From the B-17 son: on a B-17 (or B-24?), he was the bombardier; on a Halifax or Lancaster, he was the bomb aimer.
Puget Sound Electric had “Motorneers”.
Dave knows his Hebrew. [:)] The masculine singular perfect verb (spelled the same as the masculine singular noun) means, basically, “drive.” (My lexicon does not give a noun form for the verb; apparently because that usage does not occur in the Hebrew Bible.)
Maybe we should look towards the construction trades for clarification. People who run bulldozers, cranes, excavators, etc are referred to as operators. The term “driver” doesn’t really fit as well as operator does in those cases, and I think the same could be said for train driver. But then again “locomotive engineer” has been in use for so long that I think everyone, at least in North America, understands the term to mean the person who operates the locomotive.
In the Chicago area, the union locals that represent operators of cranes, front end loaders, pavers, bulldozers, etc. are affiliated with the International Union of Operating Engineers and the members of those locals are referred to as such.
Well, mostly. You’d be surprised how many parents tell their kids that I’m the guy driving the train - when I’m the conductor in full regalia…
As we’ve discussed before, the press doesn’t have a clue, either…
A quick glance at a few pre-GCOR era rule books show many used “engineman” or “enginemen” for some rules or section headings.
Jeff