Carl Raymond Gray was an American railroad executive in the early 20th century. He was President of the Great Northern Railway (U.S.) from 1912 to 1914, President of the Western Maryland Railway

Western Maryland Railway

The Western Maryland Railway was an American Class I railroad which operated in Maryland, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. It was primarily a coal hauling and freight railroad, with a small passenger train operation. The WM became part of the Chessie System in 1973 and ceased operating its lines...

 from 1914 to 1919, and President of the Union Pacific Railroad

Union Pacific Railroad

The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....

 from 1920 to 1937.

Biography

During his tenure, the Union Pacific Railroad

Union Pacific Railroad

The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....

 became one of a very small number of American railroads that paid dividends on the company's common stock during the Great Depression

Great Depression

The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...

. Gray was instrumental in developing the Union Pacific Railroad

Union Pacific Railroad

The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....

's burgeoning streamliner

Streamliner

A streamliner is a vehicle incorporating streamlining in a shape providing reduced air resistance. The term is applied to high-speed railway trainsets of the 1930s to 1950s, and to their successor "bullet trains". Less commonly, the term is applied to fully faired recumbent bicycles...

 passenger train fleet, which included the famous M-10000

M-10000

The Union Pacific Railroad's M-10000, delivered to the railroad on February 12, 1934, at a cost of $230,997, was the first internal combustion engine, lightweight streamlined express passenger train in the United States. The carbodies and interior fittings were built by Pullman-Standard...

 series of trainsets.

Gray was responsible for the construction and dedication of the Union Station

Union Station (Omaha)

The Union Station, at 801 South 10th Street in Omaha, Nebraska, known also as Union Passenger Terminal, is "one of the finest examples of Art Deco architecture in the Midwest." Designated an Omaha Landmark in 1978, it was listed as "Union Passenger Terminal" on the National Register of Historic...

 in Omaha, Nebraska

Omaha, Nebraska

Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...

, which he declared to be, "Dedicated by the railways of Omaha to serve, comfort and convenience of the people."

Further reading

• President and Fellows of Harvard College (2004), 20th Century American Leaders - Carl R. Gray. Retrieved March 2, 2005.
• White, John H. Jr. (Spring 1986), America's Most Noteworthy Railroaders, Railroad History, 154, p. 9-15.