Charles E. Hoadley, Order of Railway Conductors and Brakemen, Division No. 597 collection

Title: Charles E. Hoadley, Order of Railway Conductors and Brakemen, Division No. 597 collection

Dates: 1908-1976

Collection Number: MS 57

Creator/Collector: Hoadley, Charles E. (1917-1985)

Extent: 10 boxes

Repository: California State Railroad Museum Library and Archives

Abstract: Records of Charles E. Hoadley, Chairman of the Order of Railway Conductors and Brakemen, Division No. 597, Mount Diablo Lodge.

Language of Material: English

This collection is open for research at our off-site storage facility with one week's notice. Contact Library & Archives staff to arrange for access.

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 District Collections Manager. 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.

Charles E. Hoadley, Order of Railway Conductors and Brakemen, Division No. 597 collection. California State Railroad Museum Library and Archives

Gift of Charles E. Hoadley's daughter, Cynthia E. Hoadley Larsen, 1993

The Order of Railway Conductors and Brakemen was founded by T.J. "Tommie" Wright in 1868 in Amboy, Illinois as the Conductors Union. The name was changed to Order of Railway Conductors of America in 1878. In 1942, the Order of Sleeping Car Conductors merged with the Order of Railway Conductors. The union's name was changed effective August 3, 1954 to the Order of Railway Conductors and Brakemen and in 1969 it merged with the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen, Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, and Switchmen's Union of North America to form the United Transportation Union. The Order of Railway Conductors and Brakemen International Headquarters, Grand Division, was located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa with subordinate lodges in the United States, Canada, and the Panama Canal Zone grouped together by the various railroad carriers. The principal officers included the president, senior vice-president, general secretary-treasurer, executive vice-president, vice-president/Washington legislative representative, vice-president/National Railroad Adjustment Board, four regional vice-presidents, Board of Trustees (3 members), and the Board of Directors (comprised of the above 13 officers.). There were at least twenty-three lodges representing Southern Pacific conductors (and after 1954, brakemen), including eleven in California. The Local Division No. 597, Mount Diablo Lodge, Southern Pacific Lines (Order of Railway Conductors / Order of Railway Conductors and Brakemen Division No. 597), was headquartered in Tracy, California. The principal officers included the Local Chairman, and Secretary / Treasurer. The local chairmen of Order of Railway Conductors Division No. 597 included: H.M. Philbrick (1911-1913), S.J. Frerichs (1913-1918), F.H. Nemitz (1918), Joseph William Patten (1918-1928), Harry F. Sipe (1929-1932), J.W. Patten (1933-1935), Harry F. Sipe (1936-1938), J.W. Patten (1939-1941), and G.D. Nicholson (1942-1955). In 1955, after Order of Railway Conductors Division No. 597 became Order of Railway Conductors & Brakemen Division No. 597, local chairmen were: G.D. Nicholson (1955), W.F. Carter (1956-1963), and Charles E. Hoadley (1965-1969). Order of Railway Conductors & Brakemen Division No. 597 ceased to exist in 1969 when it merged with the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen, the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, and Switchmen's Union of North American to form the United Transportation Union. Charles E. Hoadley (1917-1985) worked for the Southern Pacific Railroad as a conductor and brakeman in Modesto, Tracy and Roseville, circa 1951-1981. He was the Local Chairman of Order of Railway Conductors and Brakemen Division No. 597 from 1965 until 1969, when the Division was dissolved, which is where he obtained the papers in this collection. Mrs. Hoadley (Constance Z.) was active in Southern Pacific's ladies auxiliary.

This collection contains material from the Order of Railway Conductors and Brakemen (1955-1969) Local Division No. 597, Mount Diablo Lodge, and the Order of Railway Conductors and Brakemen General Committee of Adjustment, Southern Pacific Railroad (Pacific Lines), and the Order of Railway Conductors and Brakemen predecessor, the Order of Railway Conductors (1955 and earlier). Most of this material is from the local chairman's office files located in Tracy, California. These records were saved by Charles E. Hoadley, who was chairman of Division No. 597 when it closed. This collection is arranged into six series: 1. CORRESPONDENCE 2. DECISIONS 3. GOVERNANCE 4. AGREEMENTS AND RESOLUTIONS 5. SOUTHERN PACIFIC COMPANY 6. MISCELLANEOUS ORGANIZATIONS