Railroader of the Year
Encyclopedia
Railroader of the Year is an annual award presented to a North America
n railroad
industry worker by trade journal Railway Age
. The award was first presented in 1964 by trade journal Modern Railroads and has continued through the magazine acquisition in 1992 to the present.
Past recipients of this award include:
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n railroad
Rail transport
Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles merely run on a prepared surface, rail vehicles are also directionally guided by the tracks they run on...
industry worker by trade journal Railway Age
Railway Age
Railway Age is an American trade journal for the rail transport industry. It was founded in 1856 in Chicago and is published monthly by Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation. The magazine's original title was the Western Railroad Gazette, and was renamed the Railroad Gazette in 1870...
. The award was first presented in 1964 by trade journal Modern Railroads and has continued through the magazine acquisition in 1992 to the present.
Past recipients of this award include:
- 19641964 in rail transport-April events:* April 6 - Freight transportation on Alaska Railroad between Fairbanks and Anchorage resumes after repairs from an earthquake that occurred on March 27....
– D. William BrosnanD. William BrosnanD. William Brosnan was a former president of Southern Railway in the USA, a railroad that later merged with Norfolk and Western Railroad to form Norfolk Southern Railway. He succeeded Harry A. deButts in 1962...
(SOUSouthern Railway (US)The Southern Railway is a former United States railroad. It was the product of nearly 150 predecessor lines that were combined, reorganized and recombined beginning in the 1830s, formally becoming the Southern Railway in 1894...
) - 19651965 in rail transport-January events:* January - British Railways adopts a new corporate identity including the name British Rail and the 'double arrow' symbol.* January 3 - Boston and Maine Railroad ends passenger service to Portland, Maine...
– Stuart T. SaundersStuart T. SaundersStuart Thomas Saunders was an American railroad executive.Saunders served as president of the Norfolk and Western Railway, one of the nation's most profitable, from 1958 to 1963...
(PRRPennsylvania RailroadThe Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
) - 19661966 in rail transport-January events:* January - GM introduces the EMD SD40.* January - GE introduces the GE U28B.* January 3 - British Rail begins full electric passenger services over the West Coast Main Line from Euston to Manchester and Liverpool with 100 mph operation from London to Rugby...
– Stuart T. Saunders (PRR) - 19671967 in rail transport-January events:* January - General Electric introduces the GE U30C.-February events:* February 21 - Retiral of last shunting horse to work on British Rail, "Charlie" at Newmarket....
– Louis W. MenkLouis W. MenkLouis Wilson Menk was an American railway worker and executive. He served as the last president of Northern Pacific Railway 1966-1970, before the railroad was merged into Burlington Northern Railroad...
(NPNorthern Pacific RailwayThe Northern Pacific Railway was a railway that operated in the west along the Canadian border of the United States. Construction began in 1870 and the main line opened all the way from the Great Lakes to the Pacific when former president Ulysses S. Grant drove in the final "golden spike" in...
) - 19681968 in rail transport-January events:* January 6 - The Hixon rail crash occurs when a low-loader road transporter is struck by an express train on an automatic half-barrier level crossing at Hixon, Staffordshire, England. 11 people are killed...
– William B. Johnson (ICIllinois Central RailroadThe Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois with New Orleans, Louisiana and Birmingham, Alabama. A line also connected Chicago with Sioux City, Iowa...
) - 19691969 in rail transport-January events:* January – The PATCO Hi-Speedline, in southeastern Pennsylvania, opens.* January 5 – Last trains over the Waverley Route from Edinburgh in Scotland to Carlisle in England.- February events :...
– John W. Barriger IIIJohn W. Barriger IIIJohn Walker Barriger III was an American railroad executive; he successively led the Monon Railroad, Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad, Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad and the Boston and Maine Railroad...
(MononMonon RailroadThe Monon Railroad , also known as the Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville Railway from 1897–1956, operated almost entirely within the state of Indiana...
, P&LEPittsburgh and Lake Erie RailroadThe Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad , also known as the "Little Giant", was formed on May 11, 1875. Company headquarters were located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The line connected Pittsburgh in the east with Youngstown, Ohio at nearby Haselton, Ohio in the west and Connellsville, ...
, MKTMissouri-Kansas-Texas RailroadThe Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad was incorporated May 23, 1870. In its earliest days the MKT was commonly referred to as "the K-T", which was its stock exchange symbol; this common designation soon evolved into "the Katy"....
) - 19701970 in rail transport-January Events:* January 5 and 6– The Erie Lackawanna's trains Nos. 5 and 6, The Lake Cities, from Hoboken to Chicago, discontinued ending all of the Lackawanna's long distance passenger service .- February events :...
– John Shedd ReedJohn Shedd ReedJohn Shedd Reed was president of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway from 1967 until 1986. The rail transport industry journal Modern Railways named Reed its Man of the Year for 1970....
(ATSFAtchison, Topeka and Santa Fe RailwayThe Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often abbreviated as Santa Fe, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The company was first chartered in February 1859...
) - 19711971 in rail transport- February events :* February 9 - A Zurich-bound TEE train derails at Aitrang, Germany, due to excess speed and is hit by a railbus. 28 die and 42 are injured.- March events :...
– Jervis Langdon, Jr. (PC) - 19721972 in rail transport-January events:* January - General Motors Electro-Motive Division introduces the EMD SD40-2.-February events:* February 5 - Last steam locomotive built in India, Class YG #3573 at Chittaranjan Locomotive Works.-March events:...
– Charles Luna (United Transportation UnionUnited Transportation UnionThe United Transportation Union is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. It is a broad-based, transportation labor union representing about 125,000 active and retired railroad, bus, mass transit, and airline workers in the United States....
) - 19731973 in rail transport- January events:* January 27 – MBTA purchases several rail lines in New England from Penn Central to form the basis of the new commuter system's network.- February events :...
– James W. Germany (SPSouthern Pacific RailroadThe Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually simply called the Southern Pacific or Espee, was an American railroad....
) - 19741974 in rail transport- March events :* March 17 - A freight train on Canadian Pacific Railway is derailed when it hits a rock slide near Spences Bridge, British Columbia; the accident leads to the installation of ditch lights on all Canadian diesel locomotives, a practice later copied by American railroads.- May events...
– L. Stanley Crane (SOU) - 19751975 in rail transport-February events:* February 22 - Tretten train disaster was a head on collision near Tretten station in Norway, it killed 27 people.* February 28 - Moorgate tube crash on the London Underground, in which a train accelerates into a dead-end tunnel at Moorgate station killing 43 people at the...
– Frank E. Barnett (UPUnion Pacific RailroadThe Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
) - 19761976 in rail transport- March events :* March 27 - The first section, 4.6 miles , of the Washington Metro, the elevated, ground, and subway system in Washington, D.C., opens....
– William J. Harris, Jr. (Association of American RailroadsAssociation of American RailroadsThe Association of American Railroads is an industry trade group representing primarily the major freight railroads of North America . Amtrak and some regional commuter railroads are also members...
) - 19771977 in rail transport-January events:* January 10 – Passenger service on Boston and Maine Railroad's Lexington Branch ends when a train consisting of a Budd Rail Diesel Car and a switcher locomotive are stranded by a snowstorm at the Bedford, Massachusetts depot....
– Edward G. Jordan (CR) - 19781978 in rail transport-February events:* February 22 - The Waverly tank car explosion was an explosion that occurred in Waverly, Tennessee following a train derailment incident days earlier...
– Robert M. BrownRobert M. BrownRobert M. Brown was the Chief Engineer for Union Pacific Railroad in the 1960s and 1970s. For his work with the railroad, Modern Railways magazine selected Brown to receive the magazine's Man of the Year award in 1978; the award has since been continued by Railway Age magazine as the Railroader of...
(UP) - 19791979 in rail transport-January events:* January - An electrical fire erupts aboard a Bay Area Rapid Transit train traveling in the transbay tube; the fire kills one firefighter and closes the system for more than two months.- February events :...
– Theodore C. Lutz (WMATAWashington Metropolitan Area Transit AuthorityThe Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority is a tri-jurisdictional government agency that operates transit service in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, including the Metrorail, Metrobus and MetroAccess...
) - 19801980 in rail transport-January events:* January 7 – The Dunmurry train explosion took place on board a Ballymena to Belfast passenger train service, when a Provisional Irish Republican Army incendiary bomb exploded prematurely, killing three people....
– John G. German (MPMissouri Pacific RailroadThe Missouri Pacific Railroad , also known as the MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers, including the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway , Texas and Pacific...
) - 19811981 in rail transport-February events:* February - Amtrak debuts the Desert Wind passenger train between Los Angeles, California, and Ogden, Utah.* February 21 - MBTA discontinues passenger train service to Rhode Island.-May events:...
– Lawrence Cena (ATSF) - 19821982 in rail transport- January events :* January 13 The 1982 Washington Metro train derailment involved an Orange Line train in Downtown Washington, D.C. in the United States and killed three people.* January 27 The Bouhalouane train crash in Algeria killed 131 people.- March events :...
– A. Paul Funkhouser (FL) - 19831983 in rail transport-January events:* January 1 - China Railway opens Zhicheng–Liuzhou railway, in length with 396 tunnels totalling and 476 bridges totalling .* January 2 - The first section of the Caracas Metro is opened, first rapid transit system in Venezuela....
– L. Stanley Crane (SOU, CR) - 19841984 in rail transport-April events:* 9 April - Saltaire station is reopened in West Yorkshire, England, by the West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive nearly twenty years after it was closed by British Railways....
– Hays T. Watkins (CSXCSX TransportationCSX Transportation operates a Class I railroad in the United States known as the CSX Railroad. It is the main subsidiary of the CSX Corporation. The company is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, and owns approximately 21,000 route miles...
) - 19851985 in rail transport- January events :* January 5 - At ceremonies held in Nenana and Seward, Alaska, ownership of the Alaska Railroad is officially transferred to the U.S...
– John L. Cann (CNCanadian National RailwayThe Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. CN's slogan is "North America's Railroad"....
) - 19861986 in rail transport-January events:* January 1 – The Soo Line Railroad fully absorbs the Milwaukee Road after attempting to operate it as a subsidiary railroad.* January 3 – Vancouver's SkyTrain begins operations between the waterfront and New Westminster....
– Raymond C. Burton, Jr. (Trailer Train Corporation) - 19871987 in rail transport-January events:* January 4 – Maryland train collision – Amtrak and Conrail trains collide in Maryland, killing 16 people.-February events:* February 2 - The Irish national transport operator Córas Iompair Éireann is split up into subsidiaries, with Iarnród Éireann taking responsibility for the...
– Willis B. Kyle (Kyle Railways) - 19881988 in rail transport- February events :* February 1 - MBTA restores passenger train service to Rhode Island, but only during peak rush-hour times.* February 29 - Illinois Central Gulf Railroad drops the word "Gulf" from its name, returning to the premerger Illinois Central Railroad company name.- March events :* March...
– Darius W. Gaskins, Jr. (BN) - 19891989 in rail transport-January events:* January 1 - Three railways in Norway are closed: Kragerøbanen, Numedalsbanen and Valdresbanen.-March events:* March 1 - The Abbeville-Grimes Railway begins operations between its namesake cities in Alabama.* March 4 - The Purley station rail crash in Croydon, near London, leaves...
– W. Graham Claytor, Jr. (AmtrakAmtrakThe National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
) - 19901990 in rail transport- January events :* January 4 - Sukkur rail disaster in Pakistan kills 307 people* January 15 - Via Rail discontinues Super Continental service and shifts The Canadian from its Canadian Pacific Railway to a Canadian National Railway route between Toronto and Vancouver, ending service to many cities...
– Arnold B. McKinnon (NS) - 19911991 in rail transport- January events :* January 8 - Cannon Street station rail crash at Cannon Street station in London kills two.- May events :May 14 - The Shigaraki train disaster occurred in Shigaraki , Shiga Prefecture, Japan...
– Mike Walsh (UP) - 19921992 in rail transport-March Events:*March 3 - The Podsosenka train disaster near Nelidovo, Tver Oblast in Russia kills 43.-April events:* April 3 - The Goderich Exeter Railway begins operations in Ontario, Canada....
– William H. Dempsey (Association of American Railroads) - 19931993 in rail transport-February events:* February 1 - The metre gauge Harz Narrow Gauge Railways in the former East Germany are moved from federal control to the Harzer Schmalspurbahnen GmbH....
– Raymond C. Burton, Jr. (TTX Corporation) - 19941994 in rail transport-January events:* January 1 - Rail Management Corporation takes over operations of the Atlanta and St. Andrews Bay Railroad.* January 1 - Railroad Services, Inc...
– L. S. “Jake” JacobsonL. S. “Jake” JacobsonL. S. "Jake" Jacobson served 29 years with the Union Pacific Railroad and is currently President and Chief Operating Officer of the Copper Basin Railway of Hayden, Arizona....
(Copper Basin Railway) - 19951995 in rail transport-January events:* January - David L. Gunn becomes commissioner of the Toronto Transit Commission.* January - Burlington Northern Railroad tests new Trough Train articulated coal hopper cars.-February events:...
– Edwin Moyers (SP) - 19961996 in rail transport-January events:* January 6 - A computer-controlled Washington Metro train overruns the platform at the Shady Grove station, colliding with a parked train and fatally injuring the operator.-February events:...
– Robert D. KrebsRobert KrebsRobert D. Krebs has headed three major United States railroads in succession, leading the Southern Pacific when it was acquired by Santa Fe Industries, rising to lead the resulting Santa Fe Pacific Corporation, and finally being chosen to head the new Burlington Northern Santa Fe when Santa Fe...
(ATSF) and Gerald GrinsteinGerald GrinsteinGerald Grinstein is the former CEO of Delta Air Lines, Inc. of Atlanta, Georgia. Grinstein came to the position in 2004, after CEO Leo F. Mullin stepped down amid a controversy over executive retirement and cash bonus plans that were deemed excessive...
(BN) - 19971997 in rail transport-January events:* 5 January – Further British train operating companies begin operation of their passenger service franchises as part of the privatisation of British Rail: Anglia Railways ; Great Eastern ; Virgin CrossCountry; and WAGN .* 6 January – Full freight and passenger service is restored...
– Paul M. TellierPaul TellierPaul Mathias Tellier, PC, CC is a Canadian businessman and former public servant. Born in Joliette, Quebec, Tellier was educated at Laval University and the University of Oxford.- Biography :Tellier entered Canada's civil service in the 1970s...
(CN) - 19981998 in rail transport-February events:* February 14 – Yaounde train explosion – A freight train passing through Yaounde, Cameroon, collides with another freight; some tank cars carrying fuel oil are ruptured in the derailment...
– David R. GoodeDavid R. GoodeDavid R. Goode is the retired Chairman, President, and CEO of Norfolk Southern Corporation . Other directorships: Caterpillar Inc.; Delta Air Lines, Inc.; Georgia-Pacific Corporation; Norfolk Southern Railway, and Texas Instruments Incorporated. Goode has been a director of Caterpillar since 1993...
(NS) - 19991999 in rail transport-January events:* January 15 – The Harbour Island People Mover ends service between Downtown Tampa and Harbour Island in Tampa, Florida, United States....
– Edward A. Burkhardt (WCWisconsin Central TransportationWisconsin Central Ltd. is a railroad subsidiary of the Canadian National Railway. At one time, its parent Wisconsin Central Transportation Corporation owned or operated railroads in the United States, Canada , the United Kingdom , New Zealand , and Australia .- Overview...
) - 20002000 in rail transport-January events:* January 4 – The Åsta accident, a northbound BM92 multiple unit and a southbound passenger train headed by a Di 3 locomotive collided on Norway's Rørosbanen line near Åsta station, killing 19 people....
– The Railroad Worker (the award for 2000 was changed to "Railroader of the Century") - 20012001 in rail transport-January events:* January 17 – Groundbreaking ceremonies are held for the Hiawatha Line in Minneapolis, Minnesota.* January 27 – The Gerogery level crossing accident occurred in Gerogery, New South Wales, Australia and killed five people in a car....
– Mike HavertyMike HavertyMichael R. Haverty , aka Mike Haverty, is the seventeenth CEO of the Kansas City Southern Railway . Prior to working for KCS, he had been an executive for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway...
(ATSF, KCSKansas City Southern RailwayThe Kansas City Southern Railway , owned by Kansas City Southern Industries, is the smallest and second-oldest Class I railroad company still in operation. KCS was founded in 1887 and is currently operating in a region consisting of ten central U.S. states...
) - 20022002 in rail transport-January events:* January – The Muskingum Electric Railroad, one of only six heavy freight electric railroads in the United States, closes.* January 2 – The Iowa Interstate Railroad operates its first unit coal train over the former Milwaukee Road mainline through Amana, Iowa.* January 14 – The...
– E. Hunter HarrisonE. Hunter HarrisonE. Hunter Harrison is a Tennessee-born railroader who served as the president and Chief Executive Officer of Canadian National Railway through the end of 2009.-Life:...
(BN, IC, CN) - 20032003 in rail transport-January events:* January – Electrification of the Trans-Siberian Railway, a project begun in 1929, is completed.* January 1 – E. Hunter Harrison, former president of Illinois Central Railroad , succeeds Paul Tellier as president of Canadian National Railway.* January 3 – Ghatnandur train crash: A...
– Richard K. Davidson (UP) - 20042004 in rail transport-January events:* January 1 – METRORail light rail service in Houston, Texas, opens.-February events:* February – Pacific National takes over Australian Transport Network....
– Robert J. RitchieRobert J. Ritchie (railroad executive)Robert J. Ritchie is the former president and CEO of the Canada railway company, Canadian Pacific Railway.In 1990 he succeeded William W. Stinson as president of Canadian Pacific Railway. and in 1995 succeeded I...
(CPCanadian Pacific RailwayThe Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
) - 20052005 in rail transport- January events : January 6 – Graniteville train disaster – A Norfolk Southern train carrying a few carloads of hazardous materials collides with a parked train in Graniteville, South Carolina, causing the deaths of 9 people and the injury of over 250 more...
– David R. Goode (NS) - 20062006 in rail transport- January events : January 5 – Railway workers across India begin voting on whether or not to hold a strike against Indian Railways in February. The union's demands center around pay scales, pensions, and private investment into the railway...
– Richard F. Timmons (American Short Line and Regional Railroad AssociationAmerican Short Line and Regional Railroad AssociationAmerican Short Line and Regional Railroad Association is an association of North American short line and regional railroads. Members include a variety of Class II and Class III railroads. The ASLRRA acts as a lobbying group for member railroads, representing them for both legislation and regulation...
) - 20072007 in rail transport- January events : January 5 – The first public trains of Taiwan High Speed Rail operate between Taipei and Kaohsiung, a journey, in 90 minutes. January 7 – A Washington Metro train derails near downtown Washington, D.C., sending 16 people to the hospital and prompting the rescue of 60 people...
– Bill Wimmer (UP) - 20082008 in rail transport- February events :* February 27** – Official opening of Santo Domingo Metro.** – National Express Group changes the name of the railway operating company one to National Express East Anglia as part of a company-wide rebranding exercise....
– Steve Tobias (NS) - 20092009 in rail transport- January events : January 12 – Official opening of Docklands Light Railway London City Airport branch extension under the River Thames to Woolwich Arsenal...
– Michael WardMichael WardMichael John Ward was a British Labour Party politician.- Background :Ward was educated at Royal Liberty Grammar School, Romford and Manchester University. He became a local government advisor and director of a public relations firm. He was elected to Romford Borough Council in 1958, joining the...
(CSX) - 20102010 in rail transport- April events : April 12 – The Merano train derailment happens when a train derails between Latsch and Kastelbell, near Merano, Italy, after running into a landslide, causing nine deaths and injuring 28. April 17 – The Circle MRT Line Stage 1 and 2 were to be ready for service using...
– Matthew K. RoseMatthew K. RoseMatthew K. Rose in Salina, Kansas is the Chairman and CEO of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. He attended the University of Missouri and is a member of Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity. Rose has a wife, Lisa, and two children....
(BNSF) - 20112011 in rail transport- January events :* 10 January – Regular through passenger service from Wuhan to Wanzhou over the complete new Yiwan Railway in China starts...
– Wick MoormanCharles MoormanCharles W. "Wick" Moorman is the Chairman, President, and CEO of Norfolk Southern; he succeeded David R. Goode on February 1, 2006. The action was taken by Norfolk Southern’s board of directors...
(NS)