Winter Railway Workers

As Michelle explains in her interview with the museum, even dressing for the weather could not prepare railway workers for the conditions they face:

Michelle Ardron: “I finished up my training course in November. So that meant I went right out to work in December. And it’s colder than you can possibly imagine. I mean, I was a small-town girl accustomed to being outside on snowmobiles and all those kinds of activities. But that’s cold like you just can’t prepare for when you’re in it for ten hours a day, and they force you to work overtime. There’s no, we don’t discuss whether or not you’d like overtime. It was mandatory, so they could hold you for up to two hours by collective agreement, you know, after eight. So, you know, you got to work planning for eight, and they’ve got you for ten. So, you know, you’d be freezing cold, just absolutely freezing, or you would get wet, and you would stay wet. You’d be wet in the first ten minutes, and you’re wet all day. And of course, in those days the rain gear isn’t like today with all the beautiful Helly Hansen Under Armour gear. It was that Rubber, right, rain suit that, it was wet, you were wet, and you were hot because it was wet, and it was just a sauna. And I don’t think I was prepared for that. I don’t think I, you know, really expected those conditions either. So, so yeah, that was interesting.”