White Pass & Yukon runs train with all-female crew

SKAGWAY, Alaska — The White Pass & Yukon Route Railway marked a milestone in its well over a century of operation earlier this month when it operated a train with an all-female crew for the first time.

The event occurred on Oct. 15 with a crew of Lindsay Breen, the railroad’s first woman engineer; conductor Eliza Myers; and brakeman Eileen O’Keefe, the railroad said on Facebook and other social media. The White Pass & Yukon currently has five female crew members on its 29-person roster, including two engineers.

“It was really neat that it was finally happening,” Breen told Alaska Public Media. “It took long enough.”

Breen has worked for the railroad for 12 years, starting as a train agent. She worked as a dock representative and coach cleaner before moving into crew service, first as a brakeman, then conductor. Myers has similarly climbed through the ranks, working as in the ticket office, as a dock representative, and as a brakeman. She also wants to become an engineer.

The narrow gauge railroad dates to 1900. It currently operates 67.5 miles between Skagway and Carcross, Yukon Territory.