Welcome to We Are The World Blogfest yet again. Unlike trains, I’m not on time. Did I miss Platform nine and three quarters? Hardly.
But, I’ve grown up in a family that had generations of us on and off the rails, so to speak! Both the paternal and maternal line of our clan (or crew) are loaded with railway people. Not least of these was our late Dad who served the New South Wales rail system for 43years.
So, I’m delighted to share with you the story of Heather. Meanwhile, mind the gap!
Heather in the Cabin. Source: BBC News accessed 31 May 2021.
Heather is a Scottish train driver. As the BBC News tells us:
‘As Scotland’s only woman freight train driver, Heather Waugh was already a pioneer. Then a tragedy from her past inspired her to take on a new mission – getting men to talk about their mental health.
When it was time to set off, Heather briskly pulled a handle towards her: “Star Trek-style”, she said, deadpan, as though she were Mr Sulu putting the USS Enterprise into warp speed. But this wasn’t a spaceship; it was a British Rail-vintage Class 90 locomotive. Its motors growled, then the train shuddered forward.
Behind her, container wagons stretched down the line for three-quarters of a mile. It wasn’t Heather’s job to know what sort of cargo she was carrying, just how much it all weighed – tonight, a little under 1,500 tonnes – and whether it included anything hazardous. Her task was to drive the lot of it south through the valleys of lowland Scotland and beyond.’
After a time, there was a tragic incident, and Heather found herself in a doctor’s surgery and with a month’s leave. Later she switched from passenger to freight trains and a strange, yet fascinating thing happened.
‘Historically, freight had been widely regarded – inaccurately, Heather quickly discovered – as dirty, heavy, physically draining work, and the workplace was exclusively male as a result. “In this day and age, you don’t expect to be the only woman,” she says. “Even with my background, it was intimidating.”
To her surprise, her new colleagues were overjoyed to have her on the team. They’d look forward to her being on shift – not because they wanted to chat her up, but because they could open up to her about their problems in a way they wouldn’t with other men, Heather found. “I’ve had conversations with colleagues where I know I’m the first person they’ve had that conversation with,” Heather says.’
Heather went and trained in new skills ‘”…teaching staff to recognise what is out of the ordinary,” she says. “As human beings it’s our job to go and take five minutes to speak to somebody and say, ‘Are you OK?'” she says.’
Heather helped men talk about their problems to, literally, lighten one of the loads they were carrying.
Our co-hosts for this month are Susan Scott and Eric Lahti and we are grateful.
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Simon's still stanza 
This is a great story, Simon. She could have easily ignored those men. Kudos to her for making their lives better.
Heather could have done just that, Dan. I really like the way that her experience of trauma, and the skills she gained, are now helping heal others too. Oh, and I like that she drives trains. But you knew that!
Well, yeah.
I can see this, like Heather throughout both work and my schooling I was often the only female on site and even to this day I have a great deal of male friends. who confide in me. I’ve had a lot of older brother figures in my life, it’s great! Great post Simon! Thanks so much for sharing this and for being a part of #WATWB. Hope you have a wonderful week.
In it’s own way, Belinda, that scenario plays out the world over. No doubt your male friends really value that gift of courageous converations with you. It’s funny how we are different and yet the same across the seas. So many of us men have “Heather figures” in our lives. And here am I listening to Jewel while typing.
I was in a predominantly male career field and always found our conversations easy and enlightening. Thank you for sharing this heartfelt story.
My pleasure, Maggie. Thanks also for being there for others. I hope some been there for you when the time of need was there.
Hi Simon – this is a wonderful story isn’t it … so many people suffer from mental health problems. I know mental health is being highlighted a lot here and there are a number of small wonderful organisations, often volunteer led – she has that ability to think of others … we need more people like Heather. We need to talk to people and open doors for them to express their worries … and we need many more people in society to be aware. That lad is so sad to read about … I feel for his parents and family … Hilary
I’m not surprised about the mental health struggles either, Hilary. As you had commented to me before, the pandemic is a real challenge among your people. That brings mental health challenges too. You are right about the volunteer organisations too. We have some great ones here in Austalia.
A wonderful post Simon thank you. Heather had her own tragedy yet from this she was able to reach out to others, those who had had no opportunity before …
Such a good thing. As men, we’re usually taught to bottle up our feelings and ignore them because that’s the manly thing to do. That kind of thing never turns out well.