Date: June 22nd
Category: Women’s History | Wartime Labour | Railways & Resistance
She swapped her apron for overalls.
Traded the washboard for a welding torch.
And stepped into a world of steam, steel, and sweat — where women weren’t just helping the war effort.
They were keeping the country moving.
Today, The Time Traveller’s Guild honours the women of Britain’s wartime railways — the engineers, porters, guards, signalwomen and ticket clerks who made up a rail army in headscarves.
They weren’t just placeholders while men went to war — they were pioneers, rebels, and railworkers in their own right.
🚂 When the Women Took Over
When war broke out in 1939, Britain’s railways were vital:
- Moving troops and supplies
- Evacuating children
- Transporting workers, food, and fuel
But with men conscripted, the railways faced a staffing crisis.
The solution? Recruit thousands of women to do the work — for less pay, of course.
🧳 By 1943, more than 100,000 women were employed across Britain’s railway network.
👩🏭 Jobs Women Did on the Rails
Women took on roles once deemed “unladylike” or “too dangerous,” including:
- Engine cleaners, covered in coal dust
- Signal operators, managing vast networks under air raid threat
- Porters, loading heavy goods and mail
- Guards and conductors, checking tickets and monitoring routes
- Workshop engineers, welding and maintaining rolling stock
And yes — some women even trained as firemen and steam engine drivers, though officially discouraged.
🔧 “They said I was too small to swing a signal lever. I showed them.” — Jean, signalwoman from Durham, 1944
💥 Stories of Grit & Grace
🛤️ Rose Spencer – The First Female Stationmaster at Peckham Rye
Known for her sharp uniform, firm voice, and fearlessness during the Blitz. She kept the station running during air raids — once reportedly guiding a full trainload of evacuees by torchlight after a power cut.
⚙️ The Wolverton Girls – Train Builders of Buckinghamshire
At the Wolverton Works, women built and maintained carriages — many of which were used in troop and hospital trains. They organised their own social clubs and strike committees, demanding fairer conditions.
🧢 “Winnie the Welder” Brigade
Women welders across Crewe, Derby and Swindon earned their nickname from U.S. counterparts. They were famed for their accuracy, stamina, and song — working long shifts with spark and pride.
📸 Rail Life in Wartime
- Headscarves replaced hats
- Toolboxes replaced handbags
- Breaks were taken beside steaming engines with flasks of tea and rationed sandwiches
- Women formed railway football teams, choirs, and unions
🎶 “We run this line from dawn to dark / We’ve got the strength, we’ve made our mark.” — railway song lyric, 1942
💬 After the War: What Came Next?
- Most women were pushed out of their roles post-1945
- But some refused to leave — and inspired others to join later
- Their wartime presence led to the eventual opening of full-time, permanent jobs for women in the 1960s and 1970s
Today, we walk in their footsteps — through stations, sidings, and signal boxes they once claimed with courage.
🧭 Where to Learn More or Honour Them
- 🏛️ National Railway Museum, York – Wartime railwomen exhibits
- 📍 Swindon Steam Museum – Women of the GWR
- 🎧 Voices of the Home Front oral history collection
- 🖼️ Imperial War Museum, London – “Women at War” transport archive
📚 Want to Know More?
- Railwaywomen by Helena Wojtczak
- Women and the Railways by Margaret Dean
- A Woman’s War: The Women Who Made the Railways Run – Guild archive e-book
- Transport for London – 100 Years of Women in Transport
💬 Know a Railworker’s Story? Share it: #RosieTheRailworker
Was your grandmother or great-aunt one of Britain’s wartime railway women? Do you have photos, letters, or uniforms?
Tag @TimeTravellersGuild and use #RosieTheRailworker — we’ll feature these stories in our Women on the Rails heritage gallery this summer.
