Benjamin W. Heineman (February 10, 1914 – August 5, 2012) was an attorney and American

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

executive. Heineman first attended the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

(1930-1933), and later attended Northwestern's school of law. He first gained attention in the railroad industry in 1954, when he orchestrated a successful proxy battle for control of the

Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway The Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway (M&StL) was an American Railroad classes#Class I, Class I railroad that built and operated lines radiating south and west from Minneapolis, Minnesota for 90 years from 1870 to 1960. The railway never reached ...

. He became president of the

Chicago and North Western Railway The Chicago and North Western was a Railroad classes#Class I, Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of t ...

(CNW) in 1956, leading the railroad through a series of difficult cost-cutting measures that returned the railroad to solvency. One of the measures he instituted was to sell shares in the railroad to the railroad's own employees, prompting the "Employee Owned" inscription in the railroad's logo. This process was consummated in 1972, at which time Larry Provo succeeded Heineman as president of the company. Heineman remained in charge of the holding company Northwest Industries (owner of

Fruit of the Loom Fruit of the Loom is an American company that manufactures clothing, particularly casual wear and undergarment, underwear. The company's world headquarters are located in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Since 2002, it has been a wholly owned subsidiary ...

Acme Boots Acme Boots was the name of a company that produced boots. It eventually just became a brand name, and was last owned by H.H. Brown, until it was placed under their Double-H Boots brand label. Etymology Acme (ακμή; English transliteration: ...

, and

Velsicol Chemical Corporation Velsicol Chemical Corporation is an American chemical company based in Rosemont, Illinois, that specializes in reaction intermediate#Chemical processing industry, chemical intermediates for applications such as agrochemicals. It was founded in 1 ...

) until 1985. He was elected to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

in 2011. Heineman is noted in the history of

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, for replacing all the

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...

s which brought passenger trains into North Western Station with

diesel locomotive A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover (locomotive), power source is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is con ...

s, in one day in 1956, in response to a complaint by Mayor

Richard J. Daley Richard Joseph Daley (May 15, 1902 – December 20, 1976) was an American politician who served as the mayor of Chicago from 1955, and the chairman of the Cook County Democratic Party from 1953, until his death. He has been called "the last of ...

about smoke and fumes emanating from the station. Heineman also replaced the North Western's entire passenger

rolling stock The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, Railroad car#Freight cars, freight and Passenger railroad car, passenger cars (or coaches) ...

used for commuter services with double deck "commuter streamliners". Heineman served in various governmental roles in World War Two and was active in politics, working as a speechwriter for

Adlai Stevenson Adlai Stevenson may refer to: * Adlai Stevenson I Adlai Ewing Stevenson (October 23, 1835 – June 14, 1914) was an American politician and diplomat who served as the 23rd vice president of the United States from 1893 to 1897 under President Gr ...

in 1952, Chairman of the White House Conference on Civil Rights during the administration of

Lyndon Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after assassination of John F. Kennedy, the assassination of John F. Ken ...

and Chairman of the

Illinois Board of Higher Education The Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE) is a state government agency that oversees higher education in the U.S. state of Illinois. The IBHE was created in 1961. Since 2012 the IBHE also permits and oversees business schools and other voca ...

. Heineman turned down several offers from President Johnson to serve in high-ranking positions including Budget Director and UN Ambassador, but remained an informal advisor.

References

* Chicago and North Western Historical Society,
Chicago & North Western - A Capsule History
''. Retrieved March 15, 2005. * 1914 births 2012 deaths 20th-century American railroad executives Chicago and North Western Railway University of Michigan alumni Members of the American Philosophical Society {{US-rail-bio-stub