Richard B. Hasselman, 1926-2021

Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-Chief
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Richard B. “Dick” Hasselman, former Senior Vice President-Operations, Conrail, died peacefully at Oceanside, Calif. on Dec. 5, 2021 at the age of 95.

Hasselman was born Nov. 28, 1926 in Jersey City, N.J. He later moved to New Haven, Conn. As a teen in New Haven, he became a member of the model railroad club where his lifelong passion for railroading and trolleys was spawned. His interest in trolleys was recognized by the Connecticut Company motormen while he was commuting to high school via trolley over the Lighthouse Point line. On occasion, friendly motormen would allow him to run their trolley. His love of trolleys continued with his support and annual visits to the Branford Electric Railway Association (BERA) museum in East Haven, Conn. 

After high school, Hasselman attended Yale University in the Naval ROTC program and graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1947. After graduation, he hired on with the New York Central Railroad in New York City, where he met his future wife, Mildred E. Schaber, whom he married in 1954. They celebrated 64 years together until she died in 2018. 

Hasselman’s first railroad job, in 1947, was with the NYC, in the Inspecting Engineer’s Office. There he worked on the Rail Detector Car and the Clearance Car and got to see how steel rails and other materials were made, installed, maintained and operated. Later, he had various jobs in what is now Marketing and Sales, but wanted to get into Operations. So, in 1952 he became a Freight Brakeman on the Hudson Division, switching cars in yards, loading carfloats and serving industries between New York City and Croton, and also working on through freights to Selkirk. When Hasselman got laid off during the slow seasons, he worked as a Towerman at nine locations between Albany and Fonda, N.Y., and as Freight Agent at Fultonville, N.Y. 

In 1954, Hasselman was appointed Transportation Inspector at Syracuse, N.Y., then Trainmaster at several locations. In 1957 he became Superintendent of the Boston & Albany Division, and in 1959 he advanced to Regional Superintendent Transportation at Cleveland. In 1961, he became General Superintendent Yards & Terminals for the NYC System. 

In 1963, Hasselman became General Manager of the Indiana Harbor Belt, then GM of the NYC at Detroit, Indianapolis and Cleveland. In 1967 he became Assistant Vice President Transportation for the NYC System. 

In 1968, when Penn Central was formed when the NYC merged with the Pennsylvania Railroad, Hasselman became Vice President Transportation. Before and during the Penn Central years, the railroad had operating problems due to the poor condition of its plant, outmoded government regulations and labor agreements. In 1970, these conditions led to the bankruptcy of seven northeastern railroads, and the ultimate formation of Conrail in 1976. 

Hasselman became Senior Vice President Operations at Conrail, where he remained for 13 years until his retirement in Philadelphia at the end of 1989. One of his proudest accomplishments was working with then Chairman Stanley Crane, and countless others, to bring Conrail out of bankruptcy and into profitability. Through their efforts, Conrail was able to simplify plant; rehabilitate and improve its necessary lines, facilities and equipment, and negotiate modern work rules with the cooperation of the unions. 

Hasselman in 1981. Conrail photo

Railway Age Capitol Hill Contributing Editor Frank N. Wilner, who interacted with Hasselman when an Assistant Terminal Manager at the New York Central’s North Bergen, N.J., intermodal yard during the late 1960s, and later became an Assistant Vice President at the Association of American Railroads, recalls: “His take-no-prisoners, sharply worded ‘Hasselgrams’ to subordinates are legend, as were his occasional slips of the tongue, such as declaring, when the industry was defending itself against allegations of market power abuse, ‘Competition is like fire in dry leaves. It has to be stamped out.’”

During most of his retirement years, Hasselman was a resident of Sanibel Island, Fla.,  and Martha’s Vineyard, Mass. Each February, he hosted an annual Conrail retirees’ reunion at Punta Gorda, Fla. He is survived by his sons, Richard (Wendy) and James (Amy), Grandchildren James and Kristin, and Great-grandchildren Brianna and Alessandro.

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