# William Barstow Strong

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American businessman (1837–1914)

William Barstow Strong Born (1837-05-16)May 16, 1837 Brownington, Vermont, U.S. Died August 3, 1914(1914-08-03) (aged 77) Los Angeles, California, U.S. Spouse Abbie J. Moore

**William Barstow Strong** (May 16, 1837 – August 3, 1914) served as president of the [Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway](/source/Atchison%2C_Topeka_and_Santa_Fe_Railway) from 1881 to 1889.[1][2][3] He is often referred to as either **William B. Strong** or **W. B. Strong**.

## Life and career

He was born in [Brownington, Vermont](/source/Brownington%2C_Vermont) on May 16, 1837.[2][4] Strong graduated from [Bell's Business College](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bell%27s_Business_College&action=edit&redlink=1) in [Chicago](/source/Chicago), [Illinois](/source/Illinois), in 1855, and soon launched his career in railroading. His first railroad job was as a station agent for the [Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad](/source/Milwaukee_and_St._Paul_Railroad),[5] a position that was introduced to him by his older brother [James](/source/James_Strong_(college_president)).

He married Abbie J. Moore, October 2, 1859, in [Beloit, Wisconsin](/source/Beloit%2C_Wisconsin). They had three children, a girl and two boys.[6]

He worked his way through several railroad jobs successively for the [Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway](/source/Chicago%2C_Milwaukee_and_St._Paul_Railway), [McGregor Western Railway](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=McGregor_Western_Railway&action=edit&redlink=1), [Chicago and North Western Railway](/source/Chicago_and_North_Western_Railway), [Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad](/source/Chicago%2C_Burlington_and_Quincy_Railroad) (CB&Q), and as superintendent of the [Michigan Central Railroad](/source/Michigan_Central_Railroad) in the 1870s. In this position, Strong was succeeded by [Henry Brockholst Ledyard Jr.](/source/Henry_Brockholst_Ledyard_Jr.) in 1876.[7] He returned to the CB&Q after working on the Michigan Central and then joined the management team of the Santa Fe as General Manager, and was promoted to Vice President within a month.[2]

On July 12, 1881, he succeeded [T. Jefferson Coolidge](/source/T._Jefferson_Coolidge) as president of the [Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway](/source/Atchison%2C_Topeka_and_Santa_Fe_Railway) (ATSF).[2] Under his tenure, the ATSF expanded to about 7,000 miles (11,265 km) of [right-of-way](/source/Right-of-way_(railroad)), which at the time made the ATSF the largest railroad in [North America](/source/North_America).[5] He held the presidency until his retirement in 1889.[2]

The city of [Barstow, California](/source/Barstow%2C_California), where the ATSF maintained extensive shop and equipment construction and repair facilities, the town of [Strong City, Kansas](/source/Strong_City%2C_Kansas), and [Stronghurst, Illinois](/source/Stronghurst%2C_Illinois) are named in his honor.[8][9]

William B. Strong's work with the [Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway](/source/Atchison%2C_Topeka_and_Santa_Fe_Railway) is extensively chronicled in the book [From the River to the Sea](http://johnsedgwick.biz/from-the-river-to-the-sea.html) by [John Sedgwick](http://johnsedgwick.biz/index.html).

## Other uses of the name *William Barstow Strong*

*William Barstow Strong* was the name of an [observation car](/source/Observation_car) owned by the ATSF and operated in business trains in the latter part of the 20th century.[10]

*William B. Strong* was included in a list of names that traveled aboard [NASA](/source/NASA)'s [Stardust](/source/Stardust_(spacecraft)) spacecraft which visited the [comet Wild 2](/source/Comet_Wild_2) in 2004.[11]

An observation car on the Royal Gorge Scenic Railway in Colorado is named *William B. Strong*.[12]

## See also

- [List of railroad executives](/source/List_of_railroad_executives)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** [White, John H. Jr.](/source/John_H._White_Jr.) (Spring 1986). "America's Most Noteworthy Railroaders". *[Railroad History](/source/Railroad_History)*. **154**: 9–15. [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0090-7847](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0090-7847). [JSTOR](/source/JSTOR_(identifier)) [43523785](https://www.jstor.org/stable/43523785). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [1785797](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/1785797).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Waters_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Waters_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Waters_2-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-Waters_2-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-Waters_2-4) Waters, Laurence Leslie (1950). *Steel Trails to Santa Fe*. Lawrence, Kansas: University of Kansas Press. p. 54.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** [The Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway and Auxiliary Companies - Annual Meetings, and Directors and Officers; January 1, 1902](https://books.google.com/books?id=ukMKAAAAIAAJ&pg=RA1-PA6)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Infoplease.com"](http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0772575.html). *William Barstow Strong*. Retrieved 2007-01-10.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Pearson_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Pearson_5-1) Pearson Education (2005). ["William Barstow Strong"](http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0772575.html). Retrieved 2005-06-02.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["Rootsweb - WI Rock-L Archives"](https://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/read/WIROCK/2002-08/1028934319). *William Barstow Strong*. Retrieved 2007-01-10.{{[cite web](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_web)}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_deprecated_archival_service))

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Burton, Clarence M. & Burton, M. Agnes (1930). [*History of Wayne County and the City of Detroit, Michigan, Vol III;*](https://web.archive.org/web/20050315092731/http://www.michiganrailroads.com/RRHX/Stories/HenryBrockholstLedyardBiography.htm). The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company. Archived from [the original](http://www.michiganrailroads.com/RRHX/Stories/HenryBrockholstLedyardBiography.htm) on 2005-03-15. Retrieved 2005-06-02.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** ["Barstow, California - Crossroads of opportunity"](https://web.archive.org/web/20050525102618/http://www.legendsofamerica.com/CA-Barstow.html). *Legends of America.com*. 2005. Archived from [the original](http://www.legendsofamerica.com/CA-Barstow.html) on 2005-05-25. Retrieved 2005-06-02.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["Strong City, Kansas"](http://www.lasr.net/pages/city.php?City_ID=KS0102028). Retrieved 2005-06-02.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** ["ATSF #89, William Barstow Strong"](http://www.qstation.org/ATSF_89/). 2003. Retrieved 2007-01-11.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** NASA (July 16, 2001). ["Stardust Project - Microchip Names (S)"](https://stardust.jpl.nasa.gov/overview/microchip/names2s38.html). Retrieved 2005-06-02.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** ["Heath Gay"](https://www.facebook.com/groups/OAIPColorado/permalink/1412707958880642/). *www.facebook.com*. Retrieved 2019-11-19.

## External links

- [ATSF #89 - William Barstow Strong](http://www.qstation.org/ATSF_89/) — photos and technical details of the observation car named in Strong's honor.

Preceded by Superintendent of the Michigan Central Railroad –1876 Succeeded by Henry Brockholst Ledyard Preceded by T. Jefferson Coolidge President of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway 1881–1889 Succeeded by Allen Manvel

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [William Barstow Strong](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Barstow_Strong) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Barstow_Strong?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.