>From Railspot.
Terry
In a message dated 2/20/2004 7:36:56 PM Central Standard Time,
jimbarlow@worldlogon.com writes:
> ...Then today I realized that
> BNSF's hq address is 2650 Lou Menk Dr. in Ft. Worth. Mr. Menk was prez
> of BN wasn't he? Does anyone know his complete rail "pedigree"?
>
> Know of any other streets that carry the names of rail _personalities_
> (real or fictitious)?
Jimmy,
"Lou Menk" and "pedigrees"?! You shouldn't give me straight lines like
that! The temptation's mighty hard to withstand!
So, enough about dog metaphors...
Lou Menk didn't get his "Fink" nickname for nothing! The man HATED
passenger trains. He loathed them so much that he was willing to do
ANYTHING within his power to destroy them! Profoundly enough, he
was given a seat on the original Amtrak Board of Directors (until
1974...or [to look at it another way] until it became obvious that Amtrak
was NOT going to live down to his original timetable, which called for it
to be dead and gone within three years).
Look back at his Presidential tenures with various roads and compare
those dates to the period in which their passenger services were
decimated. It ain't coincidental!
His primary claim to fame was being one of the original Kings of
Merger-mania. He was given a great deal of credit for the success of
the Burlington Northern marriage. What he actually did to aid the
combination of four historically associated lines and their existing
subsidiaries is subject to debate. The addition one decade later of the
Frisco wasn't surprising either, considering his background.
Speaking of his background:
He followed in his father's footsteps and began working for our industry
as a teenager, shortly out of High School. His first job was with the UP
as a Messenger Boy. To his credit, he learned telegraphy in his spare
time while under their employ, eventually becoming qualified as an
Operator before leaving Uncle Pete for the Frisco (not too long before
the
beginning of World War II).
He worked for the SL-SF a quarter of a century, eventually being named
President and Chairman in 1962. Yes, that's right...he honestly worked
his way up from the bottom - and, to give the Devil his due, a man just
doesn't go from Telegrapher to President in one score years with nothin'
on the ball! [N.B. His story was a real rags-to-riches tale - so much
so
that one of the honours he received later in life was the famed
Horatio Alger award.]
At the time he was named President of the Frisco, he was the youngest
ever to hold such a position (although that distinction was short-lived,
since Ben Heineman took over the C&NW shortly thereafter).
He definitely helped to recreate the role of Railroad President for the
1960s through 1980s era: that of a bean counter, who was always in
search of the elusive Holy Grail - in the railroad's case, a panacea for
all that ails 'em. It might be called the "If Only We Could Get Rid Of
It"
Blues. If only we weren't saddled with those bad ol' passenger trains
anymore. If only we didn't have so many branch lines. If only we could
eliminate the Fireman's position. If only, if only, if only...
It can be argued, perhaps even successfully, that such an approach was
required in the generation prior to deregulation. The main problem today
is that his type of leader has now become a discredited model, yet we
haven't really seen a new presidential archetype come forth. Every time
I hear a road publicly state (for example) that they wish to trim their
route mileage by a certain fixed percentage every year in order to
reduce costs (thereby increasing profits), then turn right around and
complain of insufficient capacity, I consider his legacy.
He penned a semi-autobiographical tome called "A Railroad Man Looks
at America" after his retirement. I'm afraid I've never seen a single
copy,
but the book ostensibly reviews his beliefs concerning railroad
operations
and the free enterprise system (among other things).
At any rate, I digress. During the mid-60s, he was asked by the
Burlington Route's owners (GN and NP) to come over and run the Q.
After doing unforgettable things to the Zephyr fleet, he took the NP's
helm. He sat on the NP/GN managerial merger committee from day
one. Once the "Great Northern Pacific and Burlington Lines"
combination was consummated, he was given the title of President and
C.O.O. of the fledgeling BN. The Great Northern's John Budd became
the new company's Chairman / C.E.O. and, once he retired on the day
of Amtrak's birth, Lou Menk took his position, too.
He finally retired to his ranch in Montana about a year after BN's
takeover of the Frisco.
I trust there were some who mourned his death - at least his family
(and perhaps some of the charities to which he was characteristically
generous, including the Boy Scouts of America); yet, I know there
were also many others - including your's truly - who considered
Mr. Menk just one step above Ol' Scratch, himself...and who
understood that the man's demise didn't somehow endow him with
any new virtues.
To put it bluntly, my official "Wall of Shame" in my home office has had
several inductees over the years; but the original image was that of a
certain Louis Wilson Menk - "The Fink," the man with the bloody hands.
Garl
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