Running around the train

[rattacular12]

Atta GIRL!!!

[chaseme81871]

i do not know anything about any of the stuff on the train, but it sure looks like a blast!!!

[Wikkus]

Wow! Shows the guys how to do it! Great vid! :)

[badbobwyce]

Wow... It doesn't get any better. Her father must be so proud.

[Crosshead1]

Does it get any better? I'm in love.

[LandNfan]

If I was wasn't already married (and old enough to be her grandpa), I'd propose!

[WildJesterzMusic]

she is quite possibly the coolest woman alive

[1kccabledude]

I wish I had a wife like Rikki.

[TheMozart228]

excellence

[pyrofella]

She is the envy of every wanna be train driver out there!..good on you Rikki

[anderberger]

thats my kind of girl

[ozzcarandme]

Brilliant!! Good on ya, Loove to see young a woman doing so well in steam locomotion.

All the best in your life!

Love from down under.

[blave549]

This really needs a Steely Dan soundtrack. 8^)

[AudreysChad]

Er...2-8-2. Tiny smart phone screen.

[AudreysChad]

My mistake! Direct Walschearts. Neat little 2-6-2.

[AudreysChad]

Rikki looks like a natural. She is able to find the controls without looking at them while concentrating on hand signals from the brakeman. If she doesn't already have her Train Service certificate, she has to be close. Nice work, Rikki. --- Judging by the Johnson Bar, I'm guessing Stephenson valve gear?

[amtk415w]

Way to go!!! No gloves like a real engineer.

[SuperMario6419]

This is the first time I ever seen a girl drive a train. =)

[TherealDeltaEcho]

In am in love........the BEST steam video I have ever seen

[arealdoozey]

id love to bend her over and make her whistle!

[WestCoastRails]

Good on ya girl!! Too bad most kids I meet now adays dont know a thing about trains.

Nice to see you out and about, not sitting in front of a TV gaming.

Two thumbs up!!

WCR

[Olddog231]

Love the concentration That woman is showing in operating that locomotive. Dedication at its utmost

[cussedcreekforge]

Two thumbs up for Rikki!! It is just great to see someone her age taking this up. My great uncle was engineer for CN Rail running out of Melville, Saskatchewan Canada. He started out with steam and he was also the acting fireman on the first diesel electric westbound out of Melville, Sk.

[Hudson5439]

To be 25 years younger!

[Buergler2001]

Endlich mal ne Frau auf der Lok, Ich habe gehört Frauen gehen mit Maschienen viel sanfter um als Männer nur weiter so in den USA :-)!

[LNERMallard]

Nothing more hot than a babe running a steam locomotive!

[maz323se]

I believe I just fell in love. ......wait...... yup, its love.

Very cool. Ive been meaning to get up there from Portland for a long time, but TIME is the problem.

[Steamaddict1603]

It's nice to see other women in this hobby because we are a rare breed.

[paullubliner]

I'd LOVE to see Rikki do some coal firing with a number 5 scoop, that is for a few minutes at most!

[CATtitude218]

As a professional trucker with 10 years of experience at 29 I admire and have a lot of respect for young people doing this kind of thing especially young women. Weather its trucking, heavy equipment operation, train operation, you name it! I am very impressed at Rikki's finesse and attention to what she does! Keep up the good work! :p

[RedSandPalm]

There's something incredibly attractive about this video

[robertb7864]

Nice video and she did a good job

[Talumech]

She did very well. I work with guys that do this daily and cant do it as well as her. Impressed

[zouminou]

On our touristic line, chemin de fer du Bocq between Ciney and Spontin in Belgium, there are also young professionals women who's driving steam trains.

[a22stanley]

She definatly has the touch for tthe throttle. It is very easy to give a steam locomotive too much steam. I have ran a Heisler, Shay, a 2-6-6-2, and a 4-6-2. However I prefer to fire.

[streetrunnerboy]

Greeting from Germany! Respekt an die junge Dame!

[MrNingenbakudan]

やっぱり白人の女の子は格好良いなぁ。

[TherealDeltaEcho]

The best steam train video I ever saw. I would have prefered the men in the cab to shut up with the stupid banter....but Rikki makes up for their yuk yuk yukking....

Good show Rikki...............

[softwerksaol]

They don't use whistle signals for yard movements?

[tommyangelo1]

i want marry this girl!!!!! i am italian boy i love youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu­uuu

[MangoHombre]

Rikki's too busy to think about lunch!

[SteffanLlwyd]

Great to see young people taking up the calling of steam and 'specially to see a woman on the footplate.

[TravellerAussie]

great video. Greetings from Australia.

[CGiordano464]

im in love!

[97trainman]

Pretty chicks and steam trains, my kind of thing!

[gngeek08]

i would like to know how old rikki is and how long it has taken her to be a qualified engineer

[bbundridge]

@gngeek08 25 if I recall correctly... and it depends on the railroad and how they do their training programs. She has been doing it off and on the last 3 years... She is starting up at the Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad as a fireman and engineer this season along with continuing onward with Chehalis so I am sure there will be more of her.

[mello27]

@bbundridge im moving to washington adn plan to volentire there i dotn care about money

[mello27]

@gngeek08 this is my dream job 

[treos17]

@gngeek08 guys i work with are qualified engineers running on class 1's and they're only 21, 22

[omahas9000]

NICE job! She's done this before, that's clear!

[Frisco1522]

Rikki handles herself very well, pays attention to the right things and ignores the peanut gallery. She has a nice touch and knows the engine's idiosyncracies from the look of things.

[bigkiwimike]

What a strange place for the reverser; sorry, Johnson bar! What engine is this and where does she run?

[bbundridge]

@bigkiwimike Its the Cowlitz, Chehalis & Cascade No. 15 and she operates out of Chehalis, Washington.

[seagraver]

Atta girl! Nice work!

[virginiaorganbuilder]

The most impressive thing about Rikki is that her complete attention is given to the job. Very impressive. I was born one hundred years too late, or I would have been a locomotive engineer. Keep up the good work!

[dddeadly]

How do people learn something like this. I have always wanted to work on a steam train and learn the science and art of a machine that size....

[bbundridge]

@dddeadly Head to your local tourist railroad and see what is required to volunteer =) Depending on how their rules are, it isn't too difficult to get into steam.

[dddeadly]

@bbundridge I can't find anything like that in the Atlanta area, but thanks for the tip. What's the lever that Rikkis keeps ajusting. Is that the transmission gear or something?

[PrimaDonnaBass]

@dddeadly I am sure there are some tourist or historical "pikes" in Georgia. You may have to drive a bit to find one.

There are three main levers the engineer watches over and operates: The Throttle, the brakes and the reverser. The big one coming out of the floor is the reverser or "Johnson Bar". Coming diagonally out of the boiler is the throttle. Small brass handle is the "independent" brake. Hope this helps.

[TommyboyGTP]

@bbundridge Sign me up! I've always wanted to do this since I was a kid. My grandfather was a railroader. Unfortunately there aren't any steamers running here where I live in Florida, that I'm aware of. :-(

[cadillacman028]

thats the hottest engineer i ever saw

[jay600katana]

@cadillacman028 My kinda woman

[gantondale]

See----- women & steam do mix!! Nice one. Good job! 

[biggdaddy2001]

wow girls and trains now that is my kinda thing woo hooo lol boy she can work that johnson bar well

[SLSF1522]

Three more days for me!