One of the primary objectives of Women in Transport is to shine a light on the wonderful range of career opportunities in the transport sector. Another is to inspire our members with role models who have succeeded in some of these careers and overcome the inevitable challenges along the way.
So we were delighted when Rowan Joachim, Head of Engineering at London Overground, generously offered to speak to our members online about some key moments in her 20 year career in the transport industry.
Rowan clearly had a passion for engineering from the outset. As a child she was always interested in taking things apart, seeing how they worked and putting them back together again.
She shared a wonderful story about how her horrified father left his toolbox next to his prized new video -recorder and found 7 year old Rowan had been quick to take the machine apart and meticulously lay out all the component parts. Amazingly, she put it all back together again and says the video still works today!
Dad was clearly an early influence. When she got frustrated that you couldn't build Lego models with steering functionality, Dad came to the rescue, bringing his Meccano set out of the loft and helping her construct a prize- winning bi-plane. (Seen here next to her father’s Sea King Helicopter.)
It was her Dad that sparked and encouraged her interest in railways. She got the bug in 1994 when she learned to fire steam locomotives and worked on the track and rebuilt carriages and wagons for the Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway Preservation Company.
Rowan later volunteered to become the first female fireman on the narrow guage in South Africa. While the South Africans were quick to air their doubts, once they realised the error of their judgment, they invited her back to run training sessions and she was honoured to be one of only two people allowed to drive one of their very precious locomotives.
Her career started in 1999 as a graduate trainee with London Underground (LU) and her first job after that was in Power Control where, she says, she learned so much. Rowan spent hours talking to the operators, most of whom had started as apprentices, working their way up through many roles, and knew so much about railways, how things worked and how to fix them when they didn't.
(Photograph courtesy of Mark Higgs)
Much as Rowan loved it here, a pivotal moment came on 7/7 when she was managing the control room which involved commanding the logistics of two shifts and taking all the actions needed to cope with a national emergency on the underground. Now that she had a very young daughter, after dealing with the needs of the control room, she says she felt very strongly that she needed to be home. Her outside life had changed and it seemed the control centre was probably no longer the best place for her to be working.
This led to her taking on a range of secondments with LU and then as an electrical mechanical engineer. Rowan shared some of the many challenges which included five intense years leading a team, planning and executing urgent remedial action and contingencies to support failing ventilation tunnels operating at a busy London station.
She also talked about working as project lead on the massive Farringdon Crossrail project which involved the challenge of tunnelling under Smithfield Market – a Grade II listed building that could not be moved - and keeping any vibrations to a minimum.
After almost 15 years with LU, Rowan felt she wanted to widen her transportation experience and in 2014, became an Inspector at the Rail Accident Investigation Branch. Her first 9 months comprised intense training where she learned everything you need to know to investigate any accident, anywhere, involving anything. She learnt the requirements for witnessing signal testing, testing level crossings and gained an understanding of all types of vehicles.
While talking about her five years with the RAIB, Rowan touched upon two particular investigations that had a huge impact on her, and, very significantly, the wider world.
One was when she led the investigation into a serious irregularity at Cardiff East Junction which, could have caused a serious collision. It taught Rowan the importance of trusting your instincts if things do not seem right. The report concluded that there were similarities between some of the causes of the Clapham Junction rail crash and that lessons seemed to have been forgotten.
Another was a serious collision involving a van on a level crossing at Frognal Farm. The outcome, following a recommendation from RAIB (Brexit and Covid permitting), will be a change in the law on the signage for user worked level crossings.
(Copyright of photograph RAIB)
Rowan says that her dream when she graduated was to work for the chief engineer's group at LU as it then was. She actually achieved this by the age of 28, so she needed to revise her dream. She says she would never have imagined that she would be in the role she holds today.
She summed up with the advice she would now give to her younger self
1. Be true to yourself as far as you possibly can
2. Don't lose sight of why you do what you do.
3. If you are not having fun then change it
4. Always have time for your family and yourself
5. Don't be scared to revise your goals
6. There is genuinely nothing you can’t do if you really want to and you put your mind to it.
7. Give back at every opportunity – it helps you and it's hugely motivating
and her final piece of advice:
Enjoy life at every opportunity – however scary – your will learn a lot from it.
In the Q & A session that followed, one of Rowan's most valuable pieces of advice was her response to the question “How do you encourage young girls and women to study engineering if they have not been introduced to the subject.”
She replied, “There are misconceptions – people don't understand engineering and it's often seen as a grubby profession, and all about mechanics. But the reality is that it's so much more.
“It's hugely creative and it's about solving problems and making the world a better and more efficient place to be.
“And it covers such a vast and diverse array of subjects and involves so many aspects of our lives. Everyone should consider it, because there's something that everyone could be a part. of.”
Our grateful thanks to Rowan for sparing the time to give us this insight into her fascinating career.
Here are some comments from our members:
“Rowan's talk was enjoyable and engaging, she spoke with honesty and clearly enjoyed all the aspects she spoke about, and didn't shy away from the difficult aspects .”
“Great session - so interesting and really great to see a woman in a Head of Engineering role and listen to her career progression.”
“One of my favourite sessions so far. Would be great to hear from other women in similar technical roles in the future. “
“I really enjoyed Rowan's talk, it was lovely to hear about her journey and her obvious passion about what she does came through.”
“Rowan, thank you so much. Your talk was a perfect mix of utter nerdiness (which I loved) and deep [female] humanity (which I also loved). Only women working in very techy sectors/roles are really able to speak into this space, I think. Thank you for doing so."
Women in Transport is a non-profit network with a mission of advancing women working in transport. Annual membership of Women in Transport is £60 per year providing access to professional development and networking opportunities. We very much welcome guest blogs from our members - a great way to share the incredible diversity of opportunity in transport, raise your profile and connect with our community.
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