John
Mitchell's email regarding the naming of a
junction after I. G. Toland brings to mind another
subject, the naming of stations and sidings.
There were a number of posts a few months
ago about this subject. I have
always thought it was exemplary of the CB&Q to
honor some of it’s employees this way. In
the research that I have been doing, I have tried
to take note of names of employees that are
recognizable as possible sources for the names of
stations or sidings.
This is by no
means a complete history on Mr. Toland, but
timetables show him as a Train Dispatcher at
Galesburg in the early 40’s, Night Chief
Dispatcher at Galesburg in the mid to late 40’s,
Terminal Superintendent at Lincoln in the 50’s,
and of course Superintendent at Hannibal in the
60’s.
A few names
that I have run across just recently come to mind,
and are listed below. Admittedly,
there is some conjecture on my part, as it is
possible that the source of a new siding name is
from somewhere other than what I have listed.
This list is also incomplete, as I’m sure
many of you have names of other locations, or
information to the contrary of what I have shown
below.
A good place
to start looking for names is where CTC was
installed and new sidings or ends of double track
were created as a result. For
example, when CTC was installed between Flag
Center and Savanna, a new siding was built at
Carter (between Polo and Hazelhurst) that was
likely named after A. J. Carter, who was an
Assistant Superintendent at Aurora in the 20’s and
early 30’s. C. R. Graf was a Road
Foreman at North La Crosse, and could be a source
for the station on the passenger main nearby.
When CTC was installed between Hannibal and
Mark in 1957, a new siding went in at Falk, which
was likely named for J. P. Falk, who was at one
time an Assistant Superintendent at St. Joseph,
and eventually Superintendent on the Chicago
Division. The new siding at Card (between Monroe
City and Hunnewell) was added for the CTC between
Mark and Macon (also in 1957), and was likely
named for W. A. Card, who was a Superintendent at
Creston, Burlington and St. Joseph. At
Kansas City, the original Harlem interlocking at
the junction of the mains from Cameron and St.
Joseph was, in 1925, renamed Ustick after F. H.
Ustick. Sadler, a control siding
between Weston and Iatan on the line between
Kansas City and St. Joseph was likely named after
W. T. Sadler, who was a long time Superintendent
at St. Joseph. And French may have
been named after St. Joseph Chief Dispatcher F. E.
French. A little further north,
Starks could have been named after Assistant
Trainmaster C. Starks, from Albany, Missouri.
The new line
between Needles and Maxwell is an example of a
project that required a number of new names.
On this line, the only existing station
names used were at Forker, Sumner, Hale, and Tina.
A number of new sidings and junctions were
created that required names. Hamm
is located between Hale and Tina, and may have
been named for H. W. Hamm, who was Superintendent
at Centerville from about 1908 until 1927.
If true, this name is appropriate since
Hamm is located on the portion of the new line
that was actually former Centerville trackage that
was reconstructed. As a side note,
Superintendent Hamm was succeeded by none other
than H. C. Murphy.
Thiehoff could
be named for a number of CB&Q employees, the
most well known of which was probably W. F.
Thiehoff, General Manager in Chicago. But
there was Dispatcher at Ottumwa and a Trainmaster
at Brookfield with this name also, and probably
others. And the junction where the
CB&Q meets the Wabash, at Maxwell, was likely
named after H. W. Maxwell, who was Superintendent
Terminals at Kansas City for many years. I’m
still searching for sources of the names for
Cotter, Aalberg, and Persons, but it seems
reasonable that these were CB&Q employees
also.
Other names
that come to mind that could be a source for
station names are John Lass, Superintendent at
Galesburg, W. B. Throop, Superintendent at
Beardstown and Galesburg, and of course Charles
Perkins, CB&Q President for over 20 years in
the later part of the 19th century. And either C. J.
or L. B. Connett or both. In the
Southern Illinois coal fields, Meyer was named
after a CB&Q official.
On Lines West,
the station at Holdrege was named after Lines West
General Manager G. W. Holdrege, and Flynn (the
initial junction for the relocated Oberlin line)
was likely named for E. Flynn, who was a
Superintendent at Omaha.
I hope this
will spur further discussion about the source of
railroad names, because I think it is an important
part of CB&Q history.
Glen Haug
To:
CBQ@yahoogroups.com
From:
cbqrr47@yahoo.com
Date: Sun, 6 May 2012 15:12:31 -0700
Subject: Re: [CBQ] H&StJ at Hannibal (was re.
M.E.Hagen)
Mr. Toland was superintendent for several
years following the merger. A couple of
years after he retired (in about 1975),
the then new junction between the BN and
Penn Central north of Centralia was named
"Toland".