THE view in front is for your eyes only. You're on your own in the tiny cab. No need to steer as the railway lines do that for you.

Driving a train can be a lonely job. But it's one which recently attracted more than 1,000 applications for just 50 vacancies with Northern Spirit.

Scores of women are among those trying to get on the right track and that is just what the train company wants to hear.

Northern Spirit wants more women to come forward to be train drivers.

At the moment the firm has only 12 women out of a total driving force of 678 - a situation it is determined to change.

Like any job, there are pros and cons.

Standing by the driver of a train going from York to Malton and back, you can see the appeal of the rail equivalent of the freedom of the open road.

There is no traffic in front of you. The signalling, speed and other instructions are clear and the rules - the all-important rules - spell out what's required.

Glorious countryside flashes by and there is a clear view of York Minster as we head back to the station.

You are responsible for your own safety and that of your passengers. It's a big task.

A qualified woman driver could find herself in charge of a six-carriage express 132m long and weighing 200 tonnes.

In the cramped driving cab, though, there is no sense of the sheer size of the vehicle you are driving. The controls seem remarkably simple.

The pay is also good: nearly £24,000 a year after a 31-week training stint. Usually there is overtime on the 37-hour week and 36 days holiday a year, although that is geared to compensate for bank holiday working.

On the downside, women could find the complex shift pattern a bit daunting - especially those with children and families, although single girls might miss not being able to enjoy a night out just when they want to.

The rota rules your life.

And being alone in the cab, there is precious little opportunity for a workplace natter with colleagues.

Northern Spirit spokesman Mr Howard Keal said applications were still coming in as a result of a big recruiting drive.

In fact, the only vacancies left are in West Yorkshire and these are down to a handful.

Staff are wading through the pile of applications and expressions of interest will be kept on file as more vacancies are likely.

"We are building for the future, not closing the door," said Mr Keal.

Training takes 31 weeks from scratch and it does not end there. Route-learning follows and this alone can take several weeks.

The huge number of applications will go some way to addressing the shortage of women drivers.

"It is clear a large number of women have come forward," he said. "We have always been an equal opportunities employer but we had to launch a campaign to ask women: where are you?

"We are looking for good candidates and women make just as good drivers as men."

Everyone goes through a rigorous period of training with a rule book as long as your arm. This happens both in a classroom and out on the trains before people even get close to actual driving.

"You don't get near the controls until you are an expert. There is no other kind of driver," said Mr Keal.

Leeds is one of the depots with vacancies. People could work there and live some distance away but there is a challenge in the anti-social shifts. Some stints start at 2am as train services operate round the clock.

The age range for applicants is 21 to 56 with a minimum height of 5ft 2in as drivers have to be able to reach the pedals.

Trainer Mr Chris Exley has worked on the railways for 26 years and has 13 years as a driver training manager.

He admits there are constraints with the shifts and accommodating domestic requirements is limited.

There is no creche, relevant as one of the women drivers has just had a baby - the first in the team to do so.

Traditionally one of the masculine jobs, it's not that long since every little boy dreamed of being a train driver. Now, it seems, little girls are dreaming of it too.

And we have all read of the problems - and lawsuits - in such as the police and fire services where women have been the butt of sexist taunts.

So how do the sexes co-exist on the railways? "There is mess room banter," said Mr Exley, "but we don't have too many problems. They all seem to get on quite well.

"We look for the same qualifications in both men and women." High on the list is the ability to concentrate for long periods at a time. Some technical knowledge is also needed as is being able to understand rules and act on them.

What about safety?

The driver's cab is locked and can only be opened from the inside.

"We seldom get passengers trying to get into the cabs but drivers have a radio and an emergency button," said Mr Exley.

He adds that women have dealt with tricky situations better than the men.

"Testosterone can go rampant in men when faced with trouble, whereas a woman is more likely to sit back and stay calm," he said. "We do train people for confrontation. It is a trait the world is going through. We do get more aggressive customers who don't bother to pay and if this happens it is mainly a case of trying to calm the situation down."

But the way shifts are planned, a woman should only be alone when there are no passengers on board, never on a public service.

The railways have only started to employ women drivers in the last 19 years as the work became less labour-intensive.

One woman came straight from college. Another had a clerical job and fancied a change. It has been slow to catch on, although Mr Exley has now trained 30 to 40 women.

The rule book, said by Mr Exley to be as big as the New Testament, evolved to make the railways safer. Soon, Northern Spirit will have trains doing up to 180mph, so drivers have to be safe and in control.

"You are safer in a rail carriage than in your bed at home and 15 times safer than travelling by car," says Mr Exley.

After route-learning comes how to drive the train and minor maintenance. Trainees go with a tutor to interpret the route, signals and night driving as the landscape changes completely in the dark.

"It's an interesting job for a man or a woman," said Mr Exley. "You are your own boss. Keep to the timetable and you are just out there doing it."