Edwin Harrison McHenry (January 25, 1859 – August 21, 1931) was the fourth vice-president of the

New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , commonly known as The Consolidated, or simply as the New Haven, was a railroad that operated in the New England region of the United States from 1872 to December 31, 1968. Founded by the merger of ...

and first vice-president of the Consolidated Railway of

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

. Prior to joining the New Haven, McHenry had been chief engineer and a receiver of the Northern Pacific Railway and later the chief engineer of the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

Biography

He was born in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, on January 25, 1859. He attended the

Pennsylvania Military College Widener University is a private university in Chester, Pennsylvania. The university has three other campuses: two in Pennsylvania (Harrisburg and Exton) and one in Wilmington, Delaware. Founded as The Bullock School for Boys in 1821, the school ...

Chester, Pennsylvania Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located within the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area, it is the only city in Delaware County and had a population of 32,605 as of the 2020 census. Incorporated in 1682, Chester is ...

. He first started working on the railroad in 1883 as a rodman doing surveying on the

Black Hills The Black Hills ( lkt, Ȟe Sápa; chy, Moʼȯhta-voʼhonáaeva; hid, awaxaawi shiibisha) is an isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming, United States. Black Elk P ...

branch of the

Northern Pacific Railroad The Northern Pacific Railway was a transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest. It was approved by 38th United States Congress, Congress in 1864 and given ...

. He progressed from rodman to chainman, draftsman, leveler, transitman, assistant engineer, division engineer, principal assistant engineer, and from November 1, 1893, to January 1, 1896, he was the

chief engineer A chief engineer, commonly referred to as "ChEng" or "Chief", is the most senior engine officer of an engine department on a ship, typically a merchant ship, and holds overall leadership and the responsibility of that department..Chief engineer ...

. Starting on October 1, 1904, he was the first

vice-president A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

of the Consolidated Railway. He was also in charge of construction, operation and maintenance of the

trolley line A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

s owned by the

. He was the fourth

, in charge of the electrical department. While working for the Northern Pacific, McHenry performed two notable engineering feats, and made one memorable marketing suggestion: * In the 1880s McHenry was the principal assistant engineer on

Stampede Pass Stampede Pass (elevation ) is a mountain pass in the northwest United States, through the Cascade Range in Washington. Southeast of Seattle and east of Tacoma, its importance to transportation lies almost entirely with railroading, as no paved r ...

during the construction of Stampede Tunnel, linking western

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

and especially the

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected ma ...

ports of

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

and Tacoma to the East by rail. * In the early 1890s McHenry was tasked with locating a line from the vicinity of Logan westward to

Butte, Montana Butte ( ) is a consolidated city-county and the county seat of Silver Bow County, Montana, United States. In 1977, the city and county governments consolidated to form the sole entity of Butte-Silver Bow. The city covers , and, according to the ...

. During the course of this work McHenry discovered

Homestake Pass Homestake Pass is a mountain pass in the Rocky Mountains of Montana in the United States. It sits on the Continental Divide on the border between Jefferson County and Silver Bow County, six miles south-southeast of Butte in Beaverhead-Deerlod ...

, the pass which

Interstate 90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, Great Plains, Midwest, and ...

now crosses the

Continental Divide A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not ...

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

. * In 1893, McHenry was in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

visiting the

Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The centerpiece of the Fair, hel ...

. While there, he visited the

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

n display and noticed the prominent ying-yang symbol (or

Monad Monad may refer to: Philosophy * Monad (philosophy), a term meaning "unit" **Monism, the concept of "one essence" in the metaphysical and theological theory ** Monad (Gnosticism), the most primal aspect of God in Gnosticism * ''Great Monad'', a ...

) in the Korean flag. He suggested the suitability of this symbol to the Northern Pacific General Passenger Agent Charles S. Fee and the symbol was adopted as the logotype of the newly reorganized Northern Pacific Railway. McHenry died on August 21, 1931, in

Ardmore, Pennsylvania Ardmore is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) spanning the border between Delaware and Montgomery counties in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The population was 12,455 at the 2010 census and had risen to 13,566 in the ...

Legacy

McHenry, North Dakota, was named by the Northern Pacific for him.

Frances, Washington Frances is an unincorporated community in Pacific County, Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United ...

, was named by McHenry for his wife, whose middle name was Frances.

Engineering

* In the 1880s on the

Northern Pacific Northern Pacific may refer to: * Northern Pacific Airways, an upcoming airline * Northern Pacific Field Hockey Conference The Northern Pacific Field Hockey Conference (NorPac) was an NCAA Division I conference that only sponsored women’s fiel ...

, McHenry was the principal assistant engineer on

during the construction of Stampede Tunnel, linking western

and especially the

ports of

and Tacoma to the East by rail. * In the early 1890s McHenry was tasked with locating a line from the vicinity of Logan westward to

. During the course of this work McHenry discovered

, the pass which

now crosses the

References

Publications and papers

* McHenry, Edwin H. ''Rules for Railway Location and Construction Used on the Northern Pacific Railway ith a chapter onEstimating Overhaul in Earthwork.'' New York: Engineering News Publishing, 1901. * McHenry's papers as chief engineer of the Northern Pacific are held by the Minnesota Historical Society in St. Paul, Minnesota. Some additional papers and correspondence are held by the

University of Montana The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. UM reported 10,962 undergraduate and graduate students in the fal ...

's K. Ross Toole Archives in

Missoula, Montana Missoula ( ; fla, label=Salish language, Séliš, Nłʔay, lit=Place of the Small Bull Trout, script=Latn; kut, Tuhuⱡnana, script=Latn) is a city in the U.S. state of Montana; it is the county seat of Missoula County, Montana, Missoula Cou ...

Biography

Legacy

Engineering

References

Publications and papers

Further reading