The signage isn't entirely accurate, gender-wise, but it's pretty close.

The Alaska Railroad Corp. has 670 employees, 94 of whom are women who mostly fill office and administrative jobs. For those who run the engines, only five of 180 conductors and engineers are women, a number that has stayed about the same for the last 20 years.

"Women are coming to the railroad slowly but surely," said conductor Stephanie Burnham, who has been at the railroad since 1983 and has the second-longest tenure of female engine operators. "Alaska Railroad is definitely open to having women, but I'm not sure why more women don't come to work here."

She guessed it could be the long and often uncertain hours.

"Trains can be called any time night or day," Burnham said. "It's not a job that lends itself to a quote, 'normal family life.' "

The number of female railroad engineers and conductors is on track with airline pilots, electricians, plumbers and auto mechanics, where fewer than 5 percent of the work force is female, according to state statistics.

Burnham, 51, said when she was hired at the railroad, there were five women qualified to operate the engines, the same as today.

"I've seen a lot more acceptance," Burnham said, adding that if someone -- male or female -- proves they can handle a train safely and skillfully, they're accepted as simply a "railroader."

"I think those people are pretty much gone," Burnham said of men who think only men belong on the railroad. "But like any industry that is male-dominated, perhaps there is a small element of holdover."

Burnham is not sure what drew her to trains, but she did say it may have been a train set her father bought for her before she was born, expecting a son, she said.

"It's not something I ever thought I'd do," Burnham said of railroading.

Working on trains does have its benefits, Burnham added.

"I get to wear real comfortable clothing," Burnham said. "And I have a great view from my office."

Before this job, Burnham was a high school physical education teacher and worked with special education students.

She landed a job with the Burlington Northern Railroad in Seattle, and in 1983 came to Alaska.

"I came to Alaska to spend one summer," Burnham said, adding some railroad humor. "I've been here all my live long day."

Burnham mostly runs freight trains nowadays, but there was a time she routinely hauled tourists to Whittier.

"They'd be surprised when they saw a women up there running an engine," Burnham said.

Burnham and Paula Pisik, the longest-tenured engine operator, acted as mentors for Martha Claugus, a 22-year-old conductor and engineer, the youngest at the railroad.

"They've told me what to expect and how to be a woman on the Alaska Railroad," Claugus said. "I've had some great women come before me."

"In the beginning, it was real difficult. Guys, in general, were a little wary," Claugus said. "Once I proved I can run a train, 99 percent of the guys were just great and helpful. The others just stay away from me."

She admits there are some things that probably only a woman would do when operating a train.

"The first few moose I hit, I cried," Claugus said. "That is pretty difficult for me, and if I never ever hit another one again, I'll be happy."

She also wouldn't mind talking to other women railroaders more often.

"It's nice to get a dose of estrogen versus all that testosterone sometimes," she said.

"I'm very proud to see Martha out there and running engines," Burnham said. "The word that I get from the fellows is nothing but praise."

"I'm always glad to see more women coming on because we can do the job," Burnham said.

Pat Gamble, president of the Alaska Railroad, says Claugus is a "shining star" and an ambassador for the railroad.

She also is an example of the railroad's philosophy of wanting to hire hard-working folks from within the corporation, Gamble said.

Claugus, a 1996 Chugiak High School graduate, worked her way up from tour guide to brakeman and fireman, to conductor and engineer in less than five years, through testing and on-the-job training.

Gamble, a former four-star general in the U.S. Air Force and commander of all Air Forces in the Pacific, was flying fighter jets in Vietnam when he was Claugus' age.

"There were no women flying in those days, but today, at 22 or 23, we have women fighter pilots," Gamble said.

Hauling passengers and millions of dollars worth of often hazardous commodities is a big job, and not one given out to just anyone, Gamble said.

"It is a lot of responsibility at that age, and it's probably pretty surprising to some to see her at the head of a train," Gamble said. "She is good."

Neither the opportunity nor the responsibility is lost on Claugus, who attended one year of college at the University of Alaska Anchorage and hopes to go back someday.

"I've been blessed," Claugus said. "I know I'm real young to make the amount of money I make."

Engineers and conductors make more than $20 an hour, and work sometimes up to 96 hours a week in the summer. The overtime helped Claugus buy a new home in Eagle River recently.

She is engaged to be married next year to Steve Conlan, a locomotive electrician.

Someday, Claugus hopes to have a baby, but knows she'll have to take quite a bit of time off because her job requires her to be able to lift at least 50 pounds.

"I can't do that when I'm pregnant."

The railroad union also has no provision for maternity leave, she said.

"It's never been too much of an issue up to this point," she said.