Robert Hall Smith (March 10, 1888 – June 18, 1960), a native of

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, served as President of the

Norfolk and Western Railway The Norfolk and Western Railway , commonly called the N&W, was a US class I railroad, formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It was headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia, for most of its existence. Its motto was "Precisio ...

(N&W) from 1946 to 1958. He was first employed on the N&W during the summer of 1910 as an axeman and chainman on a surveying crew. After graduating

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from

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in 1911, he returned to the N&W where he remained until his retirement. Smith was named Vice President Operations in 1941. He succeeded William J. Jenks as president in 1946. Smith was a proponent of steam motive power during his tenure as president. He authorized operating tests in 1952 to compare

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diesel locomotives with two N&W-designed and -built steam locomotives. He also supported the experimental coal-burning, steam-turbine electric locomotive, '' Jawn Henry'', which the Railway tested from 1954 to 1957. Smith retired from the N&W on March 31, 1958, and was succeeded by Stuart T. Saunders. His nickname "Racehorse" came from his long stride and rapid pace. The story goes that once when offered a ride to his office he declined saying that he was in a hurry.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Robert 1888 births 1960 deaths Princeton University alumni 20th-century American railroad executives