WOMEN ON BRITISH RAILWAYS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 7, Issue 52, 29 February 1944, Page 7

WOMEN ON BRITISH RAILWAYS

«■ Over 100.000 women work on the railways ol" the, United Kingdom, replacing men who have been called into the Forces. They arc porters,, ticket collectors, van guards, engine cleaners, oilers and greasers, tr,uck drivers, storekeepers, Otters, and a whole lftt of other things. No one, except the railway companies themselves, really 'knows how much they are helping to keep the railways running. And to a nation engaged, in a total war, with supplics , and workers to be transported regularly and in ever-increasing quantities, the. railways arc as vital as the guns, the tanks and the planes they can\y\ For the very first time, women tire doing heavy, responsible work in the goods depots. They began early in 19-11—just handling the lighter packages, as they did in the las* war. But soon .they were volunteering for heavy work. In one of the largest London goods depots there are now 600 women. In, this huge place covering 50 acres of ground, where the handling of freight traffic goes on for 24. hours a day, they work in gangs, loading and unloading tons of important material. The most difficult job which these women have taken on is crane-driv-ing. Women driving 5-ton electric cranes work 40 feet above groundlevel, for 48 hours a week. They have learns .1, too, to drive the big overhead cranes which- lift whole container trucks from train to lorry.