Inventory of the Alexander J. Gardiner Collection, 1876-1930

Processed by The California State Railroad Museum Library staff; machine-readable finding aid created by Xiuzhi Zhou

California State Railroad Museum Library

111 "I" Street

Sacramento, California 95814

Phone: (916) 323-8073

Fax: (916) 327-5655

Email: csrmlibrary@csrmf.org

URL: http://www.csrmf.org/library.html

Inventory of the Alexander J. Gardiner Collection, 1876-1930

Collection number: MS 48

California State Railroad Museum Library

Sacramento, California

Contact Information:

California State Railroad Museum Library
111 "I" Street
Sacramento, California 95814
Phone: (916) 323-8073
Fax: (916) 327-5655
Email: csrmlibrary@csrmf.org
URL: http://www.csrmf.org/library.html

Processed by:: The California State Railroad Museum Library staff
Encoded by:: Xiuzhi Zhou

Descriptive Summary

Title: Alexander J. Gardiner Collection,

Date (inclusive): 1876-1930

Collection number: MS 48

Creator: Gardiner, Alexander J.

Extent: 1 volume

Repository: California State Railroad Museum Library

Sacramento, California 95814

Shelf location: Big Four Building or off-site storage. Please contact the Library in advance of your visit.

Language: English.

Administrative Information

Provenance

Gift of Brian Thompson

Publication Rights

Copyright has not been assigned to the California State Railroad Museum. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Senior Curator. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the CSRM as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Alexander J. Gardiner Collection, MS 48, California State Railroad Museum Library, Sacramento, California.

Collection Description

The collection consists of a scrapbook kept by Alexander J. Gardiner (1852-1921), and maintained by his widow, Hattie Gardiner, following his death. The scrapbook contains clippings, mostly about the Southern Pacific -- history, special events, personnel, retirements and wrecks, as well as extensive clippings regarding the opening of SP's Sacramento passenger depot in 1926. It also contains Gardiner's correspondence regarding establishment of Southern Pacific's pension system, drafts of the pension rules, and photographs of Gardiner, the Sacramento General Shops (emphasizing fire safety hazards) and shop employees.

Historical Background

An immigrant from England, Alexander J. Gardiner entered the employ of the Southern Pacific Company's Sacramento General Shops in 1876 and remained there until his retirement in 1915. During this period he worked with Andrew J. Stevens and Taylor W. Heintzelman. For most of his career Gardiner served as pipe gang foreman, although shortly before retiring he became a fire inspector.

Beginning at the turn of the century, Gardiner assumed the lead of a movement to establish a pension system for veteran employees of the Southern Pacific. This led to the organization of the company's Benefit and Pension Department. Gardiner formulated the pension rules eventually adopted by Southern Pacific.