Iron Women
The Ladies Who Helped Build the Railroad
by Chris Enss
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Pub Date Feb 01 2021 | Archive Date May 01 2021
Rowman & Littlefield | TwoDot
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Description
Although the physical task of building the railroad had been achieved by men, women made significant and lasting contributions to the historic operation.
Starting in 1838, women were hired as registered nurses/stewardesses in passenger cars. Women also played a larger part in the actual creation of the rail lines than they have been given credit for. Miss E. F. Sawyer became the first female telegraph operator when she was hired by the Burlington Railroad in Montgomery, Illinois, in 1872. Eliza Murfey focused on the mechanics of the railroad, creating devices for improving the way bearings on a rail wheel attached to train cars responded to the axles. Murfey held sixteen patents for her 1870 invention. In 1879, another woman inventor named Mary Elizabeth Walton developed a system that deflected emissions from the smoke stacks on railroad locomotives. She was awarded two patents for her pollution reducing device. Their stories and many more are included in this illustrated volume celebrating women and the railroad.
Available Editions
| EDITION | Paperback |
| ISBN | 9781493037759 |
| PRICE | $19.95 (USD) |
Links
Featured Reviews
Janilyn K, Reviewer
Iron Women examines women who contributed to the rise of the railroads. The chapters cover inventors, writers, bosses, and the infamous Harvey Girls. Women played an integral part in making the railroads a significant factor in US history. The chapter I find the most interesting was the one on the HArvey Girls. I had a vague idea who they were, but I had no idea it was a chain of restaurants and hotels along the southwest that gave jobs to thousands of women from the 1890s-1930s.
Harriet S, Librarian
I loved reading this short but informative book about women's roles in the early railroad, from the refrigeration car to the painted murals inside the cars and leadership in a male-dominated industry.
I definitely learned a lot about the era and the accomplishments of these strong women.
Jan T, Reviewer
inventors, women, nonfiction, historical-figures, historical-places-events, historical-research, trains, telegraphy*****
The documentation and presentation are very similar to Publish or Perish theses. The women included worked as telegraphers, the owner of narrow gauge railroad, a travel writer, train robber, one who developed the modern refrigerator car, a journalist, civil engineers, an architect, lawyers, and a railroad muralist. The intense research is meticulously documented and attests to its validity. The title is a little off center, but how else might one title a book on the importance of women in railroad history? I enjoyed the read (but then, I really like Charles River Editors).
I requested and received a free temporary ebook from Rowman & Littlefield/TwoDot via NetGalley. Thank you.
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