New Hand on the Throttle

Ralph Budd, the "president of railroad presidents," obeyed one of his own rules and announced last week that a new man would be running the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad on Sept. i. A Budd-made regulation requires executives of the fourth longest U.S. railroad system to retire when they reach 70.

A protege of Railroader James J. Hill, Budd ran the Burlington with the dash and vision of the old Great Northern empire builder. Taking over the depression-troubled "Q" in 1932, he put it on its feet by such business catchers as the first dieselized streamliner. And he made the "Q" famous as a training school for railroaders--including the Rock Island's John Farrington, Santa Fe's Fred Gurley, the Great Northern's Frank Gavin.

Budd also trained Harry C. Murphy, 57, to take over the "Q" presidency. The road should feel no jolt when the hand on the throttle changes next month; Murphy has served under Budd for 17 years, and has been vice president in charge of operations since 1945.

A mild-mannered plugger, Murphy has no hobbies except work, has built his entire reputation within the Burlington system. Before joining the Burlington in 1914, he strung telephone lines, later worked as a laborer, station helper and agent for the old Iowa Central Railroad. After a noncombat stint as an airplane pilot in World War I, he came back to the "Q" as a division engineer and toiled faithfully at assorted jobs, touching every rung on the ladder as he climbed. If hard work could keep the "Q" highballing, Harry Murphy was the man for the job.

Retiring Ralph Budd was much too full of beans to settle down yet. When he leaves the "Q," he will move into the chairmanship of the Chicago Transit Board at $35,000 a year.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.