William Thomas Rice (June 13, 1912 – February 5, 2006) was an American

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

executive from

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. He worked in railroading throughout his life, and also served in the

Army Reserves A military reserve force is a military organization whose members have military and civilian occupations. They are not normally kept under arms, and their main role is to be available when their military requires additional manpower. Reserve f ...

where he became a

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

. Along with

Hays T. Watkins Hays may refer to: People * Hays (surname) Places United States * Hays (Pittsburgh), a neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania * Hays, Kansas ** Fort Hays ** Hays Regional Airport * Hays, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in Warren ...

, Rice's work led to the formation of

CSX Transportation CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...

in 1980.

Career

Rice was born in 1912 in Westmoreland County, Virginia. His career started as a track inspector for the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

in 1934, after graduating at the top of his

civil engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewage ...

class at

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...

. By 1955, he became president of the

Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad The Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad was a railroad connecting Richmond, Virginia, to Washington, D.C. The track is now the RF&P Subdivision of the CSX Transportation system; the original corporation is no longer a railroad compan ...

. In 1957, he was made president of the

Atlantic Coast Line Railroad The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad was a United States Class I railroad formed in 1900, though predecessor railroads had used the ACL brand since 1871. In 1967 it merged with long-time rival Seaboard Air Line Railroad to form the Seaboard Coast L ...

, succeeding Champ Davis. By 1967, he was named president,

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''Di ...

and

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad, the product of merging the ACL with the

Seaboard Air Line The Seaboard Air Line Railroad , which styled itself "The Route of Courteous Service," was an American railroad which existed from April 14, 1900, until July 1, 1967, when it merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, its longtime rival, t ...

Railroad. Rice rose to chairman of SCL parent Seaboard Coast Line Industries, and the

Family Lines System Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideall ...

which included SCL. In 1980, Rice and

guided the creation of

CSX Corporation CSX Corporation is an American holding company focused on rail transportation and real estate in North America, among other industries. The company was established in 1980 as part of the Chessie System and Seaboard Coast Line Industries merger. T ...

by merging the

Chessie System Chessie System, Inc. was a holding company that owned the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O), the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O), the Western Maryland Railway (WM), and Baltimore and Ohio Chicago Terminal Railroad (B&OCT). Trains operated und ...

and the SCL. After the merger was complete, he was named chairman

emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

Honors

Rice earned many honors, including "Transportation Man of the Year" in 1972 and "Railroad Man of the Year" in 1975. In 1987, CSX's classification yard in Waycross, Georgia, was named for him. In 2000, the non-profit Virginians for High Speed Rail created an award "The W. Thomas Rice Rail Renaissance Award" named in his honor which was presented to individuals for their leadership in rail transportation development.

Personal life

William Thomas Rice married Jaqueline Johnston and together they had two children, John Thomas Rice and Jaqueline "Lynn" Rice, over 67 years of marriage. He lost his son to cancer in 2003. Rice, who died in 2006, was survived by his daughter, daughter-in-law Grace, seven grandchildren, and twelve great-grandchildren.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rice, William T. 1912 births 2006 deaths People from Westmoreland County, Virginia Virginia Tech alumni American chief executives United States Army reservists Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Seaboard Coast Line Railroad CSX Transportation 20th-century American railroad executives