Johnson County KS Archives Biographies.....Riley, Thomas 1869 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ks/ksfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 October 22, 2008, 12:25 am Author: Ed Blair (1915) Thomas Riley, manager of the Strang Line, Overland Park, is a native of Missouri. He was born November 30, 1869, and is a son of Thomas M. and Margaret (Narey) Riley. The father was a native of Ireland and after coming to America followed river navagation in an early day on the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. He died in the early seventies and his wife, now aged seventy-nine, resides at Marietta, Ohio. To Thomas M. and Margaret (Narey) Riley were born three children: Thomas, the subject of this sketch; William F., a passenger conductor on the old Marietta, Columbus & Cleveland railroad, having held that position for twenty-six years, and John H., who has been a locomotive engineer on that railroad for eighteen years, and is now running a passenger train. Thomas Riley has been engaged in railroad work all his life, and positions of responsibility in that line of work are nothing new to him. In 1884, when he was only sixteen years old, he began with a construction gang on the Marietta & Mineral railroad, and four years later he became foreman of construction work. From the Marietta & Mineral railroad he accepted a position with the Ohio River road, from Wheeling to Huntington, W. Va., and had charge of track laying and ballasting there for two years. He was then foreman on bridge and construction work for the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company on the Columbus & Midland for two years. He then went with the A. S. Kerr Construction Company, of Middleport, Ohio, for three years, as superintendent of bridge and trestle construction. During that time he constructed the bridges and trestles on the Ohio Central, and did work on the Cleveland, Lorain & Wheeling, and also superintended the construction of a dock at Conneaut, Ohio. He then entered the train service on the M. C. & C. railroad, and after being promoted to locomotive engineer, worked in that capacity about one year, when he accepted a position as conductor on the same road. A year later he was appointed general roadmaster and superintendent of bridges on that road, and after one year's service in that capacity resigned and engaged in the oil business at Marietta, Ohio. He was thus engaged about two years, when in 1900 he entered the employ of W. B. Strang as general superintendent of construction. At that time Mr. Strang was building the Detroit & Toledo Shore Line, a double track road. Four years later Mr. Riley went with the Quigley Construction Company, who were operating in Arkansas and Louisiana. After completing their work in those states Mr. Riley went to Canada and had charge of a mining proposition for Mr. Strang when he came to Johnson county, and took charge of the construction of the Missouri, Kansas &: Interurban railroad, known as the Strang Line, which Mr. Strang was building. This road was completed in 1907 and operated between Kansas City, Mo., and Olathe, Kan. It was completed as far as Lenexa in 1906, and began to operate that year between Kansas City, Mo., and Lenexa. At first it was operated by a gasoline motor, but soon was equipped with electricity and today is one of the best electric lines in the country. Mr. Riley is one of the practical railroad men of the country who has become accustomed to doing big things without even knowing it. Additional Comments: Extracted from: HISTORY OF Johnson County Kansas BY ED BLAIR AUTHOR OF Kansas Zephyrs, Sunflower Sittings and Other Poems and Sketches IN ONE VOLUME ILLUSTRATED STANDARD PUBLISHING COMPANY LAWRENCE, KANSAS 1915 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ks/johnson/bios/riley149bs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/ksfiles/ File size: 4.1 Kb