The Engineer in the Ascendant - Address delivered before the Members of the American Railway Engineers Association - March 11, 1925

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Quinn

A formal engineering address reflecting on the professional formation of railroad engineers and the evolution of mechanical accuracy, track alignment, and maintenance practices. The speaker explains how early exposure to technical work and survey tasks shaped his career path, then recalls historical challenges in impressing standards on roadway forces. Personal anecdotes describe recentering track, dealing with accuracy requirements, and taking over foreman duties on complex switchwork, linking these experiences to broader progress supported by the Association.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages14

Reading Time35 min

AccessFree to download

The Engineer in the Ascendant

Invitation and framing the subject

Early training and choosing engineering

Mechanical accuracy and roadway forces

Maintenance practices and department of maintenance of way

Re-centering track and early standards

Field experience with Norfolk & Western

97-84066-16Alfred,Frank H. The engineer in theascendant Chicago,IⅢ. # COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIESPRESERVATION DIVISIONBIBLIOGRAPHIC MICROFORM TARGET ORIGINAL MATERIAL AS FILMED-EXISTING BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD RESTRICTIONS ON USE: Reproductions may not be made without permisslon from Columbia UniversltyLibraries. # TECHNICAL MICROFORM DATA FILM SIZE: 35mmREDUCTION BATIO: 9:/ IB IIB IMAGE PLACEMENT:IA DATE FILMED: / 0/97INITIALS: c TRACKING\#: 23326 FILMED BY PRESERVATION RESOURCES,BETHLEHEM,PA. # BIBLIOGRAPHIC IRREGULARITIES MAIN ENTRY:Alfred,Frank H …… …………… … *…The engineerin the ascendan……… …… …-… … …* # Bibliographic Irregularities in the Original Document: List all volumes and pages affected;include name of institution if filming borrowed text Page(s)missing/not available:_ Volume(s)missing/not available:_ Illegible and/or damaged page(s):_ Page(s)or volume(s)misnumbered:_ Bound out of sequence:_ Page(s)or volume(s)filmed from copy borrowed from:_ Xunpaginated-[14]pages Other: Inserted material:_ # The Engineer inthe Ascendant Address delivered before the Membersof the American Railzvay EngineersAssociation,Congress Hotel,Chicago,Wednesday evening,March 11,1925. 208 18 FRANK H.ALFRED Presldemt amd Caneral MnrPere Marquette Railway,Detrolt,Mich. The Engineer inthe Ascendant Address delivered before the Membersof the American Railzuay EngineersAssociation,Congress Hotel,Chicago,Wednesday evening,March 11,1925. FRANK H.ALFRED President and General ManagerPere Marquette Rallway,Detrolt,Mich Dec3,197s2r 成cBuncou g Talwoy imou828、25 # THE ENGINEER IN THEASCENDANT WHEN the good President of our Association wiredme,extending an invitation to address the mem-bers of the Association tonight,I was so delighted thatI was tempted to wire my acceptance at once.I heldthe telegram overnight,however,and on the followingmorning my enthusiasm commenced to wane.Then,it was,I hastened to accept before I lost courage alto-gether.At this particular moment I wish I had. I have chosen for my subject,"The Engineer in theAscendant.”Should too frequent use of the personalpronoun be made,I beg of you not to accuse me ofegotism.I have heard egotism defined as being nature'sanesthetic to relieve the pain of inferiority. By tradition I should have been a lawyer,and had Ibeen a well-behaved youth while in high school,Iprobably would have been a lawyer.In my senior year,about a month before graduation,I was excused fromappearance at the school by the Principal.This recessoccurred just when sewers were being built in the smalltown in which I lived,and it was my delight to assistthe none-too-thorough surveyor in running lines andgiving levels in the work.It might be mentioned thatI was permitted to return to school,and was graduatedwith my class.That taste,however,ofthe rudiments oftechnical work was the sealing of my fate. Many of the older engineers will recall the difficultyexperienced as young men in impressing the necessity ofmechanical accuracy upon the roadway forces of theearlier days.Many of us found it to our advantage towear some kind of hirsute adornment to camouflageyouth,in order to cultivate the confidence of the fore-men,who were usually much older.Now we wearsmooth faces to camouflage our age. A very large mileage of railroad was constructedimmediately following the Civil War and extendinginto the early eighties.Engineering Departments forhandling maintenance work were practicall

FAQs

What prompted the speaker to accept the invitation to address the Association?

He received a telegram invitation to address the members and was initially delighted, accepted, then reconsidered until he accepted before losing courage entirely.

What does the speaker say about early engineering training and career choice?

He recalls being excused from school appearance due to local sewer construction and helping with surveying tasks, which introduced technical work and influenced his fate.

Why was a Maintenance of Way department introduced according to the address?

After the Civil War and into the early eighties, engineering departments for maintenance were practically unknown, upkeep relied on untrained personnel, and track centers and elevation stakes were so disregarded that maintenance oversight became necessary.

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Quinn