Violet Isabel Cumming
Inducted into the Canadian Railway Hall of Fame in 2005, Violet Isabella Cumming exemplifies
the contribution of women to the Canadian railway industry.
Violet Cumming had a distinctive career, and served for 50 years with Canadian National
Railways. She began her career as a junior clerk at age 15 and retired 50 years later as regional
pass clerk for the former CN Mountain Region.
Like many women railroaders, she served the railway and the cause of freedom on the home
front as an employee in Winnipeg during the Second World War. Later, she served as a
yardmaster in Edmonton . The contribution of women during the war was critical as railway men
enlisted for overseas service, leaving a large need for employees to carry on with the essential
service that the railway provided during these years.
Ms. Cumming was part of a heritage CN railway family. Her father, Alexander Cumming, joined
the Grand Trunk Pacific in 1911 in Portage La Prairie, MB on a bridge and building crew, retiring
about 1940. Her brother William (Bill) was a boilermaker for about 35 years and brothers Alex
and Tom also worked for CN for shorter periods of time