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Rinaldo (Mario J.) Collection
MS 919
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Contributing Institution:
California State Railroad Museum Library & Archives
Title: Mario J. Rinaldo Collection
Identifier/Call Number: MS 919
Physical Description:
3 Linear Feet
3 record cartons
Date (inclusive): 1929-1983
Abstract: This collection contains materials Mario Rinaldo collected during his career with the Southern Pacific Railroad as well as
his time timetables, passes and booklets from The Alaska Railroad pertaining to his experiences during World War II as part
of the 714th Battalion.
Physical Location: Statewide Museum Collections Center
Language of Material: English.
Collection is open for research by appointment.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Ronald Rinaldo, 2013
Arranged alphabetically by type of material.
Mario James Rinaldo was born 11 March 1922 in Stockton, California to Italian immigrant parents, James and Maria (Crispan)
Rinaldo. His father passed away when he was young and his mother remarried a local restauranter, Joe Armand. His older brother,
Albert (26 Aug 1920 - 24 Dec 2015) also worked for the Southern Pacific Railroad. Rinaldo married Leila Prout (8 April 1921
- 23 Dec 2011), a Stockton, California school teacher and they had one son, Ronald Rinaldo.
Rinaldo had wanted to run trains since he was a small boy and as soon as he was legally able to, he went to work for the
Southern Pacific. His first job was in the roundhouse working on the cars and engines. At his first opportunity he applied
to be a Southern Pacific fireman. Rinaldo was a fireman for the Southern Pacific for about a year before World War II intervened.
Rinaldo was part of the 714th Operating Railway Battalion, after training at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana, he was stationed,
first in Alaska and later in South Korea.
After the war, Rinaldo returned to Tracy, California, and was employed by the Southern Pacific Railroad. Eventually Rinaldo
became a fireman on the Southern Pacific Streamliner or '52', as it was numbered out of Tracy to the Southern Pacific Bay
Area terminal in Oakland, California. When Rinaldo finally retired, he had worked 42 injury free years for the Southern Pacific.
Mario J. Rinaldo passed away 11 June 1998 and is buried in Tracy, California.
[Identification of item], Mario J. Rinaldo Collection, MS 919, California State Railroad Museum Library & Archives, Sacramento,
California.
This collection contains papers relating to the Southern Pacific railroading career of Mario J. Rinaldo. In addition, there
are dispatch orders, souvenir greeting cards and timetables and rail passes from the 714th Operating Railway Battalion of
which Rinaldo was part of during World War II.
The "Time Return and Delay Reports" encompass the years in which Rinaldo worked. The collection contains his reports starting
in 1949 thru the end of his career 42 years later. These reports show the time he went on duty, unusual occurrences or delays,
time off duty and the number of miles claimed for his paycheck. In the days of steam locomotives, a day's pay was considered
as 100 miles. This was the normal run of a steam locomotive before any real service was needed. After the steam locomotives
were gone and diesel locomotives took over, the length of runs increased. In later years Rinaldo's runs from Fresno to Roseville
were 178 miles.
The metal box was used by Southern Pacific engineers and held Mr. Rinaldo's employee timetable and special instructions.
The outside "pocket" of the box provided easy access to the timetables and special orders. Inside the box there was a space
for Rinaldo's "Time Return and Delay Report" which was essentially a timecard as used by locomotive engine and train employees.
It is suspected that this metal box was a stock item available to train and engine crews to hold their paperwork. It was most
likely was an item made in the Southern Pacific shops.
Rinaldo's papers include books, pamphlets and papers documenting the rules the governed the safety of the railroad. The accident
reports included in this collection are the forms that the train engineers would fill out at the time of an accident, not
the formal reports that the railroad would publish after an investigation was completed.
At the time of his retirement, Rinaldo had worked 42 accident free years and was awarded a plaque celebrating this accomplishment.
Separated from the collection (duplicated items already held by CSRM):
Southern Pacific Western-Coast Division Timetable No. 1, April 26, 1964
Southern Pacific San Joaquin Division Timetable No. 200, April 26, 1964
Southern Pacific San Joaquin Division Special Instructions No. 13, April 26, 1964
Transferred to MS 866, California State Railroad Museum Craft Seniority Roster Collection (photocopies of the pages with
Rinaldo's name shown have been added to the collection)
Official Seniority Roster, Southern Pacific Western Division, July 1942
Official Seniority Roster, Southern Pacific Western Division, September 1944
Official Seniority Roster, Southern Pacific Western Division, September 1949
Official Seniority Roster, Southern Pacific Western Division, September 1947
Official Seniority Roster, Southern Pacific Western Division, October 1950
Official Seniority Roster, Southern Pacific Western Division, October 1954
Copyright has been assigned to the California State Railroad Museum. Permission for publication must be submitted in writing
to the CSRM Library amp;Archives.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Southern Pacific RailroadRailroads--United States--Operations--Train Dispatching--Train Orders