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Debut for England's first woman to fire steam loco
For 200 years they have been saying it’s no job for a lady…but Tracey Parkinson is about to prove them wrong!
Tracey, 32, who works at the National Railway Museum in York, is to become the first woman in England to fire a steam locomotive on the main line.
Recently qualified as a Fireman for main line steam charter train operator, West Coast Railways, Tracey will make her rail network debut on board the NRM’s regular summer seaside service, The Scarborough Spa Express on Thursday (10 August).
And as an extra bonus for the big day, Tracey will even be firing her favourite locomotive, the NRM’s flagship engine Green Arrow.
Tracey, who lives near Goole, has worked at the National Railway Museum for five years and is currently their Train Services Manager. She got the train ‘bug’ as a university student on a work placement at the Museum and, after winning a loco ride at a local preserved railway, decided the footplate was the only place to be.
“I was only supposed to be on the footplate for one ride but ended up staying for hours. From that day on, it was the only thing I wanted to do,”
said Tracey.
She immediately signed on as a volunteer locomotive cleaner at the Pickering-based North York Moors Railway and within a couple of years had joined the support crew for the NRM’s main line operating partner, West Coast Railways.
As a fully qualified Fireman and Guard, Tracey will now be able to join footplate crews on mainline steam charters all over the UK and remains undaunted by the prospect of shovelling tons of coal in the process.
She added:
“I have been working towards this day for many years and I am really looking forward to it, especially since my first official outing will be on the NRM’s Scarborough Spa Express service.
“There is no doubt that this day has been a long time coming for women on the railways, but I have always been made to feel very welcome by male colleagues on the footplate. They know I can do the job and that I will do it well….but I have to admit they are not much good when I drop a stitch in my knitting during the rest periods!”
The Scarborough Spa Express runs between York and Scarborough Tuesday to Thursday until the end of August, leaving York Station at 11.00 and Scarborough at 18.00. Standard return tickets are £30 for adults and £20 for children.
Editor’s notes:
- It takes many years of work to achieve the status of Fireman on the main rail network and involves far more than knowing how to shovel coal! The job requires a thorough knowledge of the rules and regulations of the railway, and the technical expertise to maintain the safe balance of fuel and water to create enough power for the journey.
- Women have been working on the railways for generations. During the Second World War they often took on roles normally reserved for men, but not on the footplate. Although there are now a handful of female footplate crew at preserved railways around the country, Tracey Parkinson is believed to be the first woman in England to qualify to fire a steam loco on the main rail network.
- The NRM’s V2 Class locomotive No 4771 Green Arrow is celebrating its 70th birthday this year, having been built at Doncaster Works in 1936.
- The Scarborough Spa Express is one of five steam excursions in the NRM’s Giants of Steam programme for 2006. All the trains are operated by Carnforth-based West Coast Railways.
10 August 2006