A platelayer (British English) or trackman (American English) is a railway employee whose job is to inspect and maintain the permanent way of a railway installation.
The term derives from the plates used to build plateways, an early form of railway.
Inspecting and maintaining the track, including all its component parts such as rails, sleepers, fishplates, bolts, etc., are the chief responsibility of the platelayer. His duties include greasing points, and generally watching for wear and tear.
In British and Commonwealth usage the term platelayers' hut refers to a lineside shelter in which a platelayer would historically be based. In the heyday of steam railway operation a platelayer might be assigned to each mile or two miles of track, with a platelayers' hut as his shelter and working base. He would regularly patrol his section of track. In modern railway operation platelayers tend to operate in mobile teams, and the lineside of the British railway network still includes a large number of abandoned and generally dilapidated platelayers' huts.