Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1923-05-20
Ne,vI. &C. Member First Worked
As Water Boy on Section Gang
Frank McMananly Kn0Ws
Railroads From Bot
tom to Top.
Studied at Night, Fired
>
Locomotive During
Day.

Frank McManamy. appointed inter
state commerce commission ten
days ago by President Harding, be-
gan his career a section hand on
the Pennsylvania railroad.
How far McManamy. stepped to one
of the most important transportation
posts in the world was revealed when
ii became known that in the spring
of 1855, at the age of fifteen, he was
carrying water for section crew
clearing a right-of- near Altoona.
Ia.
Fired with a boyhood ambition. Nc
Manamy aspired to be a locomotive
engineer. How far this hope was
realized was revealed during the war,
when he was assistant chief of opera
lions OF the Railroad Administration
and every locomotive in the United
States was under his supervision.
Studied Mt Night.
Rather reluctantly. yet with a
touch of pride. Mr.. McManany adj
mitted that he had no college degree.
but in the next breath told of how he
had shoveled coal as a fireman on
freight LOCOMOTIVES $50 miles a day
and then, tired as he was, had trudged
off at night to a business college at
Travers City, Mich.
From water boy with the Pennsyl-
vania right-of-way crew young Nc
Manamy was promoted" to section
hand. His interest in railroads soon
extended beyond that of clearing
away Stumps and cutting down
grades for S115 a day and he emf
grated to the Chicago and West
Michigan. in Michigan, now a part
of the Pere Marquette system. On
this line he was shop employe until
1891. when he received his first real
"assignment'-tiring on freight
locomotive.
He made an exhaustive study of the
air brake, taking advantage of his
opportunities with the railroad equip
ment on which he worked daily. He
became an expert in this line. He
also made tests of locomotives and
fuel.
Wins Examination.
When the Civil Service Commission
called an examination for the APP
spector for the Interstate Commerce
Commission in 1908, Mr. McManamy
was one of the few men in the United
states in the preferred class who
were available to stand the tests. He
received a rating of 90 per cent and
went to work Tor the goveI nment
His rise in the government service
was rapid until in 1911 President Taft
appointed him assistant chief loco
motive boiler inspector In 1918
President Wilson appointed him chief
boiler inspector and he held this POI
sition until the Railroad AdminiStra-
ton was created.
When the government took over the
railroads Mr.. McManamy. still with
the Interstate Commerce Commission
was called on to devote much of his
time as assistant chief of operations
In the Railroad Administration. His
intimate knowledge of the working
operation of railroads made his serv-
Ice of great value to the government
The administration met its first
great crisis when it was realized that
the stress of war slowly was break
ing down the transportation system
of the country. Locomotives and cars
were undergoing such strain as never
before experienced and repair sidings
were full of useless equipment. The
director general of railroads, Mr.. Nc
Adoo, realized that working hours in
shops must be increased 1t was "a
ticklish job. Already labor had been
srum bling family. but grumbling as
much as it dared to. not to be accused
of being unpatriotic.
Took Big Task.
Here it was that Mr. McManamy
put over the biggest job ever en-
trusted to him. 1t was realized that
the task was one to be undertaken
by a man in whom the labor interests
had confidence. McManamy was a
member of the Brotherhood of Lo-
connective Engineers. dating from the
time he himself was an engineer, and
still retains his membership card
lie found nearly every railroad in
the United States with a union con-
tract calling for not more than
nfty-hOur week.
its war. boys" he told the men
at the shops. "and every fellow must
do his share"
The men knew McManamy. He had
been one of them and 100000 shop
craftsmen went on seventy-hour week
The locomotives began to steam out
of the repair shops and the great trains
OF war materials continued to pour to
the eastern coast Then McManamy
undertook to stop the leaks in govern
ment control. He demonstrated that
new locomotives sold to distant lines
could be made to earn their way across
country by pulling freight trains in
stead of travelling as dead freight. In
those trying days there were no
prosperity specials" A new engine
was hooked onto a string of cars ard
started TO its destination freight free
as the result of service to the road
over whose rails it was passing.
Under the Seventy-hour week and
war stress 10000 more freight cars
were repaired each month, and there
was corresponding increase in the
number of locomotives put back into
Service.
Gave Up I. {. e. Post.
Mr.. McAdoo called on Mr.. McManamv
to relinquish his position with the In
terstate Commerce Commission and he
has remained with the Railroad Admin
istration until his appointment as inter-
state commerce commissioner. Among
his other duties he has been chairman
of n committee on Standardization of
equipment and has had a prominent
part in regrouping American railroads
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