William John Quinn was a 20th century American railroad executive. He was an attorney for the Soo Line

Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad

The Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad was a Class I railroad subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway in the Midwest U.S. Commonly known as the Soo Line after the phonetic spelling of Sault, it was merged with several other major CP subsidiaries on January 1, 1961 to form the...

 before joining the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad

Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad

The Milwaukee Road, officially the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad , was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwest and Northwest of the United States from 1847 until its merger into the Soo Line Railroad on January 1, 1986. The company went through several official names...

 in 1954 and later from 1957 to 1966, served as President. In 1966, he became president of the Burlington Railroad. He later returned to the Milwaukee Road, where he was chairman from 1970 until its final collapse.

Quinn was the last leader of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad and was involved in its notorious scheme of de-electrification in 1972, right before the 1973 oil crisis

1973 oil crisis

The 1973 oil crisis started in October 1973, when the members of Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries or the OAPEC proclaimed an oil embargo. This was "in response to the U.S. decision to re-supply the Israeli military" during the Yom Kippur war. It lasted until March 1974. With the...

. This and the general collapse of the road in the 1960s led to the final bankruptcy of the famous Milwaukee Road.