The Railroad Women of World War II

Railway use ramped up even before the US entered World War II, because the war in Europe was interrupting shipping lanes, so more cargo went by train. Then wartime gasoline rationing caused an uptick in passengers using trains. Meanwhile, men were being shipped off to fight, so women were hired to work on the railroads. By the beginning of 1944, there were some 116,000 women railroad workers. Some of these women were photographed in 1943 by Office of War Information photographer Jack Delano. See a collection of images of women railroad workers at Mashable.