Women in the hobby?

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Bill Shields
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Re: Women in the hobby?

Post by Bill Shields »

brittany cropped.jpg
ah well....what can I say?

There are a few of you lady engineers floating around the clubs.

This loco happens to be mine, but she has a 3/4" Juliet of her own that she runs around the club GROUND LEVEL track.
Too many things going on to bother listing them.
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NP317
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Re: Women in the hobby?

Post by NP317 »

Nice locomotive. Nicer Engineer!
Ten points.
~RN
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tsph6500
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Re: Women in the hobby?

Post by tsph6500 »

My grandmother, Myrtle Leggett, ran 3/4" steam on the highline in her backyard beginning back in the late 1920s as did her daughter Willa Leggett (Ratcliffe). My mother, Joyce Leggett (Turnbull) ran steam 3/4' steam in the 1940s and helped her father Jim Turnbull build locos by turning up small screws on his lathe. My wife has run trains at our club but is best known for running the kitchen at our meets and introducing landscaping & tree planting. My daughter, Liz Leggett (Papp) has grown up in live steam, owns her own 0-6-0, has machined her own parts and co-owns an 1-1/2 Mogul with her husband. She has also helped restore full-size steam and been a fireman and engineer at the MNGRR and WMCRR since the late 90s. She also fired at the Nevada Northern Rwy and several others. In April she and her husband will be running and firing mainline steam in England. She is a motorsports and custom motorcycle photographer/journalist, an apprentice at a car restoration, hot rod shop, and a competitive 3-gun shooter. So if it is loud, dirty or goes bang, she's all in.

Why do you have no females around you and your club? It may be that YOU have not been the one to welcome them into your world.
Best regards,
Jim Leggett

Montreal Live Steamers
www.montreallivesteamers.org

A Founding Member of the Tinkerbell Scale Society - Northern Division
I'm an A.R.S.E. (Association of Railroad Steam Engineers)
Toad Swamp & Punk Hollow Railroad - Head Tycoon
The Juvenile Traction Company - CEO & Apprentice Machinist 3rd Class
White Mountain Central RR - Engineer & Fireman
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Bill Shields
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Re: Women in the hobby?

Post by Bill Shields »

Jim:

Agree with your concept, however some of it is genetic...

You should have seen the looks and heard the comments I got when I first had Brittany sit down at the throttle of my steamer. 'you are going to let HER run your loco'?

Well, I WAS sitting right behind the tender, but didn't have to give her much guidance after the first loop around the track by which time she was very familiar with exactly how all the controls reacted.

Before long, I was leaning back, virtually sleeping.

We don't let her go it alone (always has a fireman sitting behind) since, SHOULD she get into trouble (derail for instance), 1/2 a ton of hot locomotive is tough to deal with, especially when you get around in a wheelchair.
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SteveHGraham
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Re: Women in the hobby?

Post by SteveHGraham »

Seriously, the fact that women CAN do STEM and tool work doesn't mean they want to. Women are different.

It's funny; when a man claims he's a woman, we say it's natural. When women avoid STEM pursuits, we say it's oppression and has to be corrected.
Every hard-fried egg began life sunny-side up.
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DianneB
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Re: Women in the hobby?

Post by DianneB »

Bill Shields wrote: Thu Mar 28, 2019 10:23 am...... however some of it is genetic...
I seriously doubt that could EVER be proven! There is FAR more in common between men and women than is different, though I will concede that the effects of testosterone on the young male brain does some strange things :mrgreen:
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Bill Shields
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Re: Women in the hobby?

Post by Bill Shields »

D;

i was talking about interest in things steam tends to run in families....
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DianneB
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Re: Women in the hobby?

Post by DianneB »

Bill Shields wrote: Thu Mar 28, 2019 12:34 pm I was talking about interest in things steam tends to run in families....
I hadn't thought of that but I think you may be right!
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Benjamin Maggi
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Re: Women in the hobby?

Post by Benjamin Maggi »

Same topic came up in 2014. I don't recall someone posting the link:
http://www.chaski.org/homemachinist/vie ... =8&t=98334
"One cannot learn to swim without getting his feet wet." - Benjamin Maggi
- Building: 7.25" gauge "Sweet Pea" named "Catherine"
James Powell
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Re: Women in the hobby?

Post by James Powell »

ImageMLS (2) by Peach James, on Flickr

Nope, she never drives... mind, neither of us have driven an (railway) engine in the last few years. Dad kidnapped that one !

We've been very busy with the boys, so things like Steam have taken a backseat. The 4" traction hasn't been out in 2 years, will go out this year.

James
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