Evening journal., 1914-01-22
NEW NEWS OF YESTERDAY
The Railroad Engineer With
a Ruling Ambition
By Holland.

Il doubt If any railway executive Of
icer or operating manager was ever so
completely absorbed in his railroad as
was Uncle John Newell during all the
time that he was president Of the Lake
Shore Railroad" said the late Charles
Finney Cox to me at a time when he
was speaking OF some of his early ex.
periences with men who made names
for themselves in a generation which is
now past as railways managers. Mr.
Cox himself was identified with railway
management. at first in the west and
afterwards. for some twenty years. an
executive officer holding a very impor
tant post in the Vanderbilt railway sys
tenn.
Uncle john as everybody called
him. was a grand character Mr.. Cox
continued. He was not only greatly
respected, but he was regarded with real
affection by thousands. His railroad
was his life. Il meant to him all that
an important business does to the other
men. and IN it ne found the recreation
which others discovered in yachts or ex-
cursions TO Europe or in racing stables
or magnificent country homes. The
Lake Shore Railroad. not merely as
company. but as visible property
mean its tracks. bridges. roadbed. its en-
gines and It's cQuipment--was the de-
light of Uncle John.
He was q civil engineer by training
and J presume il was that profession
which led him to consider and finally
work out as comprehensive o. plan for
Improvement as had been up TO his day
considered or acted upon by ether rail-
way managers.
1T was his ambition TO reduce every
grade 10 a minimum, and TO make his
line as nearly straight between Buffalo
and Chicago as the geographical contour
of Lake Erie on the south side would
permit
Il remember having stopped of az
Cleveland to carry on consultation
which would take only q few hours.
think it was four or five years before
President Newell's death. When
reached the station to take a train east,
] found thot the private car OF Uncle
John was attached to the train. He in
land to Buffalo.
John sat looking out from the rear win
dow of his ear upon the tracks and road
bed. He occasionally pointed to places
where the grade had been eliminated or
where curves lad been greatly reduced
in some cases so much that there was
long tangent. lie told me that ii he
lived long enough he would have pgacti-
cally every grade eliminated and every
curve, excepting those necessitated by
the passing OF the tracks through some
of the cities. Strengthened. He said that
IL was worth all the money that It cost.
He told ME that the Lake Shore Rail
road was originally built in a hurry,
so Us TO compete with the Michigan Cen
tral. Its promoters were anxious to get
into Chicago ahead OF the Michigan Cen
tral For that reason. they surveyed
and built the road in the easiest way,
not caring whether the grades were
heavy or the curves many and sharp. 1t
was Lncle Johns life work to correct
these early mistakes. He told me that
ii he could he would be glad TO have his
road ar straight as the one between ST.
Petersburg and Moscow. practically an
air line without a grade. He said chat
ID thlis could be accomplished the earn
ing power OF his road would be doubled.
! never saw more enthusiasm than that
which Uncle John displayed when he
POINTED to places where curves had been
Strengthened and grades eliminated. And
he had the satisfaction OF knowing that
he had beeu teaching lesson to other
railroad managers. and that lesson was
this: The better the roadbed. the
straighter the tracks and the greater the
length OF the tangents, the greater the
earning power OF a railroad"
Copyright, 1914, by 4. J. Edwards. All
right reserved.
Tomorrow Mr. Edrards win tell "One
Reason for Tom Platt's Political Sue
cess"