lady locomotive engineers

[zugmann]

SD70M-2Dude

And I wasn't going to say anything, but boy this thread escalated quickly.

It's been a while since we've had a good ol' fashioned insult everyone thread.  They used to be more commonplace.  People just need to get it out of their system, then it calms down.

[rockymidlandrr]

With my employer the term engineer is obsolete according to them.  Instead of Engineers now we have "Locomotive Operators".

[Shadow the Cats owner]

Where I am at we have several female OTR drivers.  I can tell you this much the women that drive our trucks well 90% of them can out run the men of the current generation we hire.  When I was hired my boss went here is your job and said scream when you need help.  Then we lost 2 people in the office and myself and one other person split their jobs until 1 replacement was finally hired 2 months ago after a 6 month wait.  

 

I had one person go off on me in the office for me working to hard he was a newly hired driver.  I looked him in the eyes and said you must not want to be able to run your truck then I am making sure all your permits your wizz quiz and all other information is entered into our system then.  He goes all that while on the phone with the FMCSA on something else.  I went what I sometimes juggle 6 things at once this is easy.  

[schlimm]

1. Interesting thread. BLS53's initial remarks seemed clear enough.  

2. Interesting that some feel the need to throw out their credentials on a forum that is for any and all with some interest in railroading.

3. One of the barriers I observed seems correlated with age, though clearly with some exceptions.

4. I think Semper Vaporo had it right.

[da_kraut]

Hello everyone,

Interesting read.  I work in the tar sands from northern Alberta and we have a lot of women 400 ton rock truck drivers and also shovel operators.  Women tend to be more gentle on equipment, but to get back on subject.  In Germany is a women that owns her own locomotive, and hires herself out to the railroad.  I know this is not english, and in Europe, but still interesting.  Hope the link works.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SP_iNhaUxgU&t=121s

Frank

PS: Her locomotive is from the 40's and prefers this engine over the modern ones, also she does a lot of her own repairs.

[Electroliner 1935]

Paul, I remenber them very well. And I'm sorry that my question seems to have started this discord. It was a simple question or so I thought. Lady's, females, women are now fairly routine in many professions where one they were not. And as a result of Union Pacific's celebration of their first two, I simply wondered whether anyone knew how ubiquitous they were now in the profession. No intent to antagonize anyone or imply that there was (as Sienfeld would say "Not that any thing is wrong with that") any thought that was negative about the diversifying of the occupation. 

And similarly to Deggesty's experience, my first encounter with a lady in train service was when Amtrak was still in its early years and on one of my milage trips I had ridden East to ride the Southern Railroad's train from Ashville to Salisbury that carried a dome car and traversed the loops. I continued North on the Piedmont to Charlottesville VA where I made a connection to Amtrak’s James Whitcomb Riley (Cardinal predecessor) to return home. When the JWR stopped, I found the porter was not male but a young (my estimate was middle twenty's) lady. After identifying my accomodation, I started to pick up my suitcase and she stopped me saying firmly and authoritatively "I"M YOUR PORTER" in a nice manor and proceeded to grab my suitcase and lead me to my room. She performed her duties and ran the car very professionally and had obviously undergone some thorough training and wanted to succeed. As a man, I, like Jimmy Carter famously said, have lusted over women but never strayed. As I would not want my daughter to be hasselled, I don't. 

So please, as in the movie A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS, where Paul Scofield as Sir Thomas More says,"I mean no harm, I say no harm" let us do as Rodney King said "Can't We JUST Get Along" and not start fighting.

Thanks