Evening star., 1942-12-12
D. {. Area Women
Take Railroad Jobs
Left Vacant by Men
Grode-Crossing Guordion
Truek-Gong Watcher
Find Work Fine

Troek-Gone Watcher
Find Work Fine
''1've been working on the rail-
road, and I like it fine" So say
two women-one who has been at
1t for two days, one for 20 years.
Miss Arbutus McManus, 81, COL
ored. of 227 K street NV. is one
OF 10 woman gang watchers hired
by the Pennsylvania Railroad to
clear roadbed laborers of the tracks
when trains approach. Mrs. Hilda
Wiser, IS, of Lanham, Md, has been
: working on the railroad for 20 years,
and has brought up five children on
q her earnings. Both agree they
6 couldn't have a better boss.
Manpower scarcity has caused
: railroads throughout the country to
dip into the only remaining reser-
voir-womanpower. Women drive
loading trucks, heave baggage, work
: as brake inspectors and gang
watchers.
Dresses Heavily.
Miss McManuS guarded the safety
Of some 80 laborers repairing the
roadbed at Landover yesterday. She
wore dress tucked under two pairs
OF slacks, two sweaters, a lumber
Jacket, pair of socks and galoshes,
and green visor cap. She may not
wear red clothing. That color would
make an alert locomotive engineer
slap on the emergency brakes and
bring his train to screeching stop.
But she does carry red flag tightly
rolled up, in case of crisis.
When a train approaches, Miss
McManus holds aloft a big white
disk and blows her whistle. If the
men work with pneumatic Hampers
drowning out the whistle, she is
supposed to turn off the pneumatic
engine or touch their sleeves to
warn them. At night she swings a
white lamp.
Il like it very much" Miss Nc
Manus says. Il live with my father.
He is a brickmason. He is sick and
I wasn't making much money in
cafateria, so applied here. I sup
pose the fresh air will be good for
me"
1t was pretty cold the first morn
Ing, she said but the second day it
was better. The men are nice to
her. They fetch wood in a thicket
nearby and keep a small bonfire
burning. The railroad pays her $1OO
q month, rain or shine.
Sons Are in Army.
Mrs. Hilda Wiser, who guards the
Pennsylvania Railroad crossing at
Lanham, Md. was 26 years old and
the mother of four children when
her husband, William E. Wiser,
trackwalker, was hit by a train and
killed instantly one night as he
swung his lamp along the Pennsyl-
vania tracks inspecting the rails. A
year later Mrs. Wiser went to work
on her present job. Her mother,
Mrs. Ellen Russell, took care of the
children.
The eldest, Charles, isn't really
her son. He is the brother of her
husband, and was only years old
when she took him into the family.
But I always call him my boy"
Mrs. Wiser says. He has been like
a son to me-" Charles is a petty
officer in the Navy, serving with the
Sea-Bees in the Solomons. Gilbert
E. Wiser is sergeant with the rail-
road engineers in the African cam
paign; Thomas is an aviation cadet
at the Army Air School at Nashville,
Tenn. Mary, her daughter, has be-
come a sheetmetal riveter at the
Riverdale Research Corp, an Army
and Navy experimental laboratory
at Riverdale, Md. Another son,
Robert, is an inspector at the Wash
ington Terminal.
1--WE have nice home" Mrs.
Wiser says. Il have 14-room
house and built it with the money
the railroad gave me. They have
been aWfully nice to me-"
NdtCneS All Trains.
Sure, women can work on the
railroad! You bet they can do that
women can Go anything they
make up their minds to-" Mrs. Wiser
says.
From $50 am. to 2:30 pm, she
guards the grade crossing at Lam
nam, tagging oncoming trains. She
must watch the wheels as they
speed by up to 80 miles an hour.
If she sees a hot box or brakes
burning, she must either try to
signal the train crew or telephone
ahead.
Some 10 years ago woman driver
stalled her car on the tracks. Mrs.
Wiser tried to push the car, but
couldn't bulge it. She screamed
and dashed up the tracks with her
red flag. Neighbors heard her
shouts and ran up to shove the
automobile off the tracks. In the
meantime, Mrs. Wiser, far up the
roadbed, had tagged the train to a
stop. The woman gave her an
award and the track superintendent
sent her nice letter of commenda-
ton.
Strange Cargoes Pass
In the days before global war,
when regular trains ran on regular
schedules, Mrs. Wiser waved to the
engineers and knew them all by
sight. They used to throw all kinds
of gifts at me-" she reminisced.'
Books and magazines and things
No, they never threw flowers. They
were all married, guess
Today trains whizz by in both di-
rections at all hours with many
strange cargoes. One day the super
intendent telephoned her: There S
a train coming with tear gas stream
ing out on both Sides" he said, but
for heavens sake don't stop it! We
will take care of it all further on. y
And sure enough-there came long
endless freight train with white tear
gas kissing out in clouds on each
side. Mrs. Wiser just stood by in
silent awe.
In her guard box Mrs. Wiser has
an d-fashioned pot-belly stove
which the PENNSYLVANIA Railroad