Lady on board

Although the business has gone through changes in the last 156 years ‘ becoming a short-line, name changes and having different owners ‘ one thing has remained. Women were in the office and not on the train.

The male-only tradition of train operators officially came to an end March 25 when Sharon Hobbs, a woman in the McMinnville office located in Depot Bottom, obtained her engineer’s license.

‘This is something I wanted to do,’ said Hobbs. She began working for the railroad in 1998 when it was operated by Debra and Edd Cox.

‘The railroad industry is mainly a man’s world’ she said. ‘Women can sit behind the desk, but there aren’t many who are train engineers. I wanted to be one.’

Ironhorse Resources, an Illinois-based company, purchased the railroad in December 2005. After the new owners took over, Hobbs made the bold move to seek approval for what she wanted to do.

Despite what she thought the new owner’s reaction might be, Ironhorse Resources turned out to be extremely approving.

‘It was a good response,’ said Hobbs. ‘They were very supportive and backed me 100 percent. Everyone within the office has been patient and willing for me to learn. I haven’t heard anything negative. It has been a good experience.’

To become a licensed locomotive engineer, she had to learn the rules of train operations, know how a locomotive works, complete 80 hours of driving the train with a designated supervisor of locomotive engineers (DSLE), and pass four tests.

After taking the steps necessary to become a licensed locomotive engineer herself, she no longer has to have one sitting beside her. However, she doesn’t spend all her time in the driver’s seat.

Along with driving the train on a part-time basis, called a relief driver, she is the railroad’s agent and administrative manager. When she isn’t behind the wheel, or in this case levers, she’s handling the paperwork, making sure the train is where it needs to be, scheduling deliveries and answering the phones.

As one would expect from a woman with three job titles, her job is anything but boring.

‘It is never boring,’ said Hobbs. ‘I don’t know what I’m going to do when I get in here. I might need to drive the train for the day or be in the office. My job is anything but boring. This is definitely my life and I’m enjoying it.’

Caney Fork & Western Railroad runs a distance of 60 miles through Coffee, Warren and White counties. Primarily, it carries lumber, steel, fertilizer, grain, propane and carbon black.

If you need anything sent by rail, the number at Caney Fork & Western is 473-4910.