William Truesdale
Encyclopedia
William H. Truesdale was an American railroad executive, primarily known for his service as President of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad
at the turn of the 20th century.
Truesdale entered the industry as a clerk for various railroads throughout the midwest United States. After working his way up the ranks, he was brought on as the president of the Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway
in 1887. Following a brief tenure in this role, Mr. Truesdale served as the first Vice President and General Manager of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad
, a position he kept through the last decade of the 19th century.
Truesdale became president of the Lackawanna Railroad in 1899, supplanting the ailing Samuel Sloan. He immediately cemented his reputation as a relentless visionary, when he authored what was to be one of the most ambitious railroad modernization programs in American history. Until the dawn of the twentieth century, the Lackawanna, like most railroads dealing with adverse geography, generally followed the contours of the land when laying track. Steep climbs and long hours aboard a train remained commonplace.
Truesdale upgraded the Lackawanna's route system with an ambitious building program that set the standard for rail construction. The crown jewel was the Lackawanna Cut-off, a 28.5-mile (46 km) stretch of fast track track with no road crossings. Built to replace the Lackawanna's old main line, which went southwest from Lake Hopatcong to Washington, then veered northwest through Oxford, crossing the Delaware just north of Manunka Chunk, this enormous construction project involved huge amounts of cut and fill through the Pequest Valley of northwest New Jersey. It reduced route mileage by only 11 miles but enabled trains to travel at speeds approaching 100 miles an hour. The Lackawanna Cutoff was closed by Conrail in 1979, but is owned by the State of New Jersey and remains intact.
Under Truesdale's leadership, the railroad also built the Pennsylvania Cutoff north of Scranton, including the Tunkhannock (Nicholson) Viaduct, the largest concrete bridge and one of the largest concrete structures in the world. The Tunkhannock Viaduct
is still in use.
Truesdale also sought to increase the size of freight cars and locomotives, which were restricted by the carrying capacity of the railroad's bridges.
Truesdale was also president when the Lackawanna launched its Phoebe Snow marketing campaign, one of the best-known in American advertising.
Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad
The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Company was a railroad connecting Pennsylvania's Lackawanna Valley, rich in anthracite coal, to Hoboken, New Jersey, , Buffalo and Oswego, New York...
at the turn of the 20th century.
Truesdale entered the industry as a clerk for various railroads throughout the midwest United States. After working his way up the ranks, he was brought on as the president of the Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway
Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway
The Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway was an American Class I railroad that built and operated lines radiating south and west from Minneapolis, Minnesota which existed for 90 years from 1870 to 1960....
in 1887. Following a brief tenure in this role, Mr. Truesdale served as the first Vice President and General Manager of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad
Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad
The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad was a Class I railroad in the United States. It was also known as the Rock Island Line, or, in its final years, The Rock.-Incorporation:...
, a position he kept through the last decade of the 19th century.
Truesdale became president of the Lackawanna Railroad in 1899, supplanting the ailing Samuel Sloan. He immediately cemented his reputation as a relentless visionary, when he authored what was to be one of the most ambitious railroad modernization programs in American history. Until the dawn of the twentieth century, the Lackawanna, like most railroads dealing with adverse geography, generally followed the contours of the land when laying track. Steep climbs and long hours aboard a train remained commonplace.
Truesdale upgraded the Lackawanna's route system with an ambitious building program that set the standard for rail construction. The crown jewel was the Lackawanna Cut-off, a 28.5-mile (46 km) stretch of fast track track with no road crossings. Built to replace the Lackawanna's old main line, which went southwest from Lake Hopatcong to Washington, then veered northwest through Oxford, crossing the Delaware just north of Manunka Chunk, this enormous construction project involved huge amounts of cut and fill through the Pequest Valley of northwest New Jersey. It reduced route mileage by only 11 miles but enabled trains to travel at speeds approaching 100 miles an hour. The Lackawanna Cutoff was closed by Conrail in 1979, but is owned by the State of New Jersey and remains intact.
Under Truesdale's leadership, the railroad also built the Pennsylvania Cutoff north of Scranton, including the Tunkhannock (Nicholson) Viaduct, the largest concrete bridge and one of the largest concrete structures in the world. The Tunkhannock Viaduct
Tunkhannock Viaduct
Tunkhannock Viaduct is a concrete deck arch bridge that spans the Tunkhannock Creek in Nicholson, Wyoming County, Pennsylvania in the United States. It was the largest concrete bridge in the U.S. when it opened, and remained so even 50 years later.The bridge contains about of concrete and of steel...
is still in use.
Truesdale also sought to increase the size of freight cars and locomotives, which were restricted by the carrying capacity of the railroad's bridges.
Truesdale was also president when the Lackawanna launched its Phoebe Snow marketing campaign, one of the best-known in American advertising.
Sources
- The Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad in the Nineteenth Century (1 volume) and the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad in the Twentieth Century (2 volumes) by Thomas Townsend Taber III, Lycoming Printing Company, 1977, 1980, 1981.