Letting off steam might be a good way to diffuse an incident, but for some it is their life.
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As Tasmanians relaxed over the Australia Day long weekend, a group of dedicated steam enthusiasts were in Sheffield undergoing training to gain their High Risk Work Licence.
Sheffield Steam and Heritage Centre president Chris Martin said steam was usually a male-dominated sector, but three of the eight sitting for their licence were women.
Westbury resident Paivi Sims is a volunteer at Pearns Steam World, while Linda Dunham from Sheffield volunteers at the Sheffield Steam and Heritage Centre and engineer Mandy Fish works with TasNetworks in Hobart.
All eight participants worked hard to clock up the 40 hours of logged training on steam engines needed to get to this final stage, Mr Martin said.
“There’s a lot of skill required to run steam engines at the right speed, as there’s constant adjustment of the engine’s output needed,” he said.
“Even after gaining your ticket there’s still a significant level of competency to be reached and demonstrated before taking charge of a steam engine, so it’s a bit like getting your L plates.”
The volunteer-operated Sheffield Steam and Heritage Centre has been organising High Risk Work Licence ticket testing since 2013.
It also runs SteamFest over the March long weekend every year.
More than 60 people have gained their High Risk Work Licence through the centre over the past five years, but this cohort might be the last recruits.
“Sadly, this will probably be the last high risk training session we hold due to no assessor being available to do assessments at a lower than commercial rate,” Mr Martin said.