Woody Sutton

After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania in May of 1969, Woody joined the Penn Central as a Management Trainee. His first assignment was assistant trainmaster at Morrisville, PA which, at that time, was a small hump yard supporting US Steel’s now closed Fairless Works, as well as all of the industries north of Philadelphia and Camden to Trenton on both sides of the Delaware River. It didn’t last long as the PC declared bankruptcy in June of 1970 and by that November the job was abolished.

His first Missouri Pacific assignment was on the former Chicago & Eastern Illinois at Yard Center as night assistant trainmaster.

After about a year at Yard Center, he was moved to Chicago Heights as the sole night management supervisor for both 26th Street Yard and the CHTT which included the Ford Stamping Plant jobs. After that came assistant trainmaster at Sherman, TX followed by trainmaster at Memphis, TN.

He later was an Operations Control manager working for Newell Derryberry, Assistant General Manager-Transportation in St. Louis followed by assistant director of Car Management in St. Louis. It was then back to Memphis as assistant superintendent. In 1978 he became superintendent of the Illinois Division at Chester, working for Chuck Dettmann, Vice-President-Staff.

He was still in the superintendent position when the UP merger was announced. This was his last field position. Afterward, he held a multitude of staff positions for the merged company in St. Louis, Kansas City, and Omaha until the end of his operating department career.