Ceres: Describe what a female conductor should be.
Rebecca: You have to be in decent shape, with a lot of upper body and arm strength because you’re going to be throwing switches, you have to put (train) hoses together. You have to carry a lot of heavy things, sometimes. If something breaks under the train, you gotta get under it. If we hit somebody, we have to go out there, and get prepared for that, mentally and physically.
Ceres: You just brought up a very interesting point. You are the one that has to find the body in case of an accident with a pedestrian.
Rebecca: Yes, the engineer must be on the train at all times. So, the conductor goes out there, and verifies if the person is alive or dead, and the location of the body. We have to deal with the coroner, the dispatcher, the police, the passengers, the announcements, our chief, our managers. It's a lot, and you have to know how to multitask. I actually had somebody kill himself, in front of me, on a train. And, you have to be prepared for that because it's gonna happen to you. I don’t mean to sound callous, but I'm kind of used to it, already. People deal with things differently; some will cry, some will get crazy, shaken up, and some people will just stay calm. I stay calm. You just gotta learn how to deal with a lot of pressure.
Ceres: Is that the most difficult thing about your job?
Rebecca: The most difficult thing about the job is keeping up your certifications and the rules, because every railroad has a different set of rules that you need to follow. So, you have to carry all of the books, all the papers, all the
orders that they give. There's a lot of attention to detail on paperwork because you can easily mess something up very quickly. So, it's a lot of pressure on that side, too.
Ceres: What are the issues you encounter?
Rebecca: As I said, I'm very hands-on. I handle my things myself. If I need help, I'll call, but other than that, I'll handle it. There's been altercations on the train, drunk people, people who are on drugs, people who are passed out or want to fight with you. You’re going to deal with all that without having to constantly look for help because you're by yourself. So, you have to carry yourself in a way, basically, that says: “Don't mess with me!” You get your problem passengers, sometimes, which makes your trip really bad. Then you have the mechanical issues; we have to deal with that as well, and keep everybody on the train happy, which is hard sometimes.
Ceres: If you could change something about your job, what would it be?
"So, if you can do it, just do it! You probably can get hired a little bit quicker because you’re a female."
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19 - Ceres Magazine - Winter 2016