Lynne Woehkle: Momentum and Meaning: Joy in the Work

In this episode, Linda sits down with Lynne Woehkle, Director of Sales at Delta Railroad Services and Quality Track Equipment. 

With over 23 years in the railroad industry, Lynne’s joy radiates as she reflects on navigating real-time communication, seasonal ebbs and flows, industry innovation, relationships, problem-solving, her rescue goats, and more.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hi everyone, Linda Lorello here. Thanks so much for your continued support of the Women in Rail podcast brought to you by NextGen Rail Network. Before we meet today's guest, I want to take a moment to share a bit more about NextGen Rail Network itself. I launched this initiative with a clear mission to elevate the visibility of the railroad industry and empower the next generation of Rail Innovation. This podcast is our very first platform launch, and I have to say, I've loved being behind the mic with so many incredible women, sharing our stories and highlighting why we love working in Rail. Alright, drumroll please. My next guest is none other than Lynn Welkie, a 23-year industry veteran who actually found her way into Rail through a newspaper ad. Do you remember those? I've had the pleasure of working alongside her, and her energy and passion for this industry are truly infectious. Thanks as always for spending your time with us today. Let's jump into Lynn's story as she reflects on her journey and how she navigated her passion for the railroad industry.

SPEAKER_01 1:35

Well, I've been in the rail industry half my life now. So half in the foundry industry and half in the rail industry. At Delta, yes, I get to work with a lot of customers. I get to work with transits and class ones and very small contractors. And it's just really exciting time for us. With your help, we've grown so much. What was the single moment that made you decide to enter the rail industry? Well, back in the day when you would find jobs, so this is about 2002, you'd find jobs in the newspaper or maybe on the internet at the time, because the internet was only five years old. I was working at a generator company. I knew that wasn't going to be long term. I was working for a female boss at the time, and it was just not a comfortable environment. You either have people that help you grow, like you, or people that get nervous that you want their job because you try to do your best for everybody. So I started looking for a physician and um Nordco was hiring. I went to Nordco not knowing anything about the rail industry, anything about OEM manufacturing of machines, nothing. But I knew right away at that company, it was very family-oriented, even though it was corporate. And so it was just a very tight-knit group. From the first day I started, the president came and sat down at my desk and said, Hey, we're excited to have you. So I just knew it was a good feeling. So it started there in purchasing and then eventually got into sales. So that's how we got to where we are today. There was an ad and a paper.

SPEAKER_00 2:57

Wow. How would you describe this industry? Do you love this industry? What is it for you?

SPEAKER_01 3:03

I love it. It's in your blood. I think everybody knows once it's in your blood, it's never getting out. You might switch your role in the industry. Not often do people just completely just leave and go somewhere else. Um, so I hope to retire from the industry at some point, probably another another 15, 20 years, they'll have me. I just know I'll be here. I just like it. It's the people that make the difference. It is. It's like a tight-knit group. Once you're in, you're in. And then how big it is. And somebody says, Well, do you know this person? Well, it's such a big industry. No, you don't. But in our equipment side or in our contracting side, yes, you most likely know the person, or you know someone that knows the person. Take me through a day, just a typical day of what you do. So right now, our industry's picking up. Generally at the beginning of the year when there's snow flying, you know, there's not a lot of work that uh goes on in the northern part of the U.S. So now come March, April, the machines are starting to go out the door that are leased, shows are starting to uh come about. So for April, we have a short line show, an NAMRC meeting, a committee 27 REMA meeting where we're setting standards for the industry. Very important gatherings of folks. And it's just gets busy all the way up until about December.

SPEAKER_00 4:12

From a standpoint of women in rail, what has your experience been?

SPEAKER_01 4:17

When I started, there were not very many women on the maintenance side of the rail, the people that actually go out with hard hats and the steel toes. Actually, still to this day, there aren't very many, I think. I was one of the few out there that really just appreciated being on the tracks and being with the production teams for the railroads. Eventually, you know, go into uh corporate offices. And for me, it was exciting. Every day was different. Every day is different now. No two days are the same. That, you know, for some someone that needs structure of going into work at eight o'clock and leaving at five o'clock, this is probably not the industry for them. This is a hardworking industry. People work, you know, sometimes 20-hour days, 10-hour days. It's fun when you're doing it, but it's not for the weak hearted. And I'm sure as a woman, you know the same thing.

SPEAKER_00 4:59

Like fast-paced. Yes. It's definitely exciting. And and you're right, every day to day can be totally different, but it's it's like the learning experience. What what are you gonna learn today? It's always good.

SPEAKER_01 5:12

Even a bad day is still fun. Like there's still good things of a tough, you know. I walk 10 miles on the track a day during the Jamboree. There's still people you meet along the way and occurrences that happen that just make the day better.

SPEAKER_00 5:25

Yeah. I think one of the things that I liked the most about when I was in the field was being able to see what we built and then knowing that it's gonna be operational. I'm a part of this.

SPEAKER_01 5:35

And there are, right? There are babies. Yeah. So you go out there and you're proud when you get in the field and it works. That machine is gonna go for 20 years of your life. That little baby is your baby for life.

SPEAKER_00 5:44

Yeah. Would you say you've had a lot of different mentors throughout your career?

SPEAKER_01 5:51

Absolutely. I had one mentor, particularly first coming in, Greg Spilker. Most people in the industry know him because he's just the most wonderful person. At Nordco, when I had wanted to switch into sales and top management, said there's not going to be a woman in sales. And he convinced them to change their mind. He pushed for me and he believed in me and he helped me meet customers to this day, 23 years later. He is still the person I can always go to at any hour of the day. I don't always feel that I can return the favor for him. So I try to then pass that on to other people. I get excited when we have new women in the industry. We don't have to be doing the same thing to be to understand each other. Yeah. We still all have the same challenges, just in a different application. It's, I think people now are much more open to help each other. You can call anyone, and I think they'll call you back.

SPEAKER_00 6:41

It hasn't wasn't always that way. Right. I think seeing now class one railroads are having a lot more uh women in executive positions, which is really nice to see. We still only make up nine to ten percent of the total rail industry. So we have a ways to go. How would you suggest binding the new generation of railroaders?

SPEAKER_01 7:04

It's a hard recruit. People know that I love my job. They see my happiness. You know, I go out and I tell people about the railroad all the time. There's still this mindset that it's either antiquated, which it's not, um, or that it's dirty, which it doesn't have to be. Kind of takes a tough woman to want to get into this generally male-dominated field. What can we do to get some more people in there? I honestly just believe telling our stories.

SPEAKER_00 7:30

We did CEO for a day last year, and we brought in a bunch of young college students that are looking for their next step, um, their first career. And I think that what made that successful was being able to show them what it's really like, giving them problems to solve, real problems that we actually did have, and see how they would solve them. I don't think we do a great job as an industry of telling the story of the industry. I think that we need to do that more and better because the industry's great. That that's one of the reasons why I wanted to start this podcast.

SPEAKER_01 8:08

Honestly, the the excitement and um more of us getting out in public when we're together, like Railroad Day on the Hill that you did last year, you know, that helps people see that there's women. Putting the pictures on social media so they see that there's more women.

SPEAKER_00 8:22

And showing that we can make an impact, focusing and putting your head down and being dedicated really does work. It you know, you just have to do it.

SPEAKER_01 8:31

You really have to get out and have people see that you your excitement for the for the industry. There's just so many jobs open and good jobs open, and they're they're long-term jobs, and yeah, how do we get them to pick this? How do you do you outside of work? I thought it was an interesting conversation this morning um with the women on the the LRW group today. I think it was Joe stated that she had set boundaries. The real industry is 24-7. Just because we go to bed or we want to have dinner, you know, it doesn't stop. Yeah. The problems are people work at night, people work during the day. The problems are gonna happen all day long. Like I like to be the one. I believe that you know, from the first call, if I can't solve the problem, I can get them to somebody that will solve the problem. But I do think that for a sense of stability long term, like you have to have some some time yourself. So you know, I have I have pet goats. Yeah. I'm so fortunate to have my family help me take care of them when I'm gone. And I volunteer a lot with uh the Humane Society and other animal functions, as well as um trying to help the kids in my neighborhood, you know, get out.

SPEAKER_00 9:41

I think it's probably every industry needs a person like that. And I think that, you know, it it's great to have a passion like you have a passion for what you do.

SPEAKER_01 9:52

It doesn't feel like work when you love it. When you love what you do and the people you're with, it doesn't feel like work. So I don't feel like you have to turn it off. Yeah. Because it's really just fun.

SPEAKER_00 10:00

Yeah, I know. We always have a great time when we are with people in the industry or we're we're at a show and we're just talking about just what what's going on in the industry. How do we make things better? How do we innovate? How do we build something that will make safety much better? People get excited about it.

SPEAKER_01 10:16

Like you might say, I'm gonna have a seven o'clock dinner, but the fact is at midnight you're still talking about it because you're brainstorming and things are going on, and and together, as we all work together, that's when good things happen.

SPEAKER_00 10:28

I want to go back to the goats, and I have chickens. Like, I just feel like we have like this kinship because we have farm animals together, even though they're totally different. And I love following your chicken. Yeah, like I have a vested interest in the health and wealth and goodness of those chickens. My chickens, yes, my modern family flock. Yes, they're very fruitful right now of eggs over the winter. They did not want to lay any eggs because it was so cold. It was such a horrible winter. You got a new goat last year, right? I did, I got a new one, a new one. So, and how is how is that little and cute? He's he's doing good with the other one.

SPEAKER_01 11:02

Yeah, he's he's uh what little goat videos are made of. They're all rescues. I think they know they're saved. Yeah, I think I think they're grateful to be to be in your home. Yeah, I try to give them lots of love. So that's awesome. Doesn't matter if it's a farm animal or what people consider a typical pet.

SPEAKER_00 11:18

If you treat them right, they're gonna be. My chickens, whenever I go out, they flock to me. I feel like they know that, oh, this is the person that feeds us. One of the things I want to ask all the women in this Women in Rail podcast is what advice do you have in getting the next generation of railroaders?

SPEAKER_01 11:37

One, I think we need to be strong, but know that there are people there to help. This industry is not for the weak. We just need to support each other. And I guess my other um bit of advice would be just to enjoy the process.

SPEAKER_00 11:50

And enjoy being a part of the greater economy of moving commodities and moving people and yeah, find the fun.

SPEAKER_01 11:58

I mean, really, it is such an inspiring industry. It really touches everything. There's 99.9% good people in this industry, but there's this tiny bit of people that maybe aren't so good. And if you get stuck working for a company that isn't so good, leave it. Find the right spot.

SPEAKER_00 12:13

That's great advice. Well, thank you for coming on this podcast. Thank you for having me.