[PRCo] T. Fitzgerald

[Edward H. Lybarger]

I ran across an obituary over the weekend for Thomas Fitzgerald, VP and
General Manager of PRCo from the 1920s through 1950.  He died November 25,
1956 at age 79.  Some interesting quotes from the article:
 
"Mr. Fitzgerald was credited with many firsts in the transit industry,
including the method of trolley maintenance here that became a model for the
business.  The many safety and maintenance awards won by the company were
evidence of his leadership in those fields."
 
"Mr. Fitzgerald was also the company's best customer and sharpest critic.
He rode a trolley to work every day, paying his fare like everyone else.  He
often took surprise trips at odd hours on week ends and holidays to see that
cars were clean and that the conductors were courteous."
 
"A native of Baltimore, he began his career as an apprentice in the
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad shops there.  Then he became superintendent of
the Fairmont and Clarksburg Railroad Co. in West Virginia.  During World War
I, he commanded the 308th Ammunition Train in France.  After his discharge,
he was hired to study Pittsburgh transit firms in 1920.  Mr. Fitzgerald was
named general manager of Pittsburgh Railways Co. in 1924 and vice president
and general manager a year later."
 
"Since his 'retirement' in 1951, he was associated with the McKelvy Co.,
Downtown brokerage firm, and the H. M. Byersby [sic] Co., one-time holding
company of the Philadelphia Co."
 
 
Apart from the tiny errors, this report indicates that he was probably as
well-respected as anyone in the transit business in his time.
 
Ed