William H. Truesdale

William Truesdale posing for a photo in 1915.

Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Arnold Genthe Collection, [Reproduction number e.g., LC-DIG-ppmsca-123456]. Published in 1915.

William Haynes Truesdale could best be described as a true gentleman and visionary. Mr. Truesdale was born in Poland, Ohio on December 1^st,1851 to Calvin and Charlotte (Haynes) Truesdale. In 1854, he would move with his family to Rock Island, Illinois where his father would serve as physician to many local railroad employees.

At the age of seventeen, William secured a job as a clerk with the Rockford, Rock Island, and St. Louis Railroad. He later served as a cashier and purchasing agent. In 1872 and 1873, he served as a transfer agent for the company in Frankfort, Germany. Between 1874 and 1876, William worked for the law firm “Osborn and Curtis”, railroad attorneys, in Rock Island. Recognizing Truesdale’s Talents, William Riley McKeen, president of the Terre Haute & Indianapolis Railroad, hired him as an auditor for the company. Three years later, William became the passenger and freight agent for the Logansport, Crawfordsville & Southwestern division of the railroad. On October 2^nd,1878 he married Annie Topping, with whom he would have four children.

In 1881, Truesdale would be appointed traffic manager and later, vice president of the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & St. Louis Railway. He was then named receiver when the railroad entered financial hardship. He was later named president of a subsidiary, the Minneapolis & St. Louis Railway. He went to the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific in 1894 as a third vice president and general manager, quickly rising to first vice president and general manager by 1898. On March 1, 1899, William was elected as president and chief executive officer of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad.

William Haynes Truesdale spent the next twenty-six years of his life serving as the president of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad, holding the second longest tenure of that position in the railroad’s history. William’s time on the Delaware Lackawanna & Western could easily be described as the railroad’s most progressive. Not a year went by during Truesdale’s presidency in which the railroad was not undergoing some major project. Almost immediately he went about reversing policies of his predecessors. This included investing in heavier rail, heavier and more powerful equipment as well as running trains on Sundays. He also went about replacing much of the railroad’s previous administration. Truesdale organized and centralized the different divisions of the company, which, up to this point, had operated independently. Truesdale was well informed and proactive on all matters connected with the railroad industry, whether it be shippers, costs, technology, best practices, or labor issues. Under Truesdale’s leadership, the Lackawanna adopted a pension plan for its employees. He also saw that the entire 900-mile Lackawanna system was rebuilt and modernized with new stations, bridges and viaducts made of steel reinforced concrete, setting the standard for railroad construction in its time. Developed by Earnest Elmo Calkins, one of the most successful advertising campaigns of the twentieth century, “Phoebe Snow”, was introduced during the Truesdale administration to focus on the railroad’s cleanliness and impeccable attention to detail.

Truesdale retired from his position as railroad president in 1925. He served as chairman of the board of directors for the Lackawanna from 1925 until 1931. He, along with then railroad president, John M Davis, and Thomas Alva Edison inaugurated the first electric trains on the Lackawannain 1930. Truesdale enjoyed a very brief retirement, passing away at the age of 84 on June 2^nd, 1935.