W. Graham Claytor, Jr., became an officer of the Southern Railway in 1963, serving as president from 1967-1977. The Southern Railway cele- brated its 75th anniversary by bringing three steam passenger trains to Anniston, Ala., on November 2, 1969. From the business car, President Claytor addressed the gathering. Seated at left is Alan Pegler, owner of the British 4-6-2 Flying Scotsman, one of the participating locomotives.
ness car Claytor Lake. In we tramped, sweaty and dirty after chasing the dou- ble-header all day, with yard grime on our boots. In the midst of the meal, Graham Claytor came down the corri- dor to the dining lounge. Photographer Victor Hand was the first to see him and said: “Hi, Graham. Won’t you join us?” Looking over the motley crew in his splendid car, he replied, “Seein’ that it’s my car, I believe I will join you.” And he did, genuinely seeking our opin- ions on how the trip had been run and concerned that the engines had smoked enough for our cameras.
Between the Claytor personality and the steam trips, morale among the Southern’s work force seemed to im- prove markedly. One station agent, waiting to hand orders up to the crew of a train pulled by green-liveried Consol- idation No. 722 in South Carolina, re- marked on the respect and admiration that he and his co-workers felt towards their president. Legends grow around leaders like Claytor and one unverified
story tells how he left his air-condi- tioned business car on a stifling Caroli- na summer day, with a huge pitcher of ice tea for a sweltering track crew. When Claytor was appointed Secre- tary of the Navy by President Carter in 1977, the big expectation in the railfan community was that all future war- ships would be painted apple green with gold trim and would be coal-fired! Although Claytor was a prominent De- mocrat,
President Reagan exercised good judgment in putting him in charge of Amtrak in 1982, only to have David Stockman convince the President to cut funding
for the national passenger
train system. Claytor realized that each year, he would have to convince Congress to provide the subsidies, over administration objections, while he worked to reduce the need for the sub- sidies. He succeeded admirably on both fronts, having drastically improved the income-versus-expenditure ratio dur- ing his 13 years of leadership. I had the fortune to make several ex-
Visit the author’s web site at
www.ronzielsteam.com
tended visits to Claytor in his Amtrak office and he was perpetually upbeat about the future. After his younger brother Robert retired as Norfolk Southern chairman, I asked him what he was doing now. “Fishing,” was the reply. I asked when he would retire. He motioned me to the window and its view of Capitol Hill, then answered in a serious tone, “When the battle up there is won, or they carry me out of here feet first, whichever comes first.” W. Graham Claytor, Jr., led Amtrak to
much closer thought
solvency than was
possible and in weakened health, he reluctantly resigned at age 82, a few months before his death in May 1994. The man who served his country and the railroad industry so well has left lofty goals for his succes- sors. Unfortunately, men of his genera- tion, who matured in the Depression, defeated the Axis in World War II and won the Cold War, are not easily re- placed... That applies all the more to men of the calibre of Claytor.
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