Railroaders' Nostalgia > Jackie Bigelow Hoffschneider, one of first 2 SP women engineers

I just heard the sad news that Jackie Bigelow Hoffschneider passed away on Thursday April 5 in Santa Rosa CA, just a couple of weeks short of her 70th birthday. A friend since our days as SP clerks, Jackie Bigelow along with her friend and fellow SP clerk Evelyn Newell (later Evelyn Hart) became SP's first two women engineers. They began their engine service training in Oakland in 1972 and received their engineer's seniority date in February 1974. Jackie later became an officer on the Western Division, then went back to being an engineer before taking a buyout sometime in the mid 1980's as I recall. She lived in Oregon for several decades but had moved back to California a few years ago when managing her Oregon property became a bit too much for her. A smoker to the very end, cause of death was attributed to COPD compounded by pneumonia. One of the final posts on Jackie's Facebook page, from December of last year, is a recent picture of her and Evelyn who had a reunion earlier last year when they both attended a dinner for retired Oakland rails in Alameda. She was a good engineer, a good officer and a good person. R.I.P. Jackie.

Photo is from employee publication SP Bulletin, mid or late 1970's. Caption reads: "Rules and Training Officer Jackie Bigelow (right) shows newly hired brakemen and switchmen in a training class at Tracy, Calif., how to change a knuckle on a freight car."



Edited 7 time(s). Last edit at 04/20/18 10:07 by johnw.

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Remember an article that Dick Murdock did on her in Railroad Magazine

Link to her last post?

z> beginning their engine service training in Oakland in 1973.

According to Evelyn, her date was 1972 (around mid year -- I wrote the exact date down when she told me but can't find the note at the moment).

Edited to add:

Mid-1972 was Evylin's date, Jackie was about three numbers behind her.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/15/18 11:02 by EtoinShrdlu.

Sorry to hear of Jackie’s passing. When she was the Road Foreman of Engines in the City, she was very professional and likeable. I was not one the engineers confided in but my impression was that all liked her. Had just one occasion to ride with her after she went back on her seniority and although not qualified to judge, I thought her train handling was excellent.

Rules instructor for our brakeman class at Bayshore in the Spring of '77. A fun positive person. Sorry to hear of her passing.

sphogger

Thanks for posting, John. Very sorry to hear of Jackie's passing. She was a class act all the way. I remember one evening after she became an officer, she and Jim Bays were out speed testing. She was conversing with Bays over the radio, indirectly trying to let everyone know where they were going to be. Don't think there were any violations that night.

It's difficult to imagine Big Daddy out efficiency testing.

Thanks for the posting. Sorry to hear of her passing. I knew Jackie in the early 90s we worked on several safety programs together. When she was in Los Angeles A true SP person through and through. RIP

Posted from Android

She was my rules instructor for a summer, 1978 new-hire switchman class in San Jose, and likewise, two years later when she was an asst. TM at Bayshore, gave me the oral exam for promotion to conductor (one question, and then "How do you like railroad?"). As a pioneering woman engineer and operating officer, she endured a lot of crap, but I don't know of anyone who knew her that did not like her and respect her for her skills.

Adios, gal.

Ed Gibson

Top left: Evelyn Newell as shown on the cover of SP employee magazine SP Bulletin, April-May 1974 issue.
Top right: Jackie Bigelow as featured in SP hogger Dick Murdock's article on her in Railroad Magazine, January 1976 issue. Dick (shown here with Jackie) did a previous article for Railroad on Evelyn.
Bottom: 45 years after they began their engine service training Evelyn (at left) and Jackie had a reunion at a dinner for retired Bay Area SP railroaders in Alameda, 2017. 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/19/18 16:14 by johnw.

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