What this job involves and what it is made of come from O*NET 30.3, the US Department of Labor's occupation database, refreshed July 2026; Rung writes those records into the plain sentences you see. Pay comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS release for 2025. Rung is an independent service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by either agency. How Rung handles accuracy is on the accuracy page, and the full data credits are on the credits page.