William Barstow Strong (May 16, 1837 – August 3, 1914) served as president of the

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 ...

from 1881 to 1889. He is often referred to as either William B. Strong or W. B. Strong.

Life and career

He was born in Brownington, Vermont on May 16, 1837. Strong graduated from Bell's Business College in

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

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

, in 1855, and soon launched his career in railroading. His first railroad job was as a station agent for the Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad, a position that was introduced to him by his older brother James. He married Abbie J. Moore, October 2, 1859, in

Beloit, Wisconsin Beloit is a city in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 36,657 people. History Twelve men in Colebrook, New Hampshire, created the "New England Emigrating Company" in October 1836 and sen ...

. They had three children, a girl and two boys. He worked his way through several railroad jobs successively for the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway, McGregor Western Railway,

Chicago and North Western Railway The Chicago and North Western was a Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states befor ...

, Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q), and as superintendent of the Michigan Central Railroad in the 1870s. In this position, Strong was succeeded by Henry Brockholst Ledyard Jr. in 1876. He returned to the CB&Q after working on the Michigan Central and then joined the management team of the Santa Fe as General Manager, and was promoted to Vice President within a month. On July 12, 1881, he succeeded

T. Jefferson Coolidge Thomas Jefferson Coolidge (August 26, 1831 – November 17, 1920) was a U.S. ambassador and a leading Boston businessman. Early life Coolidge was born to a Joseph Coolidge (1798–1879) and Ellen Wayles (Randolph) Coolidge (1796–1876). He was ...

as president of the

(ATSF). Under his tenure, the ATSF expanded to about 7,000 miles (11,265 km) of

right-of-way Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another. A similar ''right of access'' also exists on land held by a gov ...

, which at the time made the ATSF the largest railroad in North America. He held the presidency until his retirement in 1889. The city of

Barstow, California Barstow is a city in San Bernardino County, California, in the Mojave Desert of Southern California. Located in the Inland Empire region of California, the population was 25,415 at the 2020 census. Barstow is an important crossroads for the In ...

, where the ATSF maintained extensive shop and equipment construction and repair facilities, the town of

Strong City, Kansas Strong City is a city in Chase County, Kansas, United States. Originally known as Cottonwood Station, in 1881 it was renamed Strong City after William Barstow Strong, then vice-president and general manager, and later president of the Atchison ...

, and Stronghurst, Illinois are named in his honor. William B. Strong's work with the

is extensively chronicled in the boo
From the River to the Sea
b

Other uses of the name ''William Barstow Strong''

''William Barstow Strong'' was the name of an

observation car An observation car/carriage/coach (in US English, often abbreviated to simply observation or obs) is a type of railroad passenger car, generally operated in a passenger train as the rearmost carriage, with windows or a platform on the rear of ...

owned by the ATSF and operated in business trains in the latter part of the 20th century. ''William B. Strong'' was included in a list of names that traveled aboard

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...

's Stardust spacecraft which visited the

comet Wild 2 Comet 81P/Wild, also known as Wild 2 (pronounced "vilt two") ( ), is a comet named after Swiss astronomer Paul Wild, who discovered it on January 6, 1978, using a 40-cm Schmidt telescope at Zimmerwald, Switzerland. For most of its 4.5 billion ...

in 2004. An observation car on the Royal Gorge Scenic Railway in Colorado is named ''William B. Strong''.

References

External links

ATSF #89 - William Barstow Strong
— photos and technical details of the observation car named in Strong's honor. {{DEFAULTSORT:Strong, William Barstow Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway presidents 1837 births 1914 deaths Railroad Wars People from Orleans County, Vermont Barstow, California People from Brownington, Vermont People of the American Old West 19th-century American businesspeople

Life and career

Other uses of the name ''William Barstow Strong''

See also

References

External links