Who's Who in railroad history

Railway and labor executives after meeting with President Roosevelt in 1938

Railway and rail labor management after meeting with President Roosevelt on September 20, 1938. Left-to-right are: Ernest E. Norris, David B. Robertson, George M. Harrison, Carl B. Gray, Martin W. Clement, and B. M. Jewell.

Every railroad company that ever existed shares one thing in common: railroaders. Whether they are the finest railroad company executives ever or ruthless robber barons, railroads can't exist without people. This section of The Rip Track will include articles about the famous and sometimes not-so-famous railroaders behind the prototypes that we model.

Photo credits

The photograph of railway and labor management included on this page is cropped from a scan of the original photograph available as part of the Harris & Ewing Collection on the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division website. The rights and reproductions page for this collection (retrieved July 16, 2009) asserts that the copyright has expired on the photographs in the collection therefore that publication is expressly permitted.

Who's Who list by name, surname beginning with A

Abbot, Amos (1786-1868) - A founder in 1833 of the Boston & Portland Railway (later became Boston & Maine Railroad); director of same 1834-1841.
Abbot, Edwin H. - Wisconsin Central Railway 1890-.
Abt, Carl Roman (1850-1933) - President of Gotthardbahn; inventor of the Abt rack system for mountain railroads; oversaw construction on 72 mountain railroads around the world.
Adams, Alvin (1804-1877) - Founder of Adams Express, one of the first LCL railroad freight forwarding companies in the US.
Adams, Brock (1927-2004) - US Secretary of Transportation 1977-1979.
Adams, Charles Francis, Jr. (1835-1915) - Union Pacific Railroad 1884-1890.
Adams, Melvin O. (1847-1920) - Boston, Revere Beach & Lynn Railroad.
Adams, William (1823-1904) - Locomotive Superintendent of the North London Railway 1858-1873, Great Eastern Railway 1873-1878 and London and South Western Railway 1878-1895.
Adams, William Bridges (1797-1872) - Founded the Fairfield Locomotive Works in 1843.
Ahl, John Alexander (1813-1882) - Builder of the Harrisburg & Potomac Railroad.
Aikman, Frank, Jr. - Long Island Rail Road 1967-1969.
Ainsworth, John C. (1822-1893) - Cofounder in 1860 of Oregon Steam Navigation Company.
Alcock, Edgar (1877-1951) - General manager and chairman of Hunslet Engine Company.
Alger, Russell A. (1836-1907) - Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Coast Defenses and the U.S. Senate Committee on the Pacific Railroads 1903-1907.
Allen, Horatio (1802-1889) - Erie Railroad 1843-1844.

John W. Allen

Allen, John W. (1802-1887) - Cleveland Newburg Railroad 1834, Columbus & Cincinnati Railroad 1845.
Allen, Thomas (1813-1882) - President of St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway 1851-; in 1852 he operated the first steam locomotive to cross the Mississippi River.
Allen, William F. (1846-1915) - North American standard time.
Allyn, Henry G., Jr. - Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad 1969-1993.
Alpert, George (1898-1988) - Last president of the New Haven Railroad.
Altschul, Selig - Delaware & Hudson Railway 1977.
Ames, Oakes (1804-1873) - Forwarded construction contracts for the first US transcontinental railroad to his family companies and helped finance the construction; a major figure in the Credit Mobilier scandal that followed its completion in 1869.
Ames, Oliver, Jr. (1807-1877) - Union Pacific Railroad 1866-1871.
Anderson, Jack (1953-2004) - Chief mechanical engineer and co-owner of the Mount Rainier Scenic Railroad; chief mechanical engineer for the Nevada Northern Railway Museum.
Anderson, Joseph R. (1813-1892) - Manager of Tredegar Iron Works steam locomotive manufacturing company 1841-1848, owner of Tredegar starting in 1848.
Anderson, Samuel J. - Portland & Ogdensburg Railroad.
Anschutz, Philip (born 1939) - Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad 1984-1988, Southern Pacific Railroad 1988-1996.
Armour, Philip Danforth (1832-1901) - Founded Armour & Co. meat packers Armour Refrigerator Line to ship his products by rail.
Arms, Harrison (died 1917) - Founded Arms Palace Horse Car Company in 1885 to transport racehorses by rail.
Armstrong, George - Manager of standard gauge steam locomotives for Great Western Railway 1864-1896.
Armstrong, George B. (1822-1871) - Manager of the Chicago Post Office who is credited with founding railway mail service in the United States.
Armstrong, Joseph (1816-1877) - Chief Mechanical Engineer for Great Western Railway 1864-1877.
Arndt, Otto - Deutsche Reichsbahn of the GDR 1970-1989.
Arnold, Bion Joseph (1861-1942) - Pioneered third rail electrification systems through the construction of New York's Interborough Rapid Transit subway.
Ashby, G. F. - Union Pacific Railroad 1946-1949.

James Mitchell Ashley

Ashley, James Mitchell (1824-1896) - President of Ann Arbor Railroad.
Aspinall, John (1851-1937) - Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway 1886-1899.
Aspinwall, William Henry (1807-1875) - Early promoter of the Panama Railroad.
Atkinson, Arthur K. - President of Wabash Railroad; served as a director for the Chicago Railroad Fair in 1949.
Atterbury, William W. (1866–1935) - President of Pennsylvania Railroad 1925-1935.
Augustowski, Tadeusz - Polskie Koleje Państwowe -2005.
Awdry, W. V. (1911-1997) - Author of The Railway Series of books describing the adventures of Thomas the Tank Engine and friends.

Photo credits

John W. Allen - Wikipedia's image description page (retrieved March 6, 2009) asserts that this image is in the public domain.
James Mitchell Ashley - Cropped from a photograph available as part of the Brady-Handy Photograph Collection at the Library of Congress. The MARC record for this photograph (retrieved March 7, 2009) asserts that there are "no known restrictions on publication."

Who's Who list by name, surname beginning with B

Baer, George Frederick (1842-1914) - Reading Company 1901-.
Bailey, E. H. - Union Pacific Railroad 1965-1971.
Baird, Matthew (1817-1877) - Locomotive designer, apprenticed at New Castle Manufacturing Company 1834-1836, shop superintendent at Newcastle & Frenchtown Railroad, boiler and sheet metal shop foreman at Baldwin Locomotive Works 1838, designed the French & Baird spark arrestor 1842, known as using the firebrick arch in 1854 three years before Griggs' patent, parter at Baldwin Locomotive Works 1854-1873.
Baker, William C. (1828-1901) - Car heater patentee.
Baldwin, L. W. - CEO of Missouri Pacific Lines. (Palmer 1942)
Baldwin, Matthias W. (1795-1866) - Locomotive designer, assembled the first locomotive for Newcastle & Frenchtown Railroad in 1832, founder of Baldwin Locomotive Works.
Baldwin, William H., Jr. (1863-1905) - Long Island Rail Road 1896-1905.
Ball, Webb C. (1847-1922) - Chief Time Inspector for the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway beginning in 1891; he was the first person in North America to create reliable inspection systems for railroad chronometers.
Bancroft, William Amos (born 1855) - Boston Elevated Railway 1899-.
Bandeen, Robert (born 1930) - Canadian National Railway 1974-1982.
Banerjee, Mamata (born 1955) - Minister of Railways for India 2009-present.
Banfield, Edward - Gran Ferrocarril Sur.
Barlatier de Mas, Paul Albert Raymond (1802-1874) - President of Chemins de fer de Paris à Lyon et à la Méditerranée
Barney, Eliam E. (1807-1880) - Car builder.
Barriger, John W., III (1899-1976) - President of Monon Railroad 1946-1953; president of Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad 1956-1964; president of Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad 1965-1970; president of Boston & Maine Railroad 1973-1974.
Bauer, Kenneth J. - Long Island Rail Road 2000-2003.
Bayer, Palmer - President of Intermodal Transportation Systems, Inc.
Beames, H. P. M. (1875-1948) - Chief Mechanical Engineer of London & North Western Railway 1920-1922.
Beatty, Edward Wentworth (1877-1943) - Canadian Pacific Railway 1918-1943.
Beckley, Thomas M. - Soo Line Railroad 1978-1983.
Beebe, Lucius M. (1902-1966) - Railroad journalist.
Beeching, Richard (1913-1985) - Chairman of the British Railways Board 1961-1965; known for his cost-cutting measures to close a large number of branch lines and low-use stations throughout the United Kingdom, a plan that has come to be known as "The Beeching Axe."
Belpaire, Alfred (1820-1893) - Inventor of the Belpaire firebox used on steam locomotives.
Bennett, James I. - Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad 1877-1881.
Berdell, Robert H. - Erie Railroad 1864–1867.
Bernet, John J. (1868-1935) - Nickel Plate Road 1916-1926, Erie Railroad 1927-1929, Chesapeake & Ohio Railway 1929-1932, NKP 1933-1935.
Bertrand, Charles E. - Delaware & Hudson Railway 1977-1978.
Besener, Willi - Deutsche Reichsbahn of the GDR 1946-1949.
Beven, John L. - Illinois Central Railroad 1938-1945.
Beyer, O. S. - Director of the US Division of Transport Personnel. (Palmer 1942)
Biaggini, Benjamin (1916-2005) - President of Southern Pacific Railroad 1964-1976 then chairman of the board of directors for same 1976-1983.
Billings, Frederick H. (1823-1890) - President of Northern Pacific Railway 1879-1881.
Bixby, William P. (1857-1931) - American Car & Foundry.
Blackstone, Timothy B. (1829-1900) - Chief engineer for Joliet & Chicago Railroad; president of Joliet & Chicago Railroad 1861-1864; president of Chicago & Alton Railroad 1864-1899.
Blair, John Insley (1802-1899) - American railroad investor and at one time president of 16 different railroads; namesake of several towns along railroad lines in which he invested, including Blair, Nebraska, on the Sioux City & Pacific Rail Road, and Blair, Wisconsin, on the Green Bay & Minnesota Railroad.
Blake, Ronald James - Kowloon-Canton Railway 2006-present.
Bledsoe, Samuel T. (1868-1939) - Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway 1933–1939.
Blood, Aretas (1816-1897) - Locomotive designer, employed by Locks & Canals machine shop 1832-1839, job hand at Essex Machine Shop 1849, invested in Manchester Locomotive Works 1853, superintendent at Manchester Locomotive Works 1857-1897.
Boardman, Joseph H. - Chairman of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials' Standing Committee on Rail Transportation; New York State Commissioner of Transportation 1997-2005; US Federal Railroad Administrator 2005-2008; President and CEO of Amtrak 2008-present.
Boatner, Victor V. (1881-1950) - Worked for Illinois Central Railroad; president of Peoria & Pekin Union Railway 1921-; president of Chicago Great Western Railway 1929-1931; continued work as a railway consultant in Chicago until 1950.
Boeckmann, Alan L. - BNSF Railway.
Bollman, Wendel (1814-1884) - Designer of the Bollman truss bridge.
Bolton, John - Delaware & Hudson Railway 1826-1831.
Bond, Frank S. - Philadelphia & Reading Railroad 1883-.
Bouvier, Robert - President of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference.
Bowen, James - Erie Railroad 1841–1842.
Bowen-Cooke, Charles (1859-1920) - Chief Mechanical Engineer of the London & North Western Railway 1909-1920.
Bowman, Hollis - Maine Central Railroad 1863-1864.
Boyd, Alan Stephenson (born 1922) - First US Secretary of Transportation 1967-1969. President of Illinois Central Railroad 1969-1972. President of Amtrak 1978-1982. (Phillips, June 1991, p 28)
Bradshaw, George (1801-1853) - English cartographer, printer and publisher and the originator of the railway timetable.
Brady, James "Diamond Jim" (1856-1917) - Railway supply salesman.
Brandt, John (1791-1860) - Locomotive builder; Philadelphia & Columbia Railroad shop foreman 1833-1838, Georgia Railroad motive power superintendent 1838-1840, Cumberland Valley Railroad motive power superintendent 1841, New York & Erie Railroad motive power superintendent 1842-1851, New Jersey Locomotive and Machine Company superintendent 1852-, Lancaster Locomotive Works superintendent -1857.
Brogidan, Thomas - Irish businessman who spearheaded the efforts for the extension of the Dublin-Drogheda railway line to connect to Navan in 1845 (the extension opened in 1850).
Bromley, M. - Chief Mechanical Engineer for Great Eastern Railway 1878-1881.
Brooke, George D. - Chesapeake & Ohio Railway 1933-, Pere Marquette Railroad 1933-, Nickel Plate Road 1935-, Virginian Railway.
Brooks, Horatio G. (1828-1887) - Locomotive builder, founder of Brooks Locomotive Works.
Brosnan, D. William - Southern Railway (US) 1962-1967.
Brown, Revelle W. - Reading Company.
Brown, Richard - CEO of Eurostar __-present.
Brown, Virginia Mae (1924-1991) - First woman to lead the Interstate Commerce Commission. Chairman of the ICC 1969-1979. (Trains, June 1991, p 18)
Brunel, Isambard Kingdom (1806-1859) - Founder of Great Western Railway.
Bryant, Gridley (1789-1867) - Construction engineer who designed and built the first commercial railroad in the United States, the Granite Railroad near Boston, inventing many of the basic technologies needed for it.
Bryant, Robert E. - Buckingham Branch Railroad __-present.
Brydges, Charles John (1827-1899) - Began railway career with the London & South Western Railway; managing director of Great Western Railroad (Canada) 1852-__; general manager of Grand Trunk Railway 1862-1874; commissioner of Intercolonial Railway.
Budd, Edward G. - Founder of Budd Car Company.
Budd, John M. - Great Northern Railway (US).
Budd, Ralph (1879–1962) - Great Northern Railway (US) 1919-1932, Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad 1932-1949.
Buenrostro, Hugo Jiménez - Kansas City Southern de Mexico 2006-present.
Buford, Algernon S. (1826-1911) - President of Richmond & Danville Railroad 1865-1892.
Buford, Curtis D. - Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad 1965-1969.
Bulleid, Oliver V. S. (1882-1970) - Chief Mechanical Engineer at Southern Railway (UK) 1937-1948, Chief Mechanical Engineer at Córas Iompair Éireann (Ireland) 1950-1958.
Burbidge, Fred - Canadian Pacific Railway 1972-1981.
Burdakin, John H. - Grand Trunk Western Railroad.
Burkhardt, Ed - Wisconsin Central 1987-1999, Railworld 2000-present.
Burns, John J. - Alleghany Corporation.
Burns, Ron (born 1953) - Union Pacific Railroad 1996.
Burt, Horace G. (1849-1913) - Union Pacific Railroad 1898-1904.
Burtness, Harold W. (1897-1978) - Began railroad career as a secretary for Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad; worked as an executive for Pennsylvania Railroad; moved to Chicago Great Western Railway in 1922; vice president of Chicago Great Western Railway 1941-1946; president of Chicago Great Western Railway 1946-1948.
Bury, Oliver Robert Hawke (1861-1946) - Chief mechanical engineer and manager of Great Western Railway of Brazil 1892-1894, general manager of the Great Northern Railway in England 1902-1912, Director of the London and North Eastern Railway 1912-1945.
Busiel, Charles Albert (1842-1901) - Lake Shore Railroad, Concord & Montreal Railroad.
Butzelaar, Frank - Southern Railway of British Columbia 2008-present.
Byers, Stephen (born 1953) - British Secretary of State for Transport 2001-2002. He introduced an order to put the railway infrastructure company Railtrack into administration, effectively renationalizing the company that would become Network Rail; this led to the largest class action suit yet in British courts as Railtrack shareholders tried to recover their investments.

Who's Who list by name, surname beginning with C

Cable, Ransom Reed - Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad 1883-1898.
Cahill, Michael Harrison - Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad 1930-1933.
Cail, Jean-François (1804-1871) - French steam locomotive builder and licensee of the Crampton type locomotive in France.
Calhoun, Patrick (1856-1943) - United Railroads of San Francisco.
Calthorp, Everard (1857-1927) - British railway engineer, promoter and builder of narrow gauge railways; founded the Barsi Light Railway in 1895; served as a consultant for a number of narrow gauge railways around the world.
Calthorp, Guy (1870-1919) - Began railroad career with the London & North Western Railway in 1886; General Superintendent of Caledonian Railway 1902-1908, General Manager of same 1908-1910; General Manager of Buenos Aires & Pacific Railway 1910-1913; General Manager of London & North Western Railway 1914-1919.
Calvin, E. E. - Union Pacific Railroad 1916-1918.
Campbell, Henry R. (1807-1879) - Patentee of the 4-4-0 locomotive.
Campbell, James - Chairman of the Board for Alaska Railroad 1984-__.
Campbell, John Williams (1880-1957) - Director for New York Central Railroad 1920-__; chairman of the board for Hudson & Manhattan Railroad __-1957.
Carper, Thomas C. - Chairman of the Board for Amtrak -present.
Carroll, Charles of Carrollton (1737-1832) - Helped with founding the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad; laid the cornerstone at the beginning of construction in 1828.
Carter, Thomas S. - Kansas City Southern Railway 1973-.
Carver, Hartwell (1789-1875) - Promoter of a railroad line across the United States to the Pacific coast as early as 1832; participated in hammering the Golden Spike at Promontory, Utah, in 1869.
Casement, John S. (1829-1909) - Directed construction of the First Transcontinental Railroad as Chief Engineer for Union Pacific Railroad beginning in 1866.
Casey, Samuel B., Jr. (1927-2006) - CEO and President of Pullman Company 1970-1980.
Cass, George Washington (1810–1888) - Pennsylvania Railroad; Northern Pacific Railway 1872-1875.
Cassatt, Alexander (1839-1906) - Brother of American painter Mary Cassatt. President of Pennsylvania Railroad 1899–1906.
Cavanaugh, Dennis Miles - Soo Line Railroad 1983–1986, 1987–1989.
Celinski, Krzysztof - Polskie Koleje Państwowe 2005-present.
Chalmers, W. - Chief Mechanical Engineer for North British Railway 1919-1922.
Chanute, Octave (1832-1910) - Designed the Hannibal Bridge, the first railroad bridge across the Missouri River in 1869; invented the process of pressure treating ties with creosote to preserve them.
Chapelon, André (1892-1978) - French steam locomotive designer.
Chapin, Chester William (1798-1883) - President of Western Railroad Corporation 1854-1867; president of Boston & Albany Railroad 1868-1878
Charlick, Oliver - Long Island Rail Road 1863-1875.
Chatfield, Levi S. (1808-1884) - Major stockholder of Atlantic & Pacific Railroad 1853-1854.
Chipley, William Dudley (1840-1897) - Columbus & Rome Railroad; Baltimore & Ohio Railroad 1873-1876; Pensacola & Atlantic Railroad.
Christy, Doug - Iowa Interstate Railroad.
Chrysler, Walter (1875-1940) - Worked as a mechanic for various railroads including the Fort Worth & Denver Railway; Manager of ALCO's Allegheny erecting shops until 1911.
Churchward, George Jackson (1857-1933) - Chief Mechanical Engineer of Great Western Railway 1902-1922.
Clapp, Harold Winthrop (1875-1852) - Began railroad career with the Brisbane Tramway Company. Moved to the US in 1900, eventually finding work on the Interborough Rapid Transit Company in New York. He was in charge of the electrification of the Pennsylvania Railroad's West Jersey and Seashore Divisions. He then moved to Ohio in 1908 and joined the Southern Pacific Railroad where he worked his way up to become a vice president. He also worked during this time for the Columbus Railway Power & Light Company and the East St. Louis Suburban Railway. He returned to Australia in 1920 when he was named Chairman of the Commissioners of Victorian Railways. He was appointed Director-General of Land Transport in 1942; while in this position in 1944, he submitted a plan to convert all existing rail lines in Australia to standard gauge. He retired in 1951.
Clark, D. K. - Chief Mechanical Engineer for Great North of Scotland Railway 1853-1855.
Clark, Horace F. (1815-1873) - Union Pacific Railroad 1872-1873.
Clark, John P. - New York, Susquehanna & Western Railway.
Clark, S. H. H. - Union Pacific Railroad 1892-1898.
Clarke, F. B. - Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railway 1907-.
Claytor, Robert B. (1922-1993) - Norfolk & Western Railway 1981-1982; Norfolk Southern Railway 1982-1993.
Claytor, W. Graham, Jr. (1912-1994) - President of Southern Railway 1967-1976, chairman of Southern Railway 1976-1977; during his tenure at Southern Railway, he oversaw creation of the railroad's heritage steam operations program, a program that was continued by successor Norfolk Southern. President of Amtrak 1982-1993. (Scull, June 1991, p 24. Phillips, June 1991, p 28)
Clegg, Charles M., Jr. (1916-1979) - Author, photographer and railroad historian.
Clement, Martin W. (1881-1966) - Pennsylvania Railroad 1935–1948.
Coffin, Lorenzo S. (1823-1915) - Railroad safety advocate.
Coe, William R. (1869-1955) - Virginian Railway.
Colburn, Zerah (1832-1870) - Apprentice in the drafting room at Lowell Machine Shops; worked for most of the locomotive builders in New Jersey; hired by American Railroad Journal in 1853; split off to start his own railroad journal, Railroad Advocate, but was forced to close it in 1857; moved to London to become editor of The Engineer in 1858; founded Engineering in 1866 as a competitor to The Engineer.
Cole, Francis J. (1856-1923) - Locomotive designer.
Coleman, D'Alton Cory - Canadian Pacific Railway 1942-1947.
Coleman, William C. (1901-1976) - President of Monon Railroad. (Railway Age, August 9, 1976, p 43)
Coliton, William P. - Chicago South Shore & South Bend Railroad 1961-.
Colket, Coffin - Long Island Rail Road 1862-1863.
Collins, David J. - Buffalo & Pittsburgh Railroad -present.
Colnon, Aaron - Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad 1942-1947.
Connor, Benjamin - Locomotive Superintendent for Caledonian Railway 1856-1876.
Conti, P. Scott - Providence & Worcester Railroad 2005-present.
Cooke, Bates (1787-1841) - Controlling partner of the Lewiston Railroad in New York.
Cooke, Jay (1821-1905) - Founder of Jay Cooke & Co. bank; president and chief financier of Northern Pacific Railway 1870-1873. The failure of Jay Cooke & Co. in 1873 due to overextended railroad investments led to the great financial panic of 1873.
Cooke, John (1824-1882) - Apprenticed to Thomas Rogers to learn locomotive manufacturing; shop superintendent for Rogers Locomotive & Machine Works 1843-1852; partnered with Charles Danforth to form Danforth, Cooke & Co.
Cooley, Thomas M. (1824-1898) - First chairman of the Interstate Commerce Commission.
Coolidge, T. Jefferson (1831-1920) - President of Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway 1880–1881, succeeded by William B. Strong.
Corbin, Austin (1827-1896) - President of Long Island Rail Road 1881-1896.
Corning, Erastus (1794-1872) - Utica & Schenectady Railroad 1830s-1853; New York Central Railroad 1853-1865.
Côté, Paul - President of VIA Rail 2005-present.
Cotton, Edward John (1829-1899) - Clerk for the Railway Clearing House 1847-1851; hired by North Eastern Railway as a Railway Clearing House trainer; Manager of Waterford & Kilkenny Railway 1853-1857; Traffic Manager of Belfast & Balleymena Railway 1857-1860; continued with Belfast & Northern Counties Railway; Manager of Ballymena, Cushendall & Red Bay Railway 1875-1884.
Couch, C. P. "Pete" (1890-1955) - Brother of Harvey C. Couch. President of Kansas City Southern Railway 1939-1941.
Couch, Harvey C. (1877-1941) - Brother of C. P. Crouch. Led an investment consortium to control the Louisiana & Arkansas Railway in 1928; president of Kansas City Southern Railway 1939; oversaw KCS's purchase of L&A then turned over the KCS presidency to his brother.
Cowan, W. - Chief Mechanical Engineer for Great North of Scotland Railway 1857-1883.
Crampton, Thomas (1816-1888) - English steam locomotive builder; namesake of the Crampton locomotive type.
Crane, L. Stanley - Southern Railway 1977-1980.
Crerar, Peter (1785-1856) - Designed the Albion Mines Railway (the first railway in British North America) in 1836.
Cret, Paul Philippe (1876-1945) - Architect and industrial designer; design consultant for Cincinnati Union Terminal; designed the side fluting on the Pioneer Zephyr trainset (which debuted in 1934) and on the Santa Fe's Super Chief passenger cars (debuted in 1936).
Crocker, Charles (1822-1888) - A member of the Big Four group of financiers in California; president of Central Pacific Railroad.
Crosbie, William - Acting President of Amtrak 2008.
Crozet, Claudius (1789-1864) - Principal Engineer and Surveyor for the Virginia Board of Public Works 1823-1832 and 1837-1843 where he worked on a number of railroad related projects including the design of the Chesterfield Railroad.
Crump, Norris Ray "Buck" (1904-1989) - Canadian Pacific Railway 1955-1964 and 1966.
Crush, William George - General passenger agent for Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad who staged the "Crash at Crush" publicity stunt in 1896.
Culver, Andrew - Prospect Park & Coney Island Railroad.

Who's Who list by name, surname beginning with D

Dargan, William (1799-1867) - Irish engineer known as the "father of Irish railways." Built the first railway in Ireland in 1833, connecting Dublin to Kingstown.
Dautry, Raoul (1880-1951) - Oversaw reconstruction of the northern French rail network after World War I; director of Compagnie des chemins de fer de l'État 1928-1937.
Dean, William (1840-1905) - Chief Mechanical Engineer of Great Western Railway 1877-1902.
Deeley, Richard (1855-1944) - Chief Mechanical Engineer of Midland Railway 1904-1909.
Denney, Charles Eugene (1879-1965) - President of Erie Railroad 1929-1939; president of Northern Pacific Railway 1939-1950.
Depew, Chauncey M. (1834-1928) - President of New York Central Railroad 1885-1898.
Diesel, Rudolf (1858-1913) - Inventor of the diesel engine.
Dilworth, Richard M. (1885-1968) - Chief engineer at General Motors Electro-Motive Division who is credited with developing the diesel-electric locomotive concept in the 1930s.
Donnelly, Charles (1869-1939) - President of Northern Pacific Railway 1920-1939.
Doris, Carole R. - Chairman of the board for Metra 2006-present.
Downs, Thomas - President of Amtrak 1993-1998.
Dowty, Robert R. (1923-2004) - Construction foreman for the Jupiter and 119 steam locomotive replicas at the Golden Spike National Historic Site at Promontory, Utah.
Drew, Daniel (1797-1879) - Financier of the Erie Railroad, in conjunction with Jim Fisk.
Drummond, D. - Chief Mechanical Engineer for North British Railway 1875-1882.

Who's Who list by name, surname beginning with E

Eames, Frederick W. - American patentee of a vacuum brake system and founder of Eames Vacuum Brake Company. (White 1973)
Eastman, Joseph B. - Director of the US Office of Defense Transportation. (Palmer 1942)
Eaton, Cyrus S. (1883-1979) - President of Chesapeake & Ohio Railway, instrumental in forming the merger that became Chessie System in the early 1970s.
Edson, Job A. (1854-1928) - President of Kansas City Southern Railway 1905-1918 and 1920-1927.
Elliott, Howard (1860-1928) - President of Northern Pacific Railway 1903-1913; president of New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad 1913-__.
Ellis, Ed - President of Iowa Pacific Holdings -present.
Engerth, Wilhelm (1814-1884) - Austrian architect and engineer who designed the first practical mountain locomotive.
Evans, Oliver (1755-1819) - Steam locomotive designer and inventor.

Who's Who list by name, surname beginning with F

Fairburn, Charles (1887-1945) - Chief Mechanical Engineer of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway 1944–1945.
Fairlie, Robert F. (1831-1885) - English steam locomotive builder; namesake of the Fairlie locomotive type.
Fallberg, Carl (1915-1996) - Cartoonist who created Fiddletown & Copperopolis.
Farnam, Henry (1803-1883) - President of Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad 1854-1863.
Felton, Samuel Morse, Jr. (1853-1930) - President of Chicago & Alton Railroad 1899-1908, Chicago Great Western Railway 1909-1925.
Fernandez, Vicente Corta - Interim CEO of Grupo Transportación Ferroviaria Mexicana in 2005.
Ferreira, Douglas (1929-2003) - General manager of Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway 1961-1994.
Fish, Stuyvesant (1851-1923) - President of Illinois Central Railroad 1887-1907.
Fisk, Jim (1834-1872) - American financier who worked with Daniel Drew for control of the Erie Railroad.
Flagler, Henry Morrison (1830-1913) - Founder and president of Florida East Coast Railway.
Fleming, Sanford (1827-1915) - Surveyor for Canadian Pacific Railway who set up Canadian time zones.
Fletcher, E. - Chief Mechanical Engineer for North Eastern Railway 1854-1882.
Forbes, John M. (1813-1898) - President of Michigan Central Railroad 1846-1855, director and president of Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad in the 1850s.
Fordyce, Samuel W. (1840-1919) - President of St. Louis, Arkansas and Texas Railway 1886-1889; president of St. Louis Southwestern Railway 1890-1898; president of Kansas City Southern Railway in 1900.
Forney, Matthias N. (1835-1908) - American steam locomotive manufacturer.
Foster, James (1786-1853) - English ironworker and partner with John Urpeth Rastrick in Foster, Rastrick & Co., the company that built the Stourbridge Lion.
Fowler, Henry (1870-1938) - Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Midland Railway 1909-1923; Chief Mechanical Engineer of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway 1925-1931.
Fox, Charles (1810-1874) - Assisted in the construction of Novelty for the Rainhill Trials. Patentee in 1832 of the railway switch using movable points. Later went on to engineer many standard and narrow gauge projects throughout the British Empire.
Fox, H. R. - General manager of Jamaica Railway in the mid-20th century.

Who's Who list by name, surname beginning with G

Gallois, Louis (born 1944) - President of SNCF 1996-2006.
Garratt, Herbert William (1864-1913) - English steam locomotive builder and inventor of the Garratt locomotive type.
Garrett, John W. (1820-1884) - President of Baltimore & Ohio Railroad beginning in 1858.
George, W. H. Krome (1918-2004) - Director of Norfolk Southern Railway 1979-1990.
Giffard, Henri (1825-1882) - French mechanical engineer who invented the steam locomotive feedwater injector.
Gölsdorf, Karl (1861-1916) - Austrian locomotive builder.
Gooch, Daniel (1816-1889) - Chief Mechanical Engineer of Great Western Railway 1837-1864.
Gordon, Donald (1901-1969) - President of Canadian National Railway 1950-1966.
Gorman, Paul - President of Penn Central.
Gould, George Jay, I (1864-1923) - Eldest son of Jay Gould, president of the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad and the Western Pacific Railroad.
Gould, Jay (1836-1892) - American financier who at one point in the 1880s controlled over 10,000 miles of railways, including the Erie, Union Pacific and Missouri Pacific railroads.

Franklin B. Gowen

Gowen, Franklin B. (1836-1889) - President of Philadelphia & Reading Railroad1866-1883; he was killed by gunshot in a Washington, DC, hotel and it is still unknown if it was a suicide or a revenge killing by the Molly Maguires.
Grant, James (1812-1891) - First president of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad 1851-1854.
Gray, Carl B. - Vice chairman of Union Pacific Railroad.
Gresley, H. N. - Chief Mechanical Engineer for Great Northern Railway (UK) 1911-1922.
Gresley, Nigel (1876-1941) - Chief Mechanical Engineer for Great Northern Railway in Great Britain 1911-1922; Chief Mechanical Engineer for London & North Eastern Railway 1923-1941; president of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers 1936.
Gunn, David L. (born 1937) - Began railroad career with the Santa Fe 1964-1967. Worked for New York Central 1967-1968. Assistant Vice President of Illinois Central Gulf Railroad 1969-1974. Director of Commuter Rail for Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority 1974-1975, then Director of Operations for same 1975-1979. General Manager and Chief Operations Officer for Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority 1979-1984. President of New York City Transit Authority 1984-1990. General Manager of Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority 1991-1994. Chief General Manager of Toronto Transit Commission 1995-1999. President of Amtrak 2002-2005.
Gurley, Fred (1889-1976) - Began railroad career with the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy in 1906 where he was eventually promoted to executive vice president; became vice president of Santa Fe Railroad in 1939; elected president of Santa Fe Railroad 1944-1957; remained a director of the railroad until 1964, when the Santa Fe made him an honorary director for life.

Photo credits

Franklin B. Gowen - The image description page at Wikipedia (retrieved December 13, 2009) asserts that this photograph is in the public domain.

Who's Who list by name, surname beginning with H

Hackworth, Timothy (1786-1850) - Pioneering English steam locomotive designer and builder.
Hallidie, Andrew Smith (1836-1900) - Developed the first practical cable car system for San Francisco, California.
Hamberger, Edward R. - President of the Association of American Railroads.
Hanna, David Blyth (1858-1938) - First president of Canadian National Railway.
Hannaford, Jule Murat (1850-1934) - President of Northern Pacific Railway 1913-1920.
Harbeson, John (1888-1986) - Architect and industrial designer who helped with the design of the Pioneer Zephyr in 1934 and Denver Zephyr in 1936.
Harnden, William F. (1812-1845) - Began career as a ticket salesman for the Boston & Providence Railroad, became the first person to send an express shipment by rail in 1839 and founded Harnden & Company as a result of this experience.
Harris, Robert (born 1830) - President of Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad 1876-1878; president of Northern Pacific Railway 1884-1888.
Harrison, George M. - President of the Brotherhood of Railway and Steamship Clerks.
Harvey, Fred (1835-1901) - Entrepreneur who developed the Harvey House chain of restaurants in conjunction with the Santa Fe Railroad.
Haswell, John (1812-1897) - Scottish locomotive builder; became prominent with locomotive construction in Austria, building the first six-coupled locomotive for that country.
Havemeyer, Henry Osborne (1847-1907) - President of Long Island Rail Road 1875-1876.
Haverty, Michael R. (born 1944) - President of Santa Fe Railroad 1989-1995; president of Kansas City Southern Railway 1995-present; Railroader of the Year 2001.
Hayes, Charles - President of Southern Pacific Railroad 1900-1901.
Hedley, William (1773-1843) - Pioneering English locomotive designer and builder of Puffing Billy in cooperation with Timothy Hackworth.
Henszey, William P. - Mechanical superintendent at Baldwin Locomotive Works in the 1870s. (White, 1973, p 6)
Heywood, T. E. - Chief Mechanical Engineer for Great North of Scotland Railway 1914-1922.
Hill, A. J. - Chief Mechanical Engineer for Great Eastern Railway 1912-1922.
Hill, James J. (1838-1916) - President of Great Northern Railway and Northern Pacific Railway.
Hoke, Robert (1837-1912) - Director for North Carolina Railroad after the American Civil War.
Holden, J. - Chief Mechanical Engineer for Great Eastern Railway 1885-1907.
Holden, S. D. - Chief Mechanical Engineer for Great Eastern Railway 1908-1912.
Holliday, Cyrus K. (1826-1900) - First president of Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad 1860-1863.
Holmes, M. - Chief Mechanical Engineer for North British Railway 1882-1903.
Hone, Philip (1780-1851) - First president of Delaware & Hudson Railway 1825-1826.
Hoon, Geoff - British Secretary of State for Transport.
Hopkins, Mark (1813-1878) - A member of The Big Four group of financiers in California.
Howard, Nathaniel Lamson (1887-1949) - Worked for Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad and Chicago Union Station Company; president of Chicago Great Western Railway 1925-1929.
Hudson, George (1800-1871) - English railway financier known as "The Railway King."
Huggins, Larry A. - Director for Metra 1997-present; Treasurer for Metra 2006-2009; Vice-chairman of the board for Metra 2009-present.
Hughes, David - Interim President of Amtrak 2005-2006.
Hughes, George (1865-1945) - Chief Mechanical Engineer for the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway 1904–1922, the London & North Western Railway 1922–1923 and the London, Midland & Scottish Railway 1925–1931.
Huntington, Collis Potter (1821-1900) - A member of the Big Four group of financiers in California.
Huntington, Henry Edward (1850-1927) - Nephew of Collis P. Huntington; executive in charge of Pacific Electric Railway in the early 20th century.

Who's Who list by name, surname beginning with I

Ivatt, Henry Alfred (1851-1923) - Chief Mechanical Engineer for Great Northern Railway (UK) 1896-1911.
Ivatt, Henry George (1886-1976) - Son of Henry A. Ivatt, was commonly known as George Ivatt; Chief Mechanical Engineer for London Midland & Scottish Railway 1946-1947.

Who's Who list by name, surname beginning with J

Janney, Eli H. (1831-1912) - Inventor of the modern knuckle coupler.
Jay, John (1805-1872) - British contractor and stonemason whose projects included the Stoke-on-Trent station, part of the Great Northern Railway at King's Cross station, King's Cross goods and passenger stations, London Underground's Metropolitan Line, Colchester station and much of Paddington station.
Jenks, Downing B. - President of Missouri Pacific Railroad. (Railway Age, July 13, 1970, p 60)
Jewell, B. M. - President of the Railway Employees division of the American Federation of Labor.
Johnson, J. - Chief Mechanical Engineer for Great North of Scotland Railway 1890-1894.
Johnson, S. W. - Chief Mechanical Engineer for Great Eastern Railway 1866-1873.
Johnston, Charles E. (1881-1951) - president of Kansas City Southern Railway 1928-1938.
Jones, Charles - Chief Mechanical Engineer for Metropolitan Railway.
Joyce, Patrick H. (1879-1946) - President of Chicago Great Western Railway 1931-1946.
Judah, Theodore D. (1826-1863) - Chief engineer for Central Pacific Railroad and one of the earlier promoters of a transcontinental railroad across North America.

Who's Who list by name, surname beginning with K

Kalmbach, Al C. - Founder of Kalmbach Publishing Company, the publisher of Model Railroader and Trains magazines as well as a large number of books about railroading.
Kandó, Kálmán (1869-1931) - Hungarian engineer who designed the world's first AC traction electric railway in Italy in 1902.
Keyes, Henry (1810-1870) - Helped to revitalize the Connecticut & Passumpsic Rivers Railroad; president of Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway 1869-1870.
Kidde, Walter (1877-1943) - President of New York, Susquehanna & Western Railway 1937-1943.
Kiley, John P. - President of the Milwaukee Road until 1957.
Frederick J. Kimball

Kimball, Frederick J. (1844-1903) - American civil engineer who was instrumental in the formation of the Norfolk & Western Railway.
Kimball, Ward (1914-2002) - Disney cartoonist who built the Grizzly Flats Railroad, collaborated with Walt Disney to build the Disneyland Railroad, original host of the "Tracks Ahead" television series for Milwaukee Public Television.
Kirkwood, James P. (1807-1877) - Designer of Starucca Viaduct.
Kittson, Norman (1814-1888) - Collaborated with James J. Hill, Donald Alexander Smith and George Stephen in 1879 to purchase the St. Paul & Pacific Railroad, which eventually became the oldest predecessor of Great Northern Railway.
Knight, Rob - Chief Financial Officer for Union Pacific Railroad __-present.
Knott, Stuart R. (1859-1943) - President of Kansas City Southern Railway 1900-1905.
Knorr, George (1859-1911) - inventor of the Knorr brake system, the first automatic graduated braking system designed for use in European freight trains.
Krebs, Robert D. - Began railroad career with the Cotton Belt in the 1960s; became the youngest Superintendent of the Pine Bluff Division in 1971 at age 29; president of Southern Pacific 1982-1984; CEO of Santa Fe 1984-1995; shared the title of Railroader of the Year in 1996 with Gerald Grinstein (the last CEO of Burlington Northern); CEO of BNSF 1995-2002; director for RailPower Technologies 2002-2005.
Kryšpín, Vojtěch - Czechoslovak locomotive builder, originator of the Kryšpín system of locomotive class naming.
Kummant, Alexander (born 1962) - Began railroad career with Union Pacific. President of Amtrak 2006-2008.
Kunisawa, Simbei - President of South Manchuria Railway 1917-__.

Photo credits

Frederick J. Kimball - Wikipedia's image description page (retrieved March 6, 2009) asserts that this photograph is in the public domain due to both its age (taken before 1903) and that it was first published by the Works Progress Administration, a US Federal agency.

Who's Who list by name, surname beginning with L

LaHood, Ray - United States Secretary of Transportation.
Laney, David M. (born 1949) - Chairman of the Board of Directors for Amtrak 2002-present.
Larson, Jim (1935-2008) - Telegrapher for Milwaukee Road; dispatcher and division manager for Chicago & North Western Railway; assistant vice president of operations for Amtrak -1998; worked to extend the Sunset Limited from New Orleans to Miami.
Lewis, Roger (1912-1987) - First president of Amtrak 1971-1974. (Phillips, June 1991, p 27)
Ledyard, Henry Brockholst (1844-1921) - Began his railroad career in 1870 workin in the Engineering Department of Northern Pacific Railroad. He left that job to become a clerk for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad later in the same year. He worked through promotions to become Assistant Superintendent, and then Superintendent of the railroad's eastern division. He became the assistant to William B. Strong in 1874 who was then Superintendent of the Michigan Central Railroad. Ledyard replaced Strong in that position in 1876. He succeeded William H. Vanderbilt as president of the Michigan Central in 1883. Under Ledyard's leadership, the railroad removed a great number of bridges, tight curves and steep grades, increasing the maximum train length from 30 to 80 cars and doubling the car capacities at the same time. Ledyard then guided the construction of new lines along the Detroit River, which led to the construction of many large manufacturing plants, including the more well-known automobile plants of today. Ledyard stepped down from the presidency in 1905 but remained Chairman of the Board.
List, Friedrich (1789-1846) - German economist who strongly advocated for a national railway system in Germany as a means of economic unification within the country.
Lindholt, Tore (born 1941) - Director general of Norges Statsbaner 1987-1988; president of Norges Statsbaner 1990.
Locke, Joseph (1805-1860) - English civil engineer; construction engineer of Stockton & Darlington Railway and Liverpool & Manchester Railway; Chief Mechanical Engineer for Grand Junction Railway.
Loewy, Raymond (1893-1986) - Industrial designer who worked for Pennsylvania Railroad; his most prominent designs for PRR included the S1 and T1 locomotives.
Lord, Henry C. (1824-1884) - President of Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway 1868-1869.
Loree, Leonor F. (1858-1940) - President of Baltimore & Ohio Railroad 1901-1904, Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad __-1904, Delaware & Hudson Railroad 1907-1938, Kansas City Southern Railway 1918-1920, and chairman of Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad 1926-1928.
Lovett, Robert S. (1860-1932) - Chairman of the Southern Pacific Company Executive Committee 1909-1913; President of Union Pacific Railroad 1910-1911.
Luhrsen, J. G. - Executive Secretary of the Railway Labor Executives' Association. (Palmer 1942)
Luna, Charles - President of the United Transportation Union.
Lyster, J. W. "Wes" (1923-2009) - Vice president of Canadian Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers International 1981-1986. (BLET, 14 Aug 2009)

Who's Who list by name, surname beginning with M

Macfarlane, Robert Stetson (1899- ) - President of Northern Pacific Railway 1951-1966.
Mackenzie, William (1849-1923) - Part owner of Toronto Street Railway, builder of Canadian Northern Railway predecessors.
Mahone, William (1826-1895) - American civil engineer who built the Norfolk & Petersburg Railroad.
Mallet, Anatole (1837-1917) - Inventor of the Mallet articulated steam locomotive type.
Manson, J. - Chief Mechanical Engineer for Great North of Scotland Railway 1883-1890.
Manvel, Allen (1837-1893) - Succeeded William B. Strong as president of Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway 1889-1893.
Manwiller, Michael - Chief mechanical officer for Heber Valley Railroad.
Maunsell, Richard (1868-1944) - Chief Mechanical Engineer for South Eastern and Chatham Railway 1913-1923 and Southern Railway in England 1923-1937.
Mayon, E. J. - President of the Order of Railway Telegraphers.
McDonnell, A. - Chief Mechanical Engineer for North Eastern Railway 1882-1885.
McKenzie, William Innes - Builder of extensions to the Toronto, Grey & Bruce Railway in Canada.
Meiggs, Henry (1811-1877) - American promoter and con-man who worked to build the original railway lines in Peru and the line connecting Santiago and Valparaiso, Chile.
Mellen, Charles Sanger (1852-1927) - President of Northern Pacific Railway 1897-1903; president of New Haven Railroad 1903-1913; president of Maine Central Railroad 1910-1914.
Melnikov, Pavel Petrovich (1804-1880) - Russian engineer and Transport Minister responsible for the selection of 5 ft gauge as the standard for Russian railways.
Menk, Louis W. - President of Burlington Northern Railroad 1970-__.
Meyer, Jean Jacques (1804-1877) - French steam locomotive builder and designer of the Meyer articulation type.
Miller, Dennis H. - President of Iowa Interstate Railroad 2004-__.
Mills, Frederick (1898-1949) - Chief mechanical engineer of Western Australian Government Railways 1940-1949.
Mitchell, Alexander (1817-1887) - President of Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad 1864-1887.
Moffat, David (1839-1911) - Colorado financier and head of nine railroads; namesake of Moffat Tunnel.
Molson, John (1763-1836) - Founder of the Champlain & St. Lawrence Railroad, the first railroad in Canada.
Moore, Margaret Landry (1923-2005) - "Miss Southern Belle" spokesmodel for Kansas City Southern's Southern Belle passenger trains.
Moorsom, Constantine Richard (1792-1861) - Director for the London & Birmingham Railway 1837-1839; Chairman of the Board for the Birmingham & Gloucester Railway 1841-1843; Chairman of the London & North Western Railway 1852-1861.
Moorsom, William (1804-1863) - Chief engineer for the Cromford & High Peak Railway 1830-1832; chief engineer for the Birmingham & Gloucester Railway 1836-__ during which time he oversaw the construction of the Lickey Incline; consulting engineer in 1843 on a new line for the Königlich Preußische und Großherzoglich Hessische Staatseisenbahn in Prussia; consulting engineer in 1845 for the Waterford & Kilkenny Railway in Ireland; consulting engineer in 1847 for the Southampton & Dorchester Railway; consulting engineer in 1856 for a railway connecting Kandy and Colombo in Ceylon; consulting engineer in 1862 for the Ringwood, Christchurch & Bournemouth Railway.
Morgan, Charles Langbridge (1855-1940) - Deputy Director of Railways for the British Army during World War I.
Morgan, John Pierpont (1837-1913) - Usually known as J. P. Morgan; American financier who fought with Jay Gould and Jim Fisk for control of several eastern US railroads.
Morrill, Anson Peaslee (1803-1887) - President of Maine Central Railroad 1864-1866 and 1873-1875, then vice president of same 1875-1887.
Morris, Thomas A. (1811-1904) - Supervising engineer for the Madison & Indianapolis Railroad; president of the Bee Line and the Indianapolis & Cincinnati Railroad.
Morrison, William Ralls (1824-1909) - Member of the Interstate Commerce Commission 1887-1892; Chairman of the ICC 1892-1897.
Morse, Ephraim (1823-1906) - Organized the San Diego & Gila Railroad in 1879; worked to convince the California Southern Railroad to establish its coastal endpoint in San Diego.

Who's Who list by name, surname beginning with N

Nakamura, Korekimi (1867-1927) - Chairman of the South Manchurian Railway 1908-1913, later became Railway Minister for Japan.
Nakamura, Yojiro - President of South Manchurian Railway 1914-1917.
Nash, John Francis (1908-2004) - Vice president of operations for New York Central Railroad 1953-1956; president of Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad 1953-1956; president of Lehigh Valley Railroad 1965-1970.
Nast, William F. (1840-1893) - President of Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway in September 1868.
Negrelli, Alois (1799-1858) - Builder of the first railroad in Switzerland, which connected Zurich and Baden. Inspector for Austrian railways 1840-1857. Oversaw construction of railways and other public works in the Lombardy-Venetia region.
Newman, Howard A. - Chairman of the Board for Western Pacific Railroad. (Railway Age, July 13, 1970, p 60)
Nickerson, Thomas (1810-1892) - President of Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway 1874-1880.
Nomura, Ryutaro - President of South Manchurian Railway __-1914.
Norris, Ernest E. - President of Southern Railway (US).
Norris, William (1802-1867) - Founder of Norris Locomotive Works, namesake of the 4-2-0 Norris type steam locomotive wheel arrangement.
Nottingham, Charles D. "Chip" - Chairman of the United States Surface Transportation Board 2006-present.

Who's Who list by name, surname beginning with O

Oakes, Thomas Fletcher (1843-1919) - President of Northern Pacific Railway 1888-1893. (Railway Age, 1887, p 236)
Oberhelman, Doug - CEO of Caterpillar, Inc. 2010-present.
Ogden, William Butler (1805-1877) - President of Chicago & North Western Railway.
Ohliger, Lewis P. (1843-1923) - Trustee for the Wooster & Lodi Railway in Ohio.
Osborn, William H. (1821-1894) - Director of Illinois Central Railroad beginning in 1854; president of Illinois Central Railroad 1855-1865; president of Chicago, St. Louis & New Orleans Railroad 1875-1882.

Who's Who list by name, surname beginning with P

Page, William N. (1854-1924) - American civil engineer who built the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway and the Virginian Railway.
Palmer, William Jackson (1836-1909) - Builder of the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad.
Payne, Henry C. (1843-1904) - President of Milwaukee & Northern Railroad, president of Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light Company, president of Milwaukee & Cream City Traction Company, president of American Street Railway Association in 1893, appointed receiver for Northern Pacific Railway in August 1893.
Pease, Edward (1767-1858) - First owner of the Stockton & Darlington Railway.
Pelletier, Jean (1935-2009) - Chairman of VIA Rail 2001-2004.
Pelley, J. J. - President of the Association of American Railroads. (Palmer 1942)
Perben, Dominique (born 1945) - Minister of Transportation for France 2005-2007.
Perris, Fred T. - (1836-1916) Chief engineer of the California Southern Railroad, a subsidiary of the Santa Fe that built the route through Cajon Pass. (Serpico 1988)
Pickersgill, W. - Chief Mechanical Engineer for Great North of Scotland Railway 1894-1914.
Plant, Henry B. (1819-1899) - President of the Plant System.
Pollitt, H. - Chief Mechanical Engineer for Great Central Railway 1897-1900.
Pomeroy, Samuel C. (1816-1891) - President of Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway 1863-1868.
Porter, Henry Kirke (1840-1921) - Founder of H. K. Porter, Inc., locomotive manufacturing company.
Posner, Henry, III - Conrail. (Trains, June 1991, p 18)
Porta, Livio Dante (1922-2003) - Argentinian steam locomotive mechanical engineer.
Pullman, George M. (1831-1897) - Founder of Pullman Palace Car Company.

Who's Who list by name, surname beginning with Q

Quarles, William Andrew (1825-1893) - President of the Memphis, Clarksville & Louisville Railway.
Quinn, William John - President of the Milwaukee Road beginning in 1957.

Who's Who list by name, surname beginning with R

Ramsbottom, John (1814-1897) - Superintendent of the Manchester and Birmingham Railway.
Randolph, A. Philip (1889-1979) - Founder of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters in 1925.
Rastrick, John Urpeth (1780-1856) - English steam locomotive builder and partner with James Foster in Foster, Rastrick & Co., the company that built the Stourbridge Lion.
Raven, Vincent - Chief Mechanical Engineer for North Eastern Railway 1910-1922.
Reed, John Shedd (1917-2008) - President of Santa Fe Railroad 1967-1986.
Reid, Robert Gillespie (1842-1908) - Builder of many Canadian railway bridges and the Newfoundland Railway.
Reid, W. P. - Chief Mechanical Engineer for North British Railway 1903-1914.
Reidy, Edward T. (1903-1975) - President of Chicago Great Western Railway 1957-1968.
Reistrup, Paul H. - Traffic Vice President for Illinois Central Railroad. President of Amtrak 1974-1978. (Phillips, June 1991, p 28)
Rhodes, Cecil (1853-1902) - British engineer responsible for the main Cape-Cairo Railway route in Africa.
Richardson, George W. - Awarded a US patent on September 25, 1866, for a steam locomotive pop safety valve.
Richmond, James - General manager of Jamaica Railway 1900-__.
Rión, Francisco Javier - CEO of Grupo Transportación Ferroviaria Mexicana 2005-__.
Ritchie, Robert J. - President and CEO of Canadian Pacific Railway 1995-present.

David B. Robertson in a meeting with the Senate Interstate Commerce Committee chairman on May 20, 1938.

Robertson, David B. - President of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen.
Robinson, Albert Alonzo (1844-1918) - Vice president and general manager of Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway.
Robinson, J. G. - Chief Mechanical Engineer for Great Central Railway 1900-1922.
Rogers, Albert Bowman (1829-1889) - American surveyor who, while working for Canadian Pacific Railway, found a pass through the Canadian Rockies that would eventually bear his name, Rogers Pass.
Rogers, Henry Huttleston (1840-1909) - American financier partly responsible for the Virginian Railway.
Rose, Matt - Chief Executive Officer of BNSF Railway -present.
Rouvillois, Philippe - President of SNCF __-1986.
Ruthven, — - Chief Mechanical Engineer for Great North of Scotland Railway 1855-1857.

Photo credits

David B. Robertson - Cropped from a scan of the original photo available through the Harris & Ewing Collection on the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division website. The rights and reproductions page for this collection asserts that the copyrights on the photographs in the collection have expired and that publication is therefore permitted.

John Shedd Reed: 1917-2008

There are various stories around the news sites today that John Shedd Reed, president of the Santa Fe Railroad from 1967 to 1986, passed away over the weekend. The AP says it happened on Sunday, but the Chicago Tribune says Saturday. Whichever day it happened (and if you have more information please let me know), the railroad industry lost an influential executive. Reed was the grandson of John G. Shedd, the second president of Marshall Field and the founder of Shedd Aquarium (Reed himself was president of the aquarium from 1984 to 1994). As president of the Santa Fe, Reed took the railroad through the deregulation period of the late 1970s and early 1980s. It was also under his leadership that the Santa Fe told Amtrak it could no longer use the "Chief" or "Super Chief" names on its passenger trains in 1976 due to a significant decrease in the perceived quality of a ride aboard them.

More information:

Associated Press (reprinted by San Jose Mercury News)
Chicago Tribune
Trainorders.com
Santa Fe Railway Historical & Modeling Society

Who's Who list by name, surname beginning with S

Sandberg, Steve - Chief Operating Officer of Friends of the 261.
Sargent, Aaron Augustus (1827-1877) - American journalist, lawyer and politician who authored the first Pacific Railroad Act, authorizing construction of the first transcontinental railroad in North America.
Scheer, E. W. - President of Reading Railway. (Palmer 1942)
Schieffer, Kevin V. - President of Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad 1996-2008; President of Iowa, Chicago & Eastern Railroad 2002-2008.
Schlager, Walter L., Jr. - President of Long Island Rail Road.
Schubert, Johann Andreas (1808-1870) - Builder of the first German steam locomotive, Saxonia.
Scott, I. Barry - President of CP Rail until 1995.
Scott, Thomas Alexander (1823-1881) - President of Union Pacific Railroad 1871-1872.
Scott, Walter Edward; popularly known as Death Valley Scotty (1872-1954) - Chartered the record-breaking Scott Special run on the Santa Fe in 1905. Santa Fe trains didn't regularly surpass this train's speed until the Super Chief was introduced in the 1930s.
Shanly, Frank - Builder of the first section of the Toronto, Grey & Bruce Railway in Canada.
Shastri, Lal Bahadur (1904-1966) - Minister of Railways for India 1951-1956.
Shaughnessy, Thomas George (1853-1923) - President of Canadian Pacific Railway 1899-1918.
Shay, Ephraim (1839-1916) - Inventor of the Shay locomotive type.
Shea, Timothy - Acting president of the Brotherhood of Railway Firemen and Engineers 1920.
Shimoyama, Sadanori (1901-1949) - Minister of Railways for Japan; president of Japanese National Railways 1949.
Shinpei, Gotō (1857-1929) - President of the South Manchuria Railway 1906-1908.
Shoener, Arthur - CEO of Kansas City Southern Railway and Texas Mexican Railway.
Sinclair, R. - Chief Mechanical Engineer for Great Eastern Railway 1862-1866.
Smith, Alba F. (1817-1879) - Appointed superintendent of the machine shop at Cumberland Valley Railroad in 1850; promoted to superintendent of the railroad on January 1, 1851; left Cumberland Valley to become the superintendent for the Hudson River Railroad in March 1856; retired from Hudson River Railroad in 1857; became president of Norwich & Worcester Railroad. (White 1973, p 42)
Smith, David - General manager of Jamaica Railway 1845-1865.
Smith, Donald Alexander (1820-1914) - Director for St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba Railway 1879-__; director of Canadian Pacific Railway 1883-__; drove the last spike in the Canadian Pacific's mainline at Craigellachie, British Columbia, on November 7, 1885.
Smith, J. Gregory (1818-1891) - President of Northern Pacific Railway 1866-1872.
Snow, John W. (born 1939) - Assistant General Counsel for US Department of Transportation 1972-1973; Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, Plans and International Affairs for US DOT 1973-1974; Assistant Secretary for Governmental Affairs for US DOT 1974-1975; VP of Government Affairs for Chessie System 1977-1980; Senior VP of Corporate Services for CSX Corporation 1980-1985; President of Baltimore & Ohio Railroad 1985-1986; President of CSX Transportation 1986-1988; President and COO of CSX Corporation 1988-2003; Chairman of CSX Corporation 1991-2003.
Sorrow, Paul - President of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen 2008-present.
Souther, John (1816-1911) - Founder of Globe Locomotive Works.
Speno, Martin J. - President of Frank Speno Railroad Ballast Cleaning Company 1970-. (Railway Age, July 13, 1970, p 61)
Sperry, Elmer A. (1860-1930) - Founder of Sperry Rail Services.
Spreckels, John D. (1853-1926) - Founder of the San Diego Electric Railway and the San Diego & Arizona Railway.
Stanford, Leland (1824-1893) - A member of The Big Four group of financiers in California.
Stanier, William (1876-1965) - Chief mechanical engineer of the London, Midland & Scottish Railway 1932-1944.
Stauffer, Grant (1888-1949) - President of Chicago Great Western Railway 1948-1949.
Stearns, Irving A. - Manager of Pennsylvania Railroad's coal holdings in the late 19th century. (White 1973, p 18)
Stephen, George (1829-1921) - President of Canadian Pacific Railway 1881-1888.
Stephenson, George (1781-1848) - British railway engineer who built the first common carrier railways in England.
Stephenson, Robert (1803-1859) - Son of George Stephenson; British locomotive builder and railway engineer.
Stevens, John Frank (1853-1943) - Chief engineer and general manager of Great Northern Railway; vice president of Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad.
Stevens, Robert L. (1787-1856) - First president of the Camden & Amboy Railroad, the first railroad built in New Jersey. His name was used as the original official name for the John Bull locomotive, Stevens.
Stickney, Alpheus Beede (1840-1916) - Construction superintendent for St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba Railway 1879; construction superintendent for Canadian Pacific Railway 1881; founder and first president of Chicago Great Western Railway 1884-1909.
Stilwell, Arthur (1859-1928) - President of Kansas City Southern Railroad 1897-1900.
Stinson, William W. (born 1935) - CEO of Canadian Pacific Railway 1985-1995.
Stirling, M. - Chief Mechanical Engineer for Hull & Barnsley Railway 1885-1922.
Stirling, P. - Chief Mechanical Engineer for Great Northern Railway (UK) 1866-1895.
Storey, William Benson, Jr. (1857-1940) - President of Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway 1920-1933.
Strong, William B. (1837-1914) - Worked at many railroads including Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway, McGregor Western Railway, Chicago & North Western Railway and Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railway. Superintendent of Michigan Central Railroad in the 1870s until he was succeeded by his assistant Henry Brockholst Ledyard in 1876. Went back to the CB&Q and was soon appointed General Manager of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway, where he succeeded T. Jefferson Coolidge as president in 1881. Strong expanded the Santa Fe to become the largest American railroad of its time. Strong retired from the Santa Fe in 1889, and was succeeded in that position by Allen Manvel.
Sturrock, A. - Chief Mechanical Engineer for Great Northern Railway (UK) 1850-1866.
Swift, Gustavus Franklin (1839-1903) - Founder of Swift and Company which pioneered the use of refrigerator cars in late 19th century America.
Swinerton, C. E. - Patentee of the polygonal driving wheel tire, an attempt at increasing the rail-wheel contact area by incorporating a large number of flat spots on the tire; founder of the Swinerton Locomotive Driving Wheel Company. (White 1973, p. 15)
Szabo, Joe - Administrator for the Federal Railroad Administration 2009-present.

Who's Who list by name, surname beginning with T

Tatsumi, Yoshiaki - Chairman of Seibu Railway.
Tellier, Paul (born 1939) - President of Canadian National Railway 1992-2002; Railroader of the Year 1997; president of Bombardier 2002-2004.
Thompson, E. - Chief Mechanical Engineer for London & North Eastern Railway 1941-__.
Thomson, John Edgar (1808-1874) - President of the Pennsylvania Railroad 1852-1874.
Tien-yow, Jeme (1861-1919) - Chinese engineer who oversaw construction of the first railroad built in China without foreign assistance.
Tiffany, Joel - Patentee of the first successful refrigerator car. He was awarded US patent number 193,357 for his design on July 24, 1877.
Totten, George Muirson (1808-1884) - Chief construction engineer for the Panama Railway.
Trevithick, Richard (1771-1833) - Early English steam locomotive designer and builder.
Tunstall, Whitmell P. (1810-1854) - Founder of the Richmond & Danville Railroad, a predecessor of Norfolk & Western Railway.
Turpin, Frank (1923-2005) - President of Alaska Raiload 1984-__; CEO of Alaska Railroad, 1985-1993.
Twichell, Ginery (1811-1883) - Became assistant superintendent of Boston & Worcester Railroad in 1847; promoted to president of Boston & Worcester Railroad in 1857; president of Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway 1870-1873; president of Boston, Barre & Garden Railroad; president of Hoosac Tunnel & Western Railroad.
Tyler, Daniel (1799-1882) - President of the Norwich & Worcester Railroad. (White 1973, p 42)

Who's Who list by name, surname beginning with V

Van Horne, William Cornelius (1843-1915) - President of Canadian Pacific Railway __-1899; youngest superintendent of Illinois Central Railroad.
Van Sweringen, Mantis James (1881-1935) and Van Sweringen, Oris Paxton (1879-1936) - Together developed and inaugurated the Shaker Heights Rapid Transit company in 1906, and purchased a controlling interest in the Nickel Plate Road in 1915. By 1928 the two brothers controlled over 30,000 miles of railroad including the Erie, Pere Marquette, Hocking Valley and Chesapeake & Ohio railroads.
Vanderbilt, Cornelius (1794-1877) - Financier who created the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad through the merger of several smaller New York area railroads.
Vanderbilt, Cornelius, II (1843-1899) - President of New York Central Railroad.
Vanderbilt, Harold Stirling (1884-1970) - President of New York Central Railroad.
Vanderbilt, William H. (1821-1885) - President of New York Central & Hudson River Railroad 1877-__; president of Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway; president of Canada Southern Railway; president of Michigan Central Railroad __-1883, succeeded by Henry Brockholst Ledyard.
Vanderbilt, William Kissam (1849-1920) - President of New York Central Railroad __-1903.
Vaughan, Frederic Willis (born 1844) - President of Louisville Bridge & Iron Company 1879-; consulting engineer for Louisville & Nashville Railroad 1883-__.
Vaughan, Paul - Chief Engineer of Diesel Engine Design for ALCO.
Villard, Henry (1835-1900) - President of Northern Pacific Railway 1881-1884.
Von Gerstner, Franz Anton Ritter (1796-1840) - Austrian railway engineer.
Von Ghega, Carl Ritter (1802-1860) - Designer of the Semmeringbahn in Germany.

Who's Who list by name, surname beginning with W

Wagner, Webster (1817-1883) - Founder of Wagner Palace Car Company.
Wainwright, Harry (1864-1923) - Carriage and Wagon Superintendent for South Eastern & Chatham Railway 1899-1913.
Warrington, George (1952-2007) - Began railroad career with New Jersey Transit in 1979, eventually promoted to Vice President and General Manager of NJT's rail operations. Deputy Commissioner of New Jersey Department of Transportation 1990-1992. Executive Director and President of Delaware River Port Authority and Port Authority Transit Corporation 1992-1994. President of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor Business Unit 1994-1998; President of Amtrak 1998-2002. Executive Director of New Jersey Transit 2002-2007.
Watkins, J. Elfreth (1852-1903) - American railroad civil engineer and the first curator of the Smithsonian Institution's railroad artifacts, including John Bull.
Webb, Francis William (1836-1906) - Apprentice at Crewe Works 1851-1857; Chief Draughtsman at Crewe Works 1859-1861; Works Manager and Chief Assistant to John Ramsbottom at Crewe Works 1861-1866; Chief Mechanical Engineer of the London & North Western Railway 1871-1903.
Westinghouse, George (1846-1914) - Developed railroad air brakes in 1869, patented the Westinghouse air brake in 1872, organized the Westinghouse Air Brake Company (WABCO) soon after to produce and market the braking system, founded Union Switch and Signal Company in 1881.
Whale, George (1842-1910) - Chief Mechanical Engineer of the London & North Western Railway 1903-1909.
Wheatley, T. - Chief Mechanical Engineer for North British Railway 1867-1874.
Wheeler, Burton K. - Chairman of the Senate Interstate Commerce Committee.
Whitman, Reginald N. - United States Federal Railroad Administrator 1969-1970; president of Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad 1970-1975. (Railway Age, July 13, 1970, p 12)
Whitney, A. F. - President of the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen. (Palmer 1942)
Whyte, Frederick Methvan (1865-1941) - Mechanical engineer for New York Central Railroad who developed Whyte notation to describe the wheel arrangement of steam locomotives.
Wiederhold, Fred - Inspector General of Amtrak 2009.
Winter, Edwin (born 1845) - President of Northern Pacific Railway 1896; president of Boston Rapid Transit Company 1902-__.
Worsdell, T. W. - Chief Mechanical Engineer for Great Eastern Railway 1881-1885; Chief Mechanical Engineer for North Eastern Railway 1885-1890.
Worsdell, W. - Chief Mechanical Engineer for North Eastern Railway 1890-1910.
Wragge, Edmund - Chief Mechanical Engineer for the Toronto, Grey & Bruce Railway.

Who's Who list by name, surname beginning with Y

Yadav, Lalu Prasad (born 1947) - Minister of Railways for India 2004-2009.
Yakunin, Vladimir (born 1948) - Deputy Russian Transport Minister 2000-2003; Deputy Head of Russian Railways 2003-2005; president of Russian Railways 2005-present.
Yocum, Fred - Chicago & North Western Railway. (Trains, June 1991, p 18)
Young, Jim - CEO of Union Pacific Railroad.
Young, Robert Ralph (1897-1958) - Financier and controlling stockholder of New York Central Railroad. After suspending company dividents in 1958, Young comitted suicide.

Who's Who in railroad history: Sources and bibliography

Books

The Biographical Directory of the Railway Officials of America for 1887. Chicago, Illinois: Railway Age. 1887.
Serpico, Philip C. (1988), Santa Fé Route to the Pacific. Palmdale, California: Omni Publications.
White, John H., Jr (1973) American Single Locomotives and the "Pioneer". Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. Smithsonian Studies in History and Technology, number 25.

Journals and magazines

"Arrivals and Departures: Iowa Saga Incomplete," Trains (June 1991). Waukesha, WI: Kalmbach Publishing. p 18.
"Arrivals and Departures: Obituaries," Trains (June 1991). Waukesha, WI: Kalmbach Publishing. p 18.
"Menk happy with BN's 'first hundred days'," Railway Age (July 13, 1970). New York, New York: Robert G. Lewis, Publisher. p 11.
"Obituary," Railway Age (August 9, 1976). p 43.
"People in the News," Railway Age (July 13, 1970). New York, New York: Robert G. Lewis, Publisher. pp 55-67.
Phillips, Don (June 1991). "Riding with the presidents: An Amtrak perspective." Trains. Waukesha, WI: Kalmbach Publishing. pp 27-28.
Scull, Theodore W. (June 1991). "'I foresee even faster improvement'; An interview with Amtrak President W. Graham Claytor Jr." Trains. Waukesha, WI: Kalmbach Publishing. pp 24-25.
"Whitman takes over as Katy president," Railway Age (July 13, 1970). New York, New York: Robert G. Lewis, Publisher. p 12.

Other sources

Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (August 14, 2009). Former Canadian Vice President J.W. "Wes" Lyster, 1923-2009. Retrieved September 5, 2009.
Palmer, Alfred T., photographer (December 18, 1942). Group photo of railway and rail labor management at the Railway Labor Management Conference in Washington, DC. Available through the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division website.
Various authors. A number of Wikipedia articles about railroad companies and people involved in rail transport worldwide.