Trainmistress: Genre Undetermined

The wail of the train as it pulled out of the station sent a shiver up her spine. She stood on the edge of the platform and waved to the departing engineer until it rounded the mountain, and then she stepped back and surveyed her new domain. It would be hers, all hers, the long winter through, until trains could come through the passes again in spring. They'd asked her if she was sure, that she, a woman, was prepared to be trainmistress for the long dark Winter, when no trains went through and men had been known to go mad. She'd smiled and said that if men had been known to go mad, that seemed all the better reason to send a woman. She hadn't expected to be shipped out post-haste. She hadn't expected it to be this year. She'd expected to be shipped out in spring, to give her time--

Inspiration: "These Exiled Years" by Flogging Molly
Story Potential: High, but only because I love the setting.
Notes: Quite a lot of winter themes showing up in my writing right now. Gee, I wonder why?