Superintendent, Hudson River Railroad
Centurion, 1883–1898
Born 31 July 1828 in Newtown, Connecticut
Died 23 September 1898 in Garrison, New York
Buried Saint Philip’s Church Cemetery
, Garrison, New York
Proposed by Not recorded
Elected 3 November 1883 at age fifty-five
Archivist’s Note: Father of Donald B. Toucey
Proposer of:
Seconder of:
Century Memorial
It has often been said that the brains and ability of the United States are more conspicuously displayed in the management of its great railway systems than in its statesmanship or the conduct of its government. The various problems that are developed in the immense growth of transportation lines, that arise out of competition, hostile legislation, changes of methods and equipment, and the discipline and the training of the vast army of employes, to say nothing of the work of handling the daily business of the roads, require intelligence and tact of the highest order, loyalty and integrity unquestioned, and the skill that comes only from training and experience, necessities which make great railroads the best object lesson for civil service methods in this country. These qualities were conspicuously displayed in John M. Toucey, who began life as a station agent on a little road in Connecticut, and after a railway service of over fifty years ended as general manager of the New York Central system, having been in the service of the company in various capacities for over forty years of increasing power and responsibility.
He was regarded as one of the best railroad operators in the country, capable of moving traffic and passengers with great expeditiousness on time, with a remarkably small percentage of accidents, with a maximum of good to his company at a minimum cost. His relations with the thousands of railway engineers whom he employed were always of the most cordial character; he was known to be the friend of the “Man in the Cab,” who represents the highest degree of service in the country, for he never permitted an injustice to be done to any man who drove a locomotive or fired it, and he was recompensed with a loyalty which, in time of danger and disturbance in great railway strikes, was abundantly shown by those whose confidence he had won.
He was a gentle, quiet man, who always displayed the qualities of a gentleman; implicitly trusted by those whose interests he served, and respected and worthy of the love and respect in which he was held.
Henry E. Howland
1899 Century Association Yearbook
