"Motorman" is gender specific and politically incorrect; "Train Operator" is non-gender specific, derives from the title "Elevator Operator" and is politically correct. Years ago, transit oriented hotshot LIRR managers delighted in referring to their Locomotive Engineers as "Horizontal Elevator Operators". It must have caught on.
Frank Sprague, inventor of "multiple unit" (MU) technology, based his invention on his experience in the elevator business. The invention was showcased on equipment of the Intramural Railway at the 1893 World's Columbian Exhibition in Chicago. The technology remains in use, today, with electronic enhancements and can be seen in action almost anywhere trains run.
