I see that your view has changed since page 2 of this thread.

The only constant in life is change.

Ross Rowland

I'm sorry but completely changing your views when people call you out isnt cool. You specifically stated women shouldn't be on steam locos. Saying "im just old fashioned" isnt good enough either because all that shows is you want to live in a time when saying these things was exceptable, which isnt good either.
Ross, you did a lot of great things in the past, make sure you dont start slipping now because thats all you'll be remembered for.

Emma Ehrenfeld was a telegrapher at PRR's South Fork (PA) tower on May 31, 1889. She got word that the dam upstream of South Fork was in danger of failing. She wrote a message and, since the wires were down at South Fork, she sent a runner to the next station West to notify Conemaugh and Johnstown downstream. Later she sent a message to Mr. Pitcairn in Pittsburgh the same way.

She saw the water coming and ran across the tracks and up a coal tipple. The tower was washed away by the flood, but the coal tipple held.

- Statement of Emma Ehrenfeld

So there were women in railroading in 1889. Heroic women at that.

Phil Mulligan

https://www.nps.gov/jofl/learn/historyculture/emma.htm

I only have two words to say: KATE SHELLY

I thought of her as well. When I bought my ticket to ride behind the Big Boy it was a pleasant surprise that I also got to ride across the Kate Shelly bridge. (Well.. the modern bridge that replace it! :)

I had never seen her story. H.M. Ogle was also on duty at the Western Union office and did not survive.

Don't forget that the operating environment for steam in the '70s & 80's was MUCH different than today. Excursions were run over active main lines and branches, with very little tolerance for errors. There were also a fair amount of 'Old Heads' around to provide support when needed. 10-12 hours in a locomotive cab was not the most hospitable place for women. Not to say they *couldn't* have done it, but I'm not sure how many even wanted to try.

In eastern PA, Strasburg was the dominant tourist RR. Steamtown was still in VT, or in the process of moving to Scranton. The EBT was a bit far away for a day trip. The NH&I and W&W were operating, but somewhat hard to learn about outside the railfan press.

Now that steam has become more accessible & *most* of the runs are out & back within 2-2.5 hours, firing has become less of a marathon. And it's easier to learn the territory. Seeing more women in the cab makes it easier for young girls to think "Hey, maybe that's something I can do!", which I believe was stated by at least one of the female posters to this thread. Having a positive role model is important for attracting younger people to the preservation field.

I've never fired a steamer, so all of my opinions are based on second (or third)-hand impressions.

“Now that steam has become more accessible & *most* of the runs are out & back within 2-2.5 hours, firing has become less of a marathon. ”

A long day of firing at a Strasburg, IRM, TVRM, Dollywood, etc. is still a long day of firing. (I picked those because I’ve seen women firing at those railroads :).

Excuse me, please. I opened this window by mistake, but can't close it without typing something... My bad.

Inclusion of women in formerly all-male activities has been a gradual process. When I entered the workplace in the 1960's, there was a PA State limit on the hours a woman could work in a day.

The first woman to officially run the Boston Marathon was Katherine Switzer, who did so in 1967, registering under her initials instead of a first name. Her coach had told her "the distance was too long for fragile women to run" so she completed a 26.2 mile training run with him. Even then a race official tried to physically throw her out of the race while it was in progress. He failed when another runner blocked him as if it were a football game. She finished the race. The first women's Olympic Marathon was not until 1984 in Los Angeles.

https://kathrineswitzer.com/1967-boston ... eal-story/

Gradually people realized women could do strenuous work and here we are today.

Phil Mulligan

Hit the big left arrow button top right.

Correct, and I'll add a side note. In the fall of 2019, my now-wife and I split firing duties on Southern 630 between Chattanooga and Summerville, GA, a 90-mile round trip. We were dragging the mostly-drifting 4501 and 9 cars. One or both injectors were running for probably 75% of the time. 630 pops at 190 and never dropped below 185 while she was firing.

As a student fireman, I fired every single day for weeks, 12 hours on weekends and probably 5 hours each week night (after working a full day at my regular job). Now that I am qualified, it is normal to take a 12hr shift firing, including doing your own hostling in the morning and banking it at night. You still have to fire the thing even when you aren't out on the line, it doesn't just shut off between trips.

It doesn't magically get any easier to fire by "learning the territory". If you are firing based on the territory and not what the locomotive is asking for based on the conditions, then you probably aren't going to be a very good fireman.

I'm sorry but this sounds alot like "steam railroading got easier so that's why women can do it now". I have fired on a mainline and I'm guessing that it was just as tough when I did it as it would have been in 1980. A locomotive is a locomotive, it wasn't re-designed to be easier to fire when it became a tourist attraction.

Steam Girl

Ps. The locomotive I fire doesn't have a stoker so all the coal that gets burnt goes in on a shovel, by hand, for all 12 of those hours.

One really small quibble: people are healthier in general now and it’s 12 and dead on the law, not 16 (which all too often led to dead other ways too.) Back in the day, some rails did live long, apparently healthy lives, but a whole lot of them didn’t because of issues that affected both men and women. Railroading didn’t get easier, life did.

For sure, though, I ain’t gonna argue with anybody who can sling that much coal!