A 19th-century Gatekeeper with a vintage railroad lantern just outside a Standard Watch box.

My Maternal Grandfather did this for many years. He was responsible for keeping the lanterns lit, flagging cars when trains were coming, and later operating the crossing arms. He waved a flag and swung a lantern to get the attention of drivers. Crossing arms were first used by hand only, then larger arms were made that had to be cranked into place by hand. Finally there were crossing arms that went into place by pulling a level on a control panel. Then of course our modern "automatic" crossing arms.