Robert Krebs
Encyclopedia
Robert D. Krebs has headed three major United States
railroads in succession, leading the Southern Pacific
(SP) 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
(BNSF) when Santa Fe Pacific (the holding company for the Santa Fe
railroad) merged with Burlington Northern
.
He started out working for SP subsidiary Cotton Belt in the early 1960s becoming the youngest Superintendent of Cotton Belt's Pine Bluff Division in 1971 at age 29. One of the things he had was absolute honesty and a temper when it came to running his railroad. According to Fred Frailey, one of Kreb's dilemmas was that Missouri Pacific's Dupo Tower operator held Cotton Belt's Blue Streak Merchandise with Krebs onboard for a MP train to advance. Krebs called Missouri Pacific's Southern Region General Manager to complain. When the BSM was held again in 1972 at Dupo for 43 minutes by a Missouri Pacific coal train and two other trains, Krebs was informed the next day. Krebs acted shortly the day after in Pine Bluff by going to the Cotton Belt's dispatcher office and had the Missouri Pacific's hottest train the DE held for exactly 43 minutes at Dexter. This move by Krebs drew immediate attention when Missouri Pacific's General Manager in Little Rock called Krebs's General Manager in Houston to complain.
This event and the fact that Krebs knew how to run a railroad with little delay helped him move up the ranks and eventually become president of the SP and later CEO of ATSF and BNSF.
He retired as CEO of BNSF in 2000 and left the board when he retired as chairman on April 17, 2002.
On May 13, 2005, Krebs joined the Board of Directors for Railpower Technologies
, a position from which he subsequently resigned on September 9, 2005, citing personal reasons.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
railroads in succession, leading the Southern Pacific
Southern Pacific Railroad
The 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....
(SP) when it was acquired by Santa Fe Industries
Santa Fe Industries
Santa Fe Industries was the diversified parent company, headquartered in Chicago, of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. Formed in 1968, its non-railroad operations included construction, real estate, and energy units. In the early 1980s, after longtime head John Shedd Reed had been...
, rising to lead the resulting Santa Fe Pacific Corporation
Santa Fe Pacific Corporation
The Santa Fe Pacific Corporation was formed as the Santa Fe Southern Pacific Corporation in 1984 by the merger of Santa Fe Industries, which owned the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, with the Southern Pacific Company, which owned the Southern Pacific Railroad...
, and finally being chosen to head the new Burlington Northern Santa Fe
BNSF Railway
The BNSF Railway is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. It is one of seven North American Class I railroads and the second largest freight railroad network in North America, second only to the Union Pacific Railroad, its primary...
(BNSF) when Santa Fe Pacific (the holding company for the Santa Fe
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
The 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...
railroad) merged with Burlington Northern
Burlington Northern Railroad
The Burlington Northern Railroad was a United States-based railroad company formed from a merger of four major U.S. railroads. Burlington Northern operated between 1970 and 1996....
.
He started out working for SP subsidiary Cotton Belt in the early 1960s becoming the youngest Superintendent of Cotton Belt's Pine Bluff Division in 1971 at age 29. One of the things he had was absolute honesty and a temper when it came to running his railroad. According to Fred Frailey, one of Kreb's dilemmas was that Missouri Pacific's Dupo Tower operator held Cotton Belt's Blue Streak Merchandise with Krebs onboard for a MP train to advance. Krebs called Missouri Pacific's Southern Region General Manager to complain. When the BSM was held again in 1972 at Dupo for 43 minutes by a Missouri Pacific coal train and two other trains, Krebs was informed the next day. Krebs acted shortly the day after in Pine Bluff by going to the Cotton Belt's dispatcher office and had the Missouri Pacific's hottest train the DE held for exactly 43 minutes at Dexter. This move by Krebs drew immediate attention when Missouri Pacific's General Manager in Little Rock called Krebs's General Manager in Houston to complain.
This event and the fact that Krebs knew how to run a railroad with little delay helped him move up the ranks and eventually become president of the SP and later CEO of ATSF and BNSF.
He retired as CEO of BNSF in 2000 and left the board when he retired as chairman on April 17, 2002.
On May 13, 2005, Krebs joined the Board of Directors for Railpower Technologies
RailPower Technologies
Railpower Technologies Corp. is a subsidiary of R.J. Corman Railroad Group that builds environmentally friendly hybrid and genset yard locomotives, founded by Frank Donnelly and Gerard Koldyk...
, a position from which he subsequently resigned on September 9, 2005, citing personal reasons.