Christine Gonzalez

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Christine Gonzalez Aldeis (born 1952/1953) [1] is an American train engineer. She became the first woman to work as an engineer on a Class 1 railroad. [2]

Aldeis was born and raised in El Paso, Texas, where she came from a family that had strong ties to the railroad industry. [3] Her grandmother was a Harvey Girl, her grandfather worked as a Pullman conductor, her father worked as a train conductor and her mother was a secretary to the Santa Fe trainmaster in El Paso. [4] [5] Her family was supportive of her announcement to become an engineer and she began training as a hostler in May of 1973. [1] [3] After graduating from simulator school in Topeka, she then started work as the first woman train engineer for the Santa Fe Railway system in February of 1974. [1] [5] She was first assigned to Socorro, New Mexico. [3] Aldeis was featured on the cover of Redbook in March of 1975. [6] In 1980, she met Robert Aldeis and they were married and had two children. [3] Aldeis took some time off to be with her children, but returned to the railroad as part of the reserve board. [1] In 1989, she became a volunteer for Operation Lifesaver. [3] After the BNSF merger, Aldeis became a field safety support manager and later the regional manager. [3] In 2012, she retired from BNSF. [3]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "21-Year-Old First Woman RR Engineer". Wilkes-Barre Times Leader, the Evening News. 17 March 1974. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  2. ↑ López, Carlos Andres (14 March 2017). "US' First Woman Train Engineer Speaks in Las Cruces". Las Cruces Sun-News. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 2019-03-29.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "The First Female Locomotive Engineer for the Santa Fe Railway Reflects on her Career". Friends of BNSF. 2012-02-28. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 2019-03-29.
  4. ↑ "She's A Hard-Driving Locomotive Engineer". Tampa Times. 19 August 1974. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  5. 1 2 "Maintains Family Tradition". The Indianapolis Star. 26 February 1974. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  6. ↑ "Magazine Features E.P. Girl". El Paso Herald-Post. 3 March 1975. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
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