Fred G. Gurley (1889 – July 4, 1976) was president and executive committee chairman of

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison, Kansas, Atchison and Top ...

. Gurley began his railroad career in 1906 on the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, where he worked his way up to become an assistant vice president. In 1939 he transferred to the Santa Fe as a vice president; he was elected president and executive committee chairman of the Santa Fe in 1944. On July 17, 1955, Gurley appeared on ''Dateline: Disneyland''; the special broadcast of the opening of

Disneyland Disneyland is a theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney initially envision ...

. Gurley, along with

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

and California Governor Goodwin Knight operated the inaugural running of the

Disneyland Railroad The Disneyland Railroad (DRR), formerly known as the Santa Fe & Disneyland Railroad, is a 3-foot () narrow-gauge heritage railroad and attraction in the Disneyland theme park of the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, in the United St ...

; advertised at the time as the Santa Fe & Disneyland Railroad. Gurley retired in 1959, but stayed on as a director until 1964. At that time, he was named an honorary director for life by the railroad.

Legacy

* Engine No. 3 of the

is named "Fred Gurley", it began service there on March 28, 1958.

References

* 1889 births 1976 deaths 20th-century American railroad executives Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway presidents {{US-rail-bio-stub