\"Penn Central\" Stuart T. Saunders Hand Signed 3X5 Card For Sale

Up for sale "Penn Central" Stuart T. Saunders Hand Signed 3X5 Card. This offering includea a vintage black & white photo of Mr. Saunders. 

ES-4227

Stuart Thomas Saunders, Sr. (July

16, 1909 – February 7, 1987) was an American railroad executive best known for his tenure

with Penn Central.

Saunders was born in McDowell, West Virginia,

and reared near Bedford, Virginia. He

graduated from Roanoke College in

1930 and from Harvard Law School in

1934. He served as chairman of Roanoke's board of trustees, was a trustee

of Hollins University, and

was a charter trustee of the Virginia Foundation of Independent Colleges, a

fundraising entity representing Virginia's private colleges and universities. Saunders,

a lawyer by trade, also served as president of the Virginia

State Bar from 1951 to 1952. Saunders served as president of the Norfolk & Western Railway (N&W),

one of the nation's most profitable railroads, from 1958 to 1963. During his

tenure, the company merged with the Virginian Railway and began negotiations to merge with

the Nickel Plate, Wabash Railroad and portions of the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR)

(the mergers were completed in 1964 after Saunders departed). Saunders also

oversaw construction of a high-speed coal pier in Norfolk, Virginia that expanded the N&W's core

activity (transporting coal from West Virginia to Hampton Roads for follow-on worldwide shipment) and he

initiated conversion from steam locomotives to diesels ending the company's

distinction as the nation's last steam railroad. Saunders became CEO of PRR in

1963. It was during his term that the iconic York City was razed to make way for an underground

Penn Station, topped with two office buildings and Madison Square Garden. The

outcry over the destruction of the ornate structure instigated the landmarks

preservation movement. Saunders also orchestrated PRR's merger with the New York Central Railroad to

create Penn Central (PC),

serving as that railroad's chairman and CEO. Financial difficulties forced the

company into bankruptcy in 1970. Saunders was ousted during restructuring and

retired. Of the failed merger, Saunders commented "Because of the many

years it took to consummate the merger, the morale of both railroads was badly

disrupted and they were faced with unmanageable problems which were

insurmountable. In addition to overcoming obstacles, the principal problem was

too much governmental regulation and a passenger deficit which amounted to more

than $100 million a on the January 26, 1968 cover of Time, and was the Saturday Review Businessman

of the Year in 1968. Saunders died of heart failure in Richmond, Virginia on

February 7, 1987. He was 77 years old.