Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-08-08
HEAD OF IRON ROAD
Lad Rises From Farm to Fame
and Knighthood.
HONORED BY KING GEORGE
Carves Career Out Of Most Unpromis-
ing Materials.
NOW KNOWN AS SIR SAM FAY
His Ability as Railway Manager
Demonstrated From the Begin
ming of His Service.
NOW KNOWN AS SIR SAM FAY
Special Correspondence of The Star.

There are not In England so many self
made men as in America, but the new
knight of the iron road, Sir Sam Fay, to
whom the king administered the acolade
the other day, is one of them The king
knlghted him on the opening of the new
port on the east coast. Sir Sam is. per
haps. the most prominent figure in the
railway world. and one of the most inter-
esting personalities of the day.
He is essentially a self-made man. but
happily free from those Objectionable
traits so characteristic of many of the
modern self-help successes. He has work
ed hard and has carved his career out OF
the most unpromising materials, but he
has emerged not a roughened, autocratic.
intolerable specimen of the successful
man who has contempt for all the
amenities and refinements of life, but
highly polished, quiet. and self-pOssessed
little man of distinguished appearance.
with taste for literature and something
of the neat air of man just arrived
from the bandbox.
Nobody. ignorant of his identity. observ-
ing the slight, almost frail little man
with the pale. well cut features and nicely
grOOmed beard. would suspect that the
pleasant person with the big cigar was
man of iron will who. all through life,
made 1t his purpose to conquer difficulties
ana organize successes even out or the
wreckage Of others failures.
Comes From Farmer Stock.
AS boy Sam Fray had little. if any.
provocation to seek his fortune out of
the complexities of railway management
Me came of farming stock. who for gen.
agriculture ON the borders of the new
in HoY1, Two Iic of
railway affairs was limited to what he
could learn on the Journeys to and from
school. but the hustle and the activities of
the line made an impression on the boys
mind in contrast with the peaceful and
slow going methods of rural life. So a
railwayman he would be, and the good
offices of director Of the London and
Southwestern Company being procured,
the budding railway boss was duly in
stalled as junior clerk in a waysde coun-
try station on branch line.
That was in 1872, when the block sig
mailing system was in it's infancy. The
duties devOlving on the junior clerk. be-
sides passenger and freight account keep
ing. included little block signaling, in
dicating to the signal box at the main line
junction the arrival and departure Of
trains. Young Fay had something of a
contempt for the indoor duties of rail-
way clerk. and apparently the ringing Of
bells in signalman's cabin as a wholly
useless piece of monotonous detail. espe-
their way in and out of the station. He
confesses that on more than one occasion !
the signals were not sent and the first
intimation the main line junction cabin
had of the progress of train was it's /
arrival at tive signal box.
Receives Promotions.
After twelve months young Fay was |
promoted to a station of a little more |
Importance on a single line. The sta |
tiOnmaster had imposed upon him the re-
sponsibilities Of deciding where up and |
down trains should cross when running !
out of time table schedule, and these :
duties naturally devolved upon the clerk |!
in due time. There was a good deal of ir- |
regular running, and the young man |
found his time fully occupied in prevent |
ing accidents and collisions.
Two years later he was put on the re- |
lief staff. doing duty all along the line, !
and gaining valuable experience Of every |
phase of railway work. After two years |
more he was promoted to the office of the |
traffic superintendent. where his worth |
was quickly proved and secured him the |
post Of chief of the indoor staff. He was |
ambitious. resourceful and Woodworking. |
and set to work to grasp every detail of |
the administrative side of railway work |
For seven years he helped to cope with |
the special traffic for races. reviews and
similar functions for which the line |
catered SO much. Then a term as store |
Keeper gave him experience in the art OF |
purchasing anything from nibs to pig |
iron.
1t will be seen that he now had the de- |
tails of every branch OF railway work at |
his finger ends, not in theory, but as a re-
suit of hard work and experience in !
climbing from rung to rung of the ladder. |
He had fearless resourcefulness, and to |
him nothing was impossible. In 1892 he |
tackled foylorn hope in the case Of the |
Midland and Southwestern Junction rail- |
way. OF which he was appointed secretary |
and general manager.
Road in Receivers Hands.
The company's affairs were in the hands |
of receiver, and the line was almost !
derelict. Engines and carriages were |
scarcely fit to be put on the road. There |
were no workshops fit for repairs, Sleep /
ers We're rotten, and fences were broken
down for miles. There were debts to the .
tune of 100000 on the concern, and .
natural absence Of credit and cash. On
the first pay day after &c had taken over Z
his new duties the secretary had to wait !
for the takingS at the station before the |
staff could be paid.
In twelve months matters We're so far |
improved that instead of a loss the line !
showed profit, and in few years was
free from debt For seven years Mr.. Fay
labored in the revival Of the derelict, |
leaving 1t able to pay its way. He went
back to his old company as superinten-
dent of the line In 1885, and two years
later became general manager of the
Great Central. his present post
l.. Fl. MOORE.