Burgess, Edwin H. (Edwin Haines), 1888-

Mr. Edwin Burgess, a lawyer with wide railroad experience, was chosen in 1960 to represent the interests of the Mercantile Safe Deposit and Trust Company of Baltimore in the proposed merger of the Atlantic and the Seaboard. Mercantile held fiduciary control over nearly 35 per cent of the Atlantic Coast Line and thus would gain a controlling interest in the newly merged company.

This new railroad would bring together the 5,573 miles of track of the Atlantic with the 4,146 miles of the Seaboard. Both roads were in strong financial condition when they appeared before the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) for permission to merge. This merger, they claimed, would save the new line nearly 38 million dollars over a five year period. In addition, the merger would hasten the lowering of rates, eliminate duplication of service in many areas, and generally improve rail service along the whole southeastern coast of the United States.

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