Bonnie Leake: Joined the Union Pacific Railroad in 1966 as an office clerk before becoming a crew dispatcher. As a single mother, her motivation to become a locomotive engineer was simple:  she saw how much money the men made and knew she could handle the job. In 1974, after training and tolerating intense scrutiny, Bonnie became the first female engineer, running trains from Las Vegas to Utah and California. Bonnie retired after 40 years with the railroad.