Female Railway Workers

[Heimatschuss]

Hi Matt,

here are two more shots of female Reichsbahn personnel from Knipping & Schulz (2006, p.160, 428):

Deutsche Reichsbahn female 1.jpg

A Reichsbahngehilfin in the Eastern Ukraine in 1942. The map on the wall shows the railroad network north of the Sea of Azov.

Deutsche Reichsbahn female 2.jpg

Reichsbahn telephone operators in Snamenka, Western Ukraine, in 1943.

References:
Knipping, Andreas; Schulz, Reinhard
Die Deutsche Reichsbahn 1939 - 1945. Zwischen Ostfront und Atlantikwall.
transpress Verlag; Stuttgart; 2006

It's a lavishly illustrated book I can really recommend. At the moment a reprint edition from 2010 which has almost the same graphics quality is available for a mere 12,95 Euros. See http://www.weltbild.de/3/16417556-1/buc ... -1945.html but it can also be found on Ebay.


Best regards
Torsten

[Helmuth]

Torsten- Matt,

Thanks for the photos. I too am in the transportation industry, and am fascinated by the rail workers and tram operators. I hope to see more.

[Heimatschuss]

Hello Helmuth!

Many thanks for your positive response. I'm always glad when photos posted here mean something special to some other visitor, for example if they meet with his/her professional background. There's a special thread for tram conductresses here viewtopic.php?f=77&t=172603#p470303 where Vikki shows some great scans from the training of tram personnel in Vienna.

Here are some more Reichsbahn photos:

Deutsche Reichsbahn female 3.jpg

Platform warden giving a train the sign to leave.

Deutsche Reichsbahn female 4.jpg

Another platform warden discussing something with one of the 'chain dogs' (Kettenhunde) from the military police. She's equipped with an Austrian signalling disc. Half obsurced by the policeman you see a Betreuungshelferin of the German Red Cross filling the soldiers' cups with tea.

Deutsche Reichsbahn female 5.jpg

Two platform wardens on their way to work in the central station in Stuttgart.

Sources:

Top photo: http://www.ebay.de
Auction no.: 140506181305
Vendor: 3...2...1...dankesehr
Date: 07. Feb. 2011 19:52:50 CET

Centre photo:
Knipping, Andreas; Schulz, Reinhard
Die Deutsche Reichsbahn 1939 - 1945. Zwischen Ostfront und Atlantikwall.
transpress Verlag; Stuttgart; 2006; p.429

Bottom photo:
Knipping, Andreas; Schulz, Reinhard
Die Deutsche Reichsbahn 1939 - 1945. Zwischen Ostfront und Atlantikwall.
transpress Verlag; Stuttgart; 2006; p.427

[Heimatschuss]

Some other pics from the maintenance department:

Deutsche Reichsbahn female 6.jpg

Female workers cleaning the interior of a steam engine boiler with pressurized air. Scene from 1941.

Deutsche Reichsbahn female 7.jpg

A team of steam engine cleaners in Hamburg in 1941.

Deutsche Reichsbahn female 8.jpg

Just compare the size of the engine wheel with that of the woman. Impressive!

Sources:

Top photo:
Jürgen Engert (Ed.)
Heimatfront. Kriegsalltag in Deutschland 1939 - 1945
Nikolaische Verlagsbuchhandlung; Berlin; 1999; p.89

Centre photo:
http://www.eisenbahnstiftung.de/bg/pics/1148.jpg

Bottom photo:
http://www.eisenbahnstiftung.de/bg/pics/4552.jpg

When you want more Reichsbahn photos you should go to http://www.eisenbahnstiftung.de/bg/ and then visit the various sub-sections clickable in the top field (Thema) on the left.

Best regards
Torsten

[Matt Gibbs]

Thanks for the photo link Torsten. I am enjoying browsing it while I am at work in my lunch break at the switch tower
The photos of the engine cleaners in the locomotive department show that some of their jobs were very unglamourous!
I shall be be browsing for more women working in the signal boxes.
thanks!
Matt