Robert Buckner Claytor (February 27, 1922 – April 9, 1993) was an American railroad administrator. He became President of the Norfolk and Western Railway in 1981 and was instrumental in the merger of the Southern Railway and the Norfolk & Western in 1982. He was the first chairman and CEO of the new

Norfolk Southern The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31, ...

, and is credited with locating the headquarters of the Fortune 500 company in Norfolk, Virginia, within sight of the massive coal pier at

Lambert's Point Lamberts Point is a point of land on the east shore of the Elizabeth River near the downtown area of the independent city of Norfolk in the South Hampton Roads region of eastern Virginia, United States. It includes a large coal exporting facilit ...

on the Elizabeth River at Hampton Roads. Robert B. Claytor is best remembered by many

railfan A railfan, rail buff or train buff (American English), railway enthusiast, railway buff or trainspotter ( Australian/British English), or ferroequinologist is a person who is recreationally interested in trains and rail transport systems. Rai ...

s for continuing the Southern's steam program, which went on to rebuild steam locomotives J class No. 611 and A class No. 1218 and operated excursion trips. He would occasionally take the helm as

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...

with his brother, W. Graham Claytor Jr., who had been president of

Southern Railway (U.S.) The Southern Railway (also known as Southern Railway Company and now known as the Norfolk Southern Railway) was a class 1 railroad based in the Southern United States between 1894 and 1982, when it merged with the Norfolk & Western to form Nor ...

and later, CEO of

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...

. He was the son of W. Graham Claytor (1886-1971), who as vice president of

Appalachian Power American Electric Power (AEP), (railcar reporting mark: AEPX) is a major investor-owned electric utility in the United States, delivering electricity to more than five million customers in 11 states. AEP ranks among the nation's largest gen ...

Company supervised construction of the dam and creation of a 4,500 acre (18 km²), 21 mile (34 km) long lake on the New River at Claytor Lake State Park in

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 ...

, and of Gertrude Harris Boatwright Claytor, a poet. One of his brothers, W. Graham Claytor Jr. (1912-1994), was president of the Southern Railway from 1967 to 1977, a United States Deputy Secretary of Defense and

Secretary of the Navy The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States Department of Defense. By law, the se ...

from 1977 to 1979 under President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 1 ...

, an acting U.S.

Secretary of Transportation A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a wh ...

in the cabinet of President Carter in 1979, and president of

from 1982 until 1993. Robert B. Claytor died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

on April 9, 1993, at his home in Norfolk. "The Claytor Brothers: Virginians Building America's Railroad" is a semi-permanent exhibit at the

Virginia Museum of Transportation The Virginia Museum of Transportation is a museum devoted to the topic of transportation located in Downtown Roanoke, Virginia, US. children under two years do not to buy tickets and students can get a discounted $10.5 ticket. History The Virg ...

Roanoke, Virginia Roanoke ( ) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 100,011, making it the 8th most populous city in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the largest city in Virginia west of Richmond. It is ...

References

* John T. Kneebone et al., eds., ''Dictionary of Virginia Biography'' (Richmond, 1998- ), 3:292-294. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Claytor, Robert B. 1922 births 1993 deaths 20th-century American railroad executives Norfolk Southern Railway people People from Roanoke, Virginia American railroaders Deaths from cancer in Virginia

See also

References