Smyrna times., 1897-02-24
FRANK THOMSON, PRESIDENT
PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD.

AT meeting of the Board of Direct
ors OF the Pennsylvania Railroad,
held at the General Office in Philadel-
phla on February Sd, Frank Thomson,
First Vice-President, was unanimously
elected President
In every field of American develop.
ment Scotch ancestry is conspicuous.
Many great men of the learned pro-
fessions, the factors of the business
world, and the high officials of our
commercial and railroad interests look
back with pride to a lineage of the land
of the thistle and heather. A family of
this description is that of Thomson.
In 1771 Alexander Thomson sailed
from Scotland and settled as pioneer
in the Cumberland Valley. Among
his children was son, Alexander, who.
after winning distinction at the bar of
his State, represented his district in
Congress from 1924 to 1926. Return
ing to the practice of his profession, he
became Judge of the Sixteenth Judi
cal District, and subsequently profess
sor of law in Marshall College.
His son, Frank Thomson, was born
IN Chambersburg, Pa, July 5th, 1841.
His rudimentary and classical educa-
tlon was received at the Chambersburg
Academy, but he did not inherit the
paternal taste for the law. With the
foresight which has been one of the
distinguishing characteristics of his
lie, he saw i'll the practical work of
the railroad an attractive and promis-
ing field Of action, and at seventeen
years of age he entered the Altoona
Shops of the Pennsylvania Railroad
for instruction. A four years course
of training in this great school of ap-
piled science graduated him mechani-
cal engineer, who could build loco
motive through every stage of the pro-
gress, from the crude iron to the
finished engine on the rails, while it
also fitted him to operate as engine
man the product of his own skill
1t required little time for Col. Thos.
A. Scott, General Superintendent of
the road, to detect in the young en-
gineer evidences of unusual ability,
and the outbreak of civil war fur
nished the opportunity of testing his
judgment.
Colonel Scott had been appointed by
President Lincoln Assistant Secretary
OF War, and placed in charge of all
matters relating to the transportation
OF troops and supplies, and he called
Frank Thomson to his aid as Chief
Assistant.
At the conclusion of active hostil-
tiles in this territory he was relieved
from military duty, and in June, 1864,
was appointed Superintendent of the
Eastern Division of the Philadelphia
and Erie Railroad, which occupied his
time, until March, 1878. After this
experience promotion came rapidly.
In March, 1873, he was made Super
intendent of Motive Power of the
Pennsylvania Railroad at Altoona.
In this position the vast information
and wide experience gained from his
course in the shops was applied to the
work of practical locomotive construc-
ton, and so was laid the foundation of
the system which has since produced
those celebrated locomotives known as
the Pennsylvania Railroad Standard
Engine" On July 1st, 1894, he relin-
pushed this post to become General
Manager of the Pennsylvania Railroad
system east of Pittsburg and Erie.
AS General Manager he introduced a
number of reforms in the management
administration, and maintenance of the
road. The standard track and solid
roadbed owes its existence to his efforts
and the system of track inspection and
the award of prizes for the best sections
OF track were instituted by him.
On October 1st, 1882, Mr.. Thomson
became Second Vice President, and on
October 9th, 1888, was advanced to be
post Of First Vice President, which he
has held up to the present date. Dur
ing his incumbency of the Vice-Presi-
dental offices was charged with the
traffic arrangements of the System,
both in freight and passenger branch.
Mr.. Thomson duties as the manager
OF great railway require so much of
his time that he has never been identi-
fed with many other public institu-
tions. A notable exception, however,
is the Equitable Life Insurance Com
pany, of which he is director.
The social side of Mr.. Thomson's |
life is quite as comprehensive as its
business counterpart. He is a patron
OF art, literature, and music, and his
handsome residence at "Corkerhill," f."
near Merton Station, is enriched with
many examples of artists in painting
and sculpture, whose works are as
as they are rare At this
with the assistance of his
Miss Anne Thomson, he
dispenses a quiet but notable hospi-
tality.
The secret of Mr.. Thomson's excel
lent health under the heavy strain of
his duties is found in his love of out
Of-door sport. He is an ardent angler,
q hunter of much merit, and generally
selects for his holiday the season when
he may indulge his taste for the fasci-
nation of the rod or gun. Mr.. Thom-
son is member of the Philadelphia
Club, the Union Club of New York,
and other prominent clubs in both
cities.
Mr.. Thomson is widower, his wife,
the daughter of the late Benjamin G.
Clarke, of New York, having died in
June, 1887. Miss Anne Thomson, the
only daughter, a prominent figure in
Philadelphia society, and Frank G..
and Clarke Thomson, both students at
Harvard, compose the family.
Captain Gray's Assailants Caught.
CENTREvILLE, Nd, Feb. 1S.-All the