Looking suitably filthy after several hours of cleaning the beast behind them, a pair of young ladies employed as wipers take a minute to catch up on some personal stuff when the boss isn't looking. Wipers were often the entry-level positions for men and women seeking employment in locomotive shops. Their primary function was keeping the dusty, filthy, coal-burners, and their servicing facilities as clean as humanly possible. Ordinarily, you would never have seen women in these positions in the early 1900s, but during the war years, the labor pool state-side was thin and everyone was expected to pull their weight in America's industrial machine.
The two ladies pictured here are Laura (left) and Jasmine (right), both of whom are professional models. This role was a little out of the ordinary for them, and the fashions...well, they weren't exactly what you'd call chic. Kudos to these gals for being great sports and allowing themselves to be photographed looking just a little filthy.
