Summer 2000
Volume 107 - No. 2
Summer 2000
Volume 107 - No. 2
Women Pioneers
Blazing a trail through history
For the past century and a half, the railroad industry has been a bastion of male dominance. The folklore and stories surrounding the industry are dominated by courageous men who risked their lives to move freight and passengers across the vast American landscape.
While women have made great strides in gaining equality in American
life over the past 150 years, they have struggled to gain a foothold in
the railroad industry. Attempts have been made, but for the most part, they
have been unnoticed, allowing the railroad industry to remain largely male
dominated, especially in its historic anecdotes and folklore.
A photographer and historian, Shirley Burman, is attempting to change the image of railroading and allow women, who have always been present, to gain the recognition they deserve.
"Railroad women have done a lot," said Burman. "But most people don't know anything about their accomplishments."
Burman is the founder of the American Railroad Women Research Project. Her interest in the subject of women in railroading began in early 1978 while a documentary photographer. She was hired by the California State Parks and assigned to the California State Railroad Museum to photograph the building's construction and restoration of the museum's rolling stock.
"Many of the seasoned and knowledgeable researchers and workers were also diehard railbuffs that thought I needed some 'railroad' indoctrination," said Burman. "It was not an easy task, but I eventually learned the difference between a steam and diesel locomotive."
According to Burman, women have shared railroad careers with men since 1838, working first as car attendants, then as laborers and depot restaurant keepers. In the 1850s, women who had to work outside of the home held low paying domestic or factory jobs. It was during this time that women began working as railroad telegraph operators which were jobs of great responsibility. Later in the century, women studied to be architects and designed depots, bridges, locomotives, coaches and even dining car dishes.
By World War I and II, thousands of women were employed by the railroads to take up the slack as men were drafted for war duty. The jobs were often physically demanding and few women had time to prepare for the unfamiliar work. Consequently, many positions were deemed unsuitable for women and they were shifted to clerical or less physically demanding jobs that were also lower paying jobs. Today, women work in almost all formerly "male only type jobs," including locomotive engineer, brakeman, switchman and conductor.
The goal of Burman's American Railroad Women Research Project is to
bring the stories of women railroaders to prominence through a website,
lecture series and traveling photography show. Burman hopes to someday find
a permanent home for her carefully catalogued collection of railroad artifacts,
because she believes the collection could be a valuable research tool for
future generations.
"Many of the women that I talk to will be leaving us soon and I want to get their stories before they are gone," Burman said.
The stories that these women share are ones of amazing pioneers, who like their male counterparts, blazed a trail through the country's transportation history.
One of Burman's favorite stories is about a woman telegraph operator for the Southern Pacific Railroad during the earlier part of this century. The operator was never promoted beyond her entry level post because of women's protective laws in the state of California. Despite the fact that she was performing the work of a higher level position, she still held a low level position with corresponding pay. The injustice of the situation was clear and the woman decided to sue the Southern Pacific and California. She won her case and women's protective laws around the country were found to be in violation of the Civil Rights Act.
"It was funny," said Burman. "I went to interview her and what I found was a sweet old woman, not a leader of the Civil Rights movement."
Burman hopes to preserve women's railroad history by recording these interviews and eventually making a movie about the lives of these extraordinary women.
Burman would like to get as many of these stories as possible and asks that BLE members, families and friends with stories contact her at:
© 2000 Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers