I have heard various insulting things about Walter Rich over the years. But he did rehab the NYSW and run heavy freight trains on it. As a side benefit, he ran some nice excursion trains.
Many railroad barons were ethically and morally challenged but they organized successful, useful railroads. Do I need to mention Commodore Vanderbilt, who bought defective rifles and re-sold them at a large profit to the Union army. (The defects tended to blow the thumbs off soldiers who used them.) Need I cite Tom Scott of the Pennsy, who bribed legislators in wholesale lots? The Pennsy directors in the mid and late 19th century also engaged in insider deals, such as starting a steel that they personally owned and making sure the railroad bought all its output, which would result in jail time today.
The point is, we generally look at railroad entrepreneurs in terms of what they accomplished in the railroad business, rather than looking at their personal character flaws. Walter Rich accomplished a lot in the railroad business, resurrecting moribund railroads. End of story.
Many railroad barons were ethically and morally challenged but they organized successful, useful railroads. Do I need to mention Commodore Vanderbilt, who bought defective rifles and re-sold them at a large profit to the Union army. (The defects tended to blow the thumbs off soldiers who used them.) Need I cite Tom Scott of the Pennsy, who bribed legislators in wholesale lots? The Pennsy directors in the mid and late 19th century also engaged in insider deals, such as starting a steel that they personally owned and making sure the railroad bought all its output, which would result in jail time today.
The point is, we generally look at railroad entrepreneurs in terms of what they accomplished in the railroad business, rather than looking at their personal character flaws. Walter Rich accomplished a lot in the railroad business, resurrecting moribund railroads. End of story.
