women conductors

[Deggesty]

Firelock76

One of my favorite Churchill quotes comes from an exchange between Sir Winston and the famous playwright George Bernard Shaw.  Shaw sent Churchill two tickets to the opening night of one of his plays with the note  "Here's two tickets, bring a friend if you have one!"

Sir Winstons reply?  "Can't make the first night.  Will come to the second night if there is one!"

Firelock76

One of my favorite Churchill quotes comes from an exchange between Sir Winston and the famous playwright George Bernard Shaw.  Shaw sent Churchill two tickets to the opening night of one of his plays with the note  "Here's two tickets, bring a friend if you have one!"

Sir Winstons reply?  "Can't make the first night.  Will come to the second night if there is one!"

That is as good as his retort to Lady Astor. Incidentally, George Bernard Shaw would have said "Here are...."

[Firelock76]

One of my favorite Churchill quotes comes from an exchange between Sir Winston and the famous playwright George Bernard Shaw.  Shaw sent Churchill two tickets to the opening night of one of his plays with the note  "Here's two tickets, bring a friend if you have one!"

Sir Winstons reply?  "Can't make the first night.  Will come to the second night if there is one!"

[John WR]

Winston Churchill said many things worth remembering and, perhaps, repeating.  One of my favorites is the following.

Nancy Astor:  "If I were your wife I'd put poison in your tea."

Winston Churchill:  "If I were your husband I'd drink it."

[Firelock76]

John WR

mydee001

better luck next time!

I hope you can endure one more bit of advice.  This is my personal belief about things we want in general.

Persist.  You have a clear goal.  Over time there will be other job openings.  Monitor them and keep applying.  And remember this quote from Winston Churchill:  "Never give up.  Never never never give up."

You have my best wishes for your efforts.  

The great Sir Winston had another bit of advice on career choices:  Do what you like, but LIKE what you do!

Best of luck to you!

[John WR]

mydee001

better luck next time!

I hope you can endure one more bit of advice.  This is my personal belief about things we want in general.

Persist.  You have a clear goal.  Over time there will be other job openings.  Monitor them and keep applying.  And remember this quote from Winston Churchill:  "Never give up.  Never never never give up."

You have my best wishes for your efforts.  

[CHIPSTRAINS]

"NONE YET ?.......... Kind of hard to imagine..... Out here on the BNSF, I see lots  of "women" conductors,and even a few engineers. It's hard work, but you can do it.

[zugmann]

joesap1

and sometimes they are even more pleasant on the eye.

You never worked with me, Joe!

[joesap1]

I've worked with lady conductors and found them to be equal or better than men, and sometimes they are even more pleasant on the eye.

Since railroading will be new to you, be prepared for total confusion at first. Switching will befuddle you and making a joint will seem awkward. But if you hang in there and complete the training and mark up, it will eventually become clear as to what to do when. I found learning where the cars usually go(assigned customers) takes the most time, and after that switching becomes almost second nature. Once you get railraoding in your blood and get used to working all the time without much rest, then you will never want to do anything else.

[Randy Stahl]

Sunnyland

Sorry to read farther down that you didn't get the job, but keep trying. 

Randy Stahl-hi from your "distant cousin"  Mary Stahl in MO.  Good to read your posts.

Hello to my distant Missourri cousin !!!

 

Randy

[Ulrich]

In 1982 I asked a young brakeman with CP in Kamloops, BC why  his division hadn't hired any women yet while the division to the east, the Revelstoke Division had hired quite a few by that time already. He frowned and stated.."sure wish they'd hire some here too".  I can understand. Both genders with some cultural  diversity  thrown in make the job more fun and interesting.

[wjstix]

Keep trying, and keep in mind there are other railroad jobs than conductor. I applied to the UP as a bridge tender (operating a lift bridge over the Mississippi). Seemed to me it would be an interesting job.

[Sunnyland]

Sorry to read farther down that you didn't get the job, but keep trying. 

Randy Stahl-hi from your "distant cousin"  Mary Stahl in MO.  Good to read your posts.

[Sunnyland]

Girl power.  If you feel you can do the work, go for it. 

Railroading can be a great profession to be part of, my parents would have agreed. It was a lifetime job for Dad and Mom worked at Frisco until she married Dad.  Only reason I never worked for them is they had moved most of the office staff to Springfield, MO and I didn't want to relocate. In those days, women could only do clerical duties. 

 

[Mookie]

[Randy Stahl]

Yes Mookie , everytime I find myself standing waist deep in a showbank at a switch with frozen fingers and toes I reflect that it never really worked out .

 

Randy

[Mookie]

RANDY! 

[Randy Stahl]

Or you could do what I do , Sleep your way to the top .

 

RAndy

[edblysard]

Do this…

Every few weeks, call them back and ask when the next round of interviews is being held…don’t take no for an answer if you want it bad enough.

They will notice your persistence after a while.

Is there a short line, regional or switching road near you?

Try them as well…

[BaltACD]

zardoz

John WR

.....But you can certainly be a conductor as well as any man.  This is 2012, not 1912.....  

Perhaps, but the knuckles and drawbar chains are just as heavy now as then...and the ice is just as hard to chop out of a switch, the packed snow just as difficult to dig through....

Regarding Carl's advice to perhaps try for another craft on a railroad - when I hired out I was applying for a job as a yard clerk, but during the course of the interview, it became apparent to the interviewer that I was much more suited for the Operating department; of course, that was 40 years ago (geez, am I that old already...?)

I suspect the knuckles are somewhat heavier on today's railroad than they were 100 years ago - 100 years ago there weren't 143 ton cars assembled into 15 & 20K ton trains of 8000, 9000 feet and longer.  I don't believe chains are common on locomotives any more - if you have a drawbar out of the 'wrong' end of a car, Car Department assistance or the assistance of another crew will be required to get the car set out.  Snow and Ice are still the same as they were, however, now it is generally up to the train crew to clean their own switches when necessary to service a industry.  Strenous work - work that has been done by numerous women on my carrier.

[zardoz]

John WR

.....But you can certainly be a conductor as well as any man.  This is 2012, not 1912.....  

Perhaps, but the knuckles and drawbar chains are just as heavy now as then...and the ice is just as hard to chop out of a switch, the packed snow just as difficult to dig through....

[CShaveRR]

Otto Klemperer was in fact a distinguished and revered conductor, and also has some compositions to his credit.  Son Werner may or may not have been a musician, but was very much in demand as a narrator in orchestral works that required them.

[CSSHEGEWISCH]

Boyd

One actor from Hogans Heros named Werner Clemperer had a great passion for being a conductor.

Bad pun.  If I recall correctly, Otto Klemperer, who was Werner Klemperer's father, was a classical musician and may have been a conductor from time to time.

[Boyd]

One actor from Hogans Heros named Werner Clemperer had a great passion for being a conductor.

[samfp1943]

MYDEE001:

                       Here is a link that you might want to investigate

   :http://search.jccc.edu/search?q=Railroad&btnG.x=3&btnG.y=3&site=default_collection&client=www-frontend&output=xml_no_dtd&proxystylesheet=www-frontend

   Admittedly; I suspect that it  ( Overland Park,Ks )  is probably out side your home area ( SW Louisiana (?)  But as  Ed B. suggested. Something other than T&E might be a better entree to a RR Career.

Just a Thought.

Best of luck on your search.

[Paul_D_North_Jr]

Does KCS have a formal training program for new conductors similar to those of NS, CSX, and perhaps some others ?  See their websites for more info about the job.

Search this website/ Forum for articles by and references to Linda Niemann (or Linda Grant Niemann, etc.).  She wrote 3 or 4 articles in Trains about 10 -12 years ago (some were controversial) about her experiences as an SP (later UP) switchman and conductor:

"Wendy and the lost boys on the Lawrence switcher - switch crews at San Jose"

by Niemann, Linda, from Trains, April 2005, p. 38

 

"Boomer in a boom town - working for Southern Pacific in Houston"

by Niemann, Linda Grant, from Trains, June 2004, p. 52

    

"The hospital yard - memories of working in Southern Pacific yards"

by Niemann, Linda, from Trains, January 2003, p. 42

Likewise, this topic has already been discussed a few times here before - sometimes for men, occasionally for women. 

CSX Conductor Sarah J.M. Warner posts here under the "screen name" of "CSXrules4eva" - see her profile at: http://cs.trains.com/members/csxrules4eva/default.aspx 

See also her post of 01-11-2012 on Page 4 of 6 in the thread on "What is Railroad Life Like Today for New Conductors?" at: http://cs.trains.com/trn/f/111/p/200788/2201070.aspx#2201070 

My suggestion: Keep trying - not only with KCS, but any other railroad in the area.  Your description of your work experience would seem to be helpful. 

- Paul North.     

[Ulrich]

Join the club..i too applied some years ago and wasn't hired. The reasons aren't all that important...the important thing to remember is  that there are alot of jobs and careers that provide some degree of satisfaction along with a pay check that pays the bills. Be flexble..reapply by all means..but keep an open mind to opportunities in other fields. Sometimes you have to apply half a dozen times before they finally see that you're serious.. I knew someone who desperately tried to get into GM.... he was told no repeatedly but went back again and again and again...and he was finally hired...

[CShaveRR]

mydee001

Well guys I got a conformation email that I didn't get the job so I guess better luck next time! Thanks for all the information and advice!!

I'm sorry you didn't get the job.  I hope they told you why not, or whether it would be worthwhile to reapply later. 

Please don't be discouraged from railroading.  I never went through the current qualifications for being a conductor, as I held seniority in a yard, and was rarely out on the road.  There were, and still are, a bunch of female yard foremen where I worked, and I will tell you that in nearly 40 years of working with various hump supervisors (sometimes yardmasters, most of the time hump conductors), the one who I feel did the best job and was the best person to work with was a lady who was born after I hired out.  She, too, is a single mom (that may be the best skill you require in some cases!). 

Also, don't limit yourself to one craft when trying to get a railroading job.  If you failed for some reason to be hired as a brakeman, there might be a position for you in mechanical or clerical trades.  Another former Forum friend didn't qualify to become a brakeman, but she stuck it out, became a yard clerk, and is now, I believe, in training or qualified as a dispatcher.

(As for Sarah, someone else may have to give you an update on her career.)

[erikem]

Ulrich

I know what you mean Randy... I've met those too... One lady mechanic here is 6 ft. 4 in and packed with muscle.. a fine mechanic too and not to be messed with.

I knew a 6'3" bouncer and a 6'2" meat cutter in years past. While I wouldn't have wanted to cross either of them, both women were very pleasant and easy to get along with.

[John WR]

I agree with my fellow posters.  If the job is offered to you you should take it.  You should be prepared to work with men (and it sounds like you are) but not accept sexism.  

I've never worked for a freight railroad so I have no insight into the actual job.  But you can certainly be a conductor as well as any man.  This is 2012, not 1912.  Good luck and best wishes.