John Joseph Bernet (February 9, 1868 – July 5, 1935) was president of the

Nickel Plate Road The New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad , abbreviated NYC&St.L, was a railroad that operated in the mid-central United States. Commonly referred to as the "Nickel Plate Road", the railroad served parts of the states of New York (state), Ne ...

Erie Railroad The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in the northeastern United States, originally connecting New York City — more specifically Jersey City, New Jersey, where Erie's Pavonia Terminal, long demolished, used to stand — with Lake Erie ...

Chesapeake and Ohio Railway The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway was a Class I railroad formed in 1869 in Virginia from several smaller Virginia railroads begun in the 19th century. Led by industrialist Collis P. Huntington, it reached from Virginia's capital city of Richmond t ...

and

Pere Marquette Railroad The Pere Marquette Railway operated in the Great Lakes region of the United States and southern parts of Ontario in Canada. It had trackage in the states of Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and the Canadian province of Ontario. Its primary connections in ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. He was known for bringing railroad companies back from bankruptcy to solvency, earning him the nickname "Doctor of Sick Railroads".

Youth and education

Bernet was born in

Brant, New York Brant is a town in Erie County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the town had a population of 2,065. The town was named after the Mohawk leader Joseph Brant. Brant is located in the southwestern part of the county and is kn ...

, on February 9, 1868, to Bernard and Emma Greene Bernet. John's father, Bernard, had emigrated from

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

and had taken up the

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

ing trade. After a public school education, John entered an apprenticeship at his father's blacksmith shop, but John was not able to perform the craft as well as his father had hoped.

Railroad career

When the blacksmithing apprenticeship didn't work out, Bernet learned

telegraphy Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...

and was hired in 1889 on the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway. He worked his way up through various positions with the railroad to eventually become a Vice President for

New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Midw ...

where he was in charge of the lines west of Buffalo. Soon after the

Van Sweringen Brothers Oris Paxton Van Sweringen (April 24, 1879 – November 22, 1936) and Mantis James Van Sweringen (July 8, 1881 – December 12, 1935) were American brothers who became railroad barons in order to develop Shaker Heights, Ohio. They are better know ...

purchased the

from the New York Central, Bernet was asked to lead the Nickel Plate in 1916. By the time he left the Nickel Plate, the railroad had grown considerably thanks to Bernet's work at upgrading the system. He is credited with doubling the railroad's total freight tonnage and average speeds systemwide while cutting fuel consumption in half. Bernet was succeeded at the Nickel Plate by Walter L. Ross at the end of 1926. Bernet served as president of the

, another of the Van Sweringen's holdings, from January 1, 1927, through May 1929. His presidency of the Erie was characterized by a series of cost-cutting measures that included replacing much of the railroad's by then outdated rolling stock with new, more efficient equipment such as the Erie's Berkshire

2-8-4 Under the Whyte notation, a 2-8-4 is a steam locomotive that has two unpowered leading wheels, followed by eight coupled and powered driving wheels, and four trailing wheels. This locomotive type is most often referred to as a Berkshire, though ...

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

s, which were larger and more powerful than

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...

's then current L-1 model Berkshires. Erie's Berkshires were of a design that included drivers, larger boilers and full-length locomotive frames; these locomotives helped change the Erie from a drag-freight railroad to a fast-freight railroad. After leaving the Erie Railroad, Bernet became president of

. The Van Sweringen brothers had gained control of the C&O and its then subsidiary

in the 1920s, so Bernet was already familiar to the rest of the management team there. Under Bernet's guidance, the C&O was one of the very few profitable railroad companies during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, even going so far as earning and paying dividends in 1932. In 1933, he returned to the Nickel Plate Road's presidency. In that position he ordered the Nickel Plate's first 80 Berkshire locomotives. He served in that position until his death on July 5, 1935; he died at his home in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

. He was succeeded as president of the Pere Marquette, C&O by George D. Brooke; Bernet was succeeded at the Nickel Plate by W. J. Harahan who served until 1937 before himself being succeeded by Brooke. He was greatly admired by his peers for his business acumen and after his death a privately printed biography, with an Appreciation by the Van Sweringens, was brought out.

Legacy

Bernet very strongly encouraged John Carroll University to build a dormitory rather than a gymnasium and when the first dormitory on the university campus was completed in 1935,

Bernet Hall Bernet is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Agnès Bernet (born 1968), is a French cell biologist * David Bernet, Swiss movie-director * Ed Bernet (born 1933), American football player *John Joseph Bernet (1868–1935), America ...

was named in his honor. The residence hall still carries his name.

Footnotes

References

External links