National Railroad Hall of Fame Spotlights Tellier, Receives Grant
Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-Chief
National Railroad Hall of Fame Rail Industry Advisory Group Chair Brooks Bentz (left with Paul Tellier. NRHOF photo.
Paul Tellier, who as head of Canadian National led the railway’s privatization, transforming it from a Crown Corporation to now one of six North American publicly traded Class I carriers,* was recently added to the National Railroad Hall of Fame “Spirit of the Railroaders” oral history archive. The organization also received a grant from the State of Illinois to establish a visitor center in Galesburg, Ill.
“When Paul Tellier was appointed President and CEO of Canadian National Railway in 1992, the Crown Corporation was badly under-performing and had become a burden on taxpayers,” the National Railroad Hall of Fame noted. “CN’s poor reputation earned it an array of unflattering descriptors, ‘a pig with lipstick,’ ‘an investment disaster waiting to happen,’ and ‘a sad-sack national rail outfit that has had more fresh starts than Elizabeth Taylor has had husbands.’
Tellier, 85, who Railway Age named 1997 Railroader of the Year, “led the railroad through the painful process of downsizing and financial restructuring, paving the way to privatization,” said Hall of Fame Rail Industry Advisory Group (RIAG) member Henry Posner III. “He faced almost universal skepticism and a raft of naysayers, but he and his team pulled off one of the most compelling, dramatic—and ultimately wildly successful—stories in IPO history.”
Tellier’s firsthand account of CN’s turnaround was captured in a Hall of Fame oral history interview conducted by RIAG Chair Brooks Bentz at CN headquarters in Montreal in early February. The video is available on the Hall of Fame website. “We have now interviewed 15 industry leaders, and they never fail to disappoint,” said Bentz. “Learning how these visionary, influential people turned challenges into accomplishments is always inspiring.”
The Spirit of the Railroaders oral history archive “preserves firsthand stories of railroaders whose life’s work shaped the American railroad landscape,” the organization noted. “Interview candidates are chosen based on criteria established by the RIAG. Interview research, video production and travel are made possible by generous private donations.”
Capital Grant
The National Railroad Hall of Fame has also been selected to receive a $478,414 Tourism & Festivals capital grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to fund remaining design and engineering steps, as well as site preparation and foundation construction, of its planned visitor center in downtown Galesburg, Ill.
Located in Galesburg’s downtown cultural district adjacent to the Amtrak depot, the Hall of Fame campus “will be convenient to an array of existing attractions, historic sites, unique restaurants and boutique shops,” the organization said. “The visitor attraction will engage and inspire visitors of all ages through a combination of state-of-the-art, interactive exhibits and live, main line triple-track freight and passenger service right outside the viewing window (below). The community boasts one of the nation’s largest classification yards, and with scores of freights and eight passenger trains a day, the town is a trainspotters’ paradise.”
“By helping create a physical home for the Hall of Fame, this generous grant funding will expand our ability to celebrate the stories of the people of American railroading and educate the public on the importance of railroads to daily life,” said Executive Director Julie King.
*BNSF is part of Berkshire Hathaway’s stock portfolio and is not independently traded.
