First female engineer for ATSF reflects on road less traveled

Thursday, April 13, 2017

In 1973, America was in a state of flux. A cease-fire was declared in Vietnam, and exhausted troops were on their way home. The World Trade Center opened in Manhattan. Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd had just been released, and the Watergate Scandal was sweeping the nation.

That same year, in a tiny corner of West Texas, 19-year-old Christene Gonzales watched the sweltering days of another El Paso summer creep in to her quiet desert town and settle like a dust cloud. Like many teenagers fresh out of high school, she was taking classes at her local university, yet was at a loss with what to do with herself. 

One afternoon she sat with her mother in the local restaurant – a hot spot for those employed at the railroad – pondering her future. Gonzales’ mother planted the seed of going to work for the railroad. Initially, she suggested that her daughter become a locomotive fireman.

Even though Gonzales’ bloodline was thick with railroader heritage extending back several generations, she was “completely clueless” about train operations. When the discussion veered toward the possibility of becoming a locomotive engineer, Gonzales thought, “What the heck!”

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