Watco Team members Andrea Harville and Lori Vaden are two of a growing number of women to make a career of railroading — a trend that started slowly as long ago as the early 1800s, then picked up steam in recent years.
In 1825, Rebecca Lukens became president of the Brandywine Rolling Mill — known for manufacturing boilerplates used in locomotives. In 1838, the Union Pacific Railroad hired women to become part of an operating train crew after already having introduced registered nurse-stewardesses to their passenger trains.
And in 1855, the B&O Railroad followed suit by hiring women. During World War I and World War II, large numbers of women held railroad jobs while men were overseas, proving that they were up to the task.
The American Council of Railroad Women was established in 1944 to help the large number of women that were hired by the railroads.
‘Freedom and flexibility’
Harville, trainmaster for Birmingham Terminal Railway, started with Watco right out of college in 2008. She didn’t grow up playing with a train set, nor did she ever consider a job in railroading.
With a degree in supply chain management, she was seeking a company to work for in logistics or operations management.
“But I actually stumbled upon an opportunity in the transportation department, so that’s how I got my start in railroading,” Harville said.
“I like it,” she said. “A lot of people ask me, ‘Why railroading? It’s not typically something a woman does. But it’s exciting. It changes day by day. And I really like the people I work with.”
Harville said she likes the flexibility and freedom the job affords, and the feeling she gets from solving a Customer’s problem.
“It’s different every day. It’s different from other careers. And I can get out and visit with customers, not be in a cubicle each day,” she said. “You can see the end goal, and it’s fun to figure out how to accomplish that.”
She concedes it was intimidating, at first, being among the handful of women at her workplace.
“Some days I’m like, ‘I can’t believe I’m the only woman.’ I do stand out. People know who I am.”
“But I just approached it like, ‘I’m here for a reason. I want to learn as much as possible.’ And I found there were a lot of people who were accepting to mentoring me, to helping me grow as a team member.”
Similarly, Vaden, an engineer for SKOL based in Winfield, didn’t grow up longing to be in the railroad b
usiness.
“It was the complete opposite, in fact,” she said. “I knew trains blocked highways and sometimes made me mad.”
With a previous career in the oil field, the mother of two girls was seeking a permanent career with a good foundation in which she could retire.
“I always loved doing things outdoors, and a friend mentioned the railroad,” Vaden said. “I had never even thought about it. But then I thought, ‘Why not?’ I’ve auto mechanics and other ‘guy things’.”
The more she considered it, the more it made sense.
“I’ve worn high heels and done data entry, but that never really fit me,” she said.
Today, she helps conductors transport from one place to another, and does conductor work when there are enough engineers.
She rotates from one job to another every three months, often putting in 10-hour days on routes to and from a rock quarry in Moline, Kansas.
“I love not being in an office,” Vaden said. “Running a train is unique. It’s cool when it’s 200 cars long, or 130 cars long, going up and down big hills with it, and they’re 9,000 tons. Just to keep it together and make it from point A to point B is satisfying.”
“When you get to go to Wichita, that’s an even bigger rush — 45 to 55 mile an hour, compared to 25 to Moline,” she said. “That’s a whole different ballgame.”
Celebrating eight years with Watco last September, she said she has learned a lot.
“You’ve definitely got to have a tougher skin, to be able to be independent, deal with men — you can’t break down and cry,” she said. “You’ve got to have physical toughness, to throw switches, to pick up an 85-pound knuckle and carry one around. You can’t depend on someone to be right there to help.
“You’ve got to be able to handle your own,” she said.
“But this feels like the right fit now — I don’t plan on going anywhere. I don’t hate going to work; I enjoy it.”
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