Marshall Monroe Kirkman (July 10, 1842 – April 17, 1921) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

authority on

railway 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 ...

s, who wrote extensively on the subject of railways.

Life and work

Born on the prairies in

Morgan County, Illinois Morgan County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 32,915. Its county seat is Jacksonville, Illinois, Jacksonville. Morgan Co ...

, Kirkman was raised far from any town or school and received private education and some years of common school. In 1856 at the age of fourteen he left home to seek his fortune. He made his way on foot to

Fulton, Illinois Fulton is a city in Whiteside County, Illinois, United States. The population was 3,481 at the 2010 census, down from 3,881 in 2000. Fulton is located across the Mississippi River from Clinton, Iowa. History A post office called Fulton has been ...

, where 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 ...

had just been completed."Marshall Monroe Kirkman : Obituary" in: Association of American Railroads. Accounting Division (1921). ''Auditor Report of the Railway Accounting Officers.'' Vol. 37, p. 480 Kirkman entered the service of the Chicago and North Western Railway, where he got his first job as telegraph messenger. He soon learned telegraphy and was given charge of the office at

DeKalb, Illinois DeKalb ( ) is a city in DeKalb County, Illinois, United States. The population was 40,290 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city is named after decorated Franconian-French war hero Johann de Kalb, who died during the Ameri ...

, from which position he was transferred to the Train Dispatcher's office at

Chicago 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 ...

, then located in the old Indiana Street Depot. In 1861 he was appointed Auditor Freight Accounts, and in 1865, Assistant General Accountant. Two years later, he was appointed General Accountant, and in 1870 was also made Local Treasurer. From June 30, 1881, to November 1, 1889, he was Comptroller. As controller he was head of the Auditing Department of the

, supervising the Auditing departments of the Union Pacific, the Chicago and North Western, the Chicago, St. Paul and Minneapolis, and the Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley railways. In 1889 Kirkman was elected vice president, which position he filled until 1910, when he retired on a pension after 53 years of service at the Chicago and North Western Railway. In 1881 he became resident of

Evanston, Illinois Evanston is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, situated on the North Shore (Chicago), North Shore along Lake Michigan. A suburb of Chicago, Evanston is north of Chicago Loop, downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skok ...

. Kirkman wrote extensively on the subject of railways. He wrote a twelve volume treatise, ''The Science of Railways'' (1894), which was later revised and republished in 17 volumes, and 3 portfolios (1909, et. seq.). Kirman was also founding father of the Accounting Division of the

Association of American Railroads The Association of American Railroads (AAR) is an industry trade group representing primarily the major freight Rail transport, railroads of North America (Canada, Mexico and the United States). Amtrak and some regional Commuter rail in North Am ...

Selected publications

*
The Baggage, Parcel and Mail Traffic of Railroads
', 1881. *
The Handling of Railway Supplies: Their Purchase & Disposition
'' 1887. *
Railway Rates and Government Control: Economic Questions Surrounding These Subjects
', 1892. *
Origin and Evolution of Transportation; Or, The Genesis of Railway Carriage
', 1898. * ''The Science of Railways'', Editions 1903–04 ''The Science of Railways'', Revised and enlarged edition, 1912/13/14 * Vol. 1.
Shop and Shop practice
', 1912. * Vol. 1,
The Locomotive
', 1914 * Vol. 2,
Engineers and Firemen handbook
', 1913. * Vol. 3,
Locomotive appliances
', 1914. * Vol. 7.
Operating Trains
', 1915. * Vol 19, ''Air Brake Portfolio'' ;
Third supplement : The Westinghouse 'LN' equipment
', 1912. * Suppl.
The Baker Valve Gear
', 1914. * Suppl.
Locomotive Appliances
', 1915. * Suppl.
Electricity Applied to Railways
', 1915. ** Vol. 1,
Railway equipment
', 1903. ** Vol. 2,
Railway Organization
', 1904. ** Vol. 3,
Financing, Constructing, & Maintaining
', 1904. ** Vol. 4,
Train Service: ... Men & Equipment; Organization
', 1904. ** Vol. 5,
Passenger, Baggage, Express & Mail Service
', 1904. ** Vol. 6,
Freight Business & Affairs
', 1904. ** Vol. 7,
Disturbances of railroads
', 1903.
1904
** Vol. 8,
Economic Theory of Rates, Private versus Government Control of Railroads
', 1903.
1904
** Vol. 9,
Fiscal Affairs - Collection of Revenue
', 1904. ** Vol 10,
General Fiscal and Other Affairs
', 1903. ** Vol. 11,
Origin and Evolution of Transportation
', 1904 (first ed. 1898). ** Vol. 12,
Engineers and Firemen's manual
', 1903. ** Supplements: ***
Building and Repairing Railways
', 1901 ***
Westinghouse Air Brakes
', Vol. 15, 1904. ***
How Oil is Used for Fuel on Locomotives
', Vol. 16, 1902. ***
Supervision of cars
', Vol. 19, 1904. ***
Telegraph and Telephone
', Vol. 20, 1904. ;Other works *
The Romance of Gilbert Holmes
' (1900) * ''Iskander'' (1903) * ''The Alexandrian Novels'' (three volumes, 1909) *
History of Alexander the Great
' (1913) *
The King: A Romance of the Camp and Court of Alexander the Great : the Story
', (1913)

References

;Attributions This article incorporates

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material from "Marshall Monroe Kirkman : Obituary" in: ''Auditor Report of the Railway Accounting Officers'', Association of American Railroads. Accounting Division (1921). Vol. 37, p. 480

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kirkman, Marshall Monroe 1842 births 1921 deaths 19th-century American railroad executives American non-fiction writers 19th-century American historians 19th-century American male writers People from Morgan County, Illinois People from Evanston, Illinois Historians from Illinois American male non-fiction writers