The shunter used to take up position at the fan of sidings and was in charge of one or more sidings. The shunter stopped the cuts by placing stop blocks at the right distance, which wedged under the wheels and braked the waggons rolling freely down the hump, creating an awful din in the process. The job was excessively dangerous and disappeared with the advent of rail brakes. The thankless job of shunter required a certain knack to stop the cuts in the right place.