Pennsylvania Railroad Company. Executive Dept. Office of Vice President Samuel Rea.

Samuel Rea, the third great engineer-president of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, was born in Hollidaysburg, Pa., on September 21, 1855. He began working for the PRR as a chainman in 1871, later served as assistant engineer on several branch lines in western Pennsylvania, and became principal assistant engineer of construction in 1884. On August 1, 1889, Rea resigned to become chief engineer of the Baltimore Belt Railroad, which joined two previously disconnected sections of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in that city. As a result, Rea developed considerable expertise both in urban tunnelling and mainline electrification. It was this experience that brought his recall to the PRR by President Roberts in 1892 and his assignment to study the Underground and railroad terminals in London as a model for future PRR improvements in Philadelphia.

With the death of his patron, J. N. DuBarry, in 1892, Rea succeeded him in the direction of all new construction work. He was elevated successively to fourth vice president (1899), third vice president (1905), second vice president (1909) and first vice president (1911). When numerical designations were dropped in 1912, Rea became Vice President (executive) and was elected to the presidency on January 1, 1913. He retired under the rules of the Pension Department on October 1, 1925, but he remained on the board of directors until his death on March 24, 1929.

Rea's position straddled traditional departmental lines. The great expansion and modernization of plant that began in the late 1880s and continued until World War I required an executive who could bridge the gap between the engineering required for new works and the fund-raising and accounting necessary for their construction. Rea's primary duties involved the direct supervision of the design and construction of new lines and the corporate work necessary to organize and finance new subsidiaries under whose charters the work would be done. He also had indirect supervision of the Treasury and Accounting Departments insofar as necessary to carry out his duties. Supervision of the Treasury Department was transferred to Henry Tatnall, on June 1, 1904. Rea had two principal subordinates, Engineer of Branch Lines Joseph U. Crawford, and Albert J. County, who was transferred to Rea's office in 1906 to handle the corporate work. Upon Rea's elevation to the presidency, County was moved into the Financial Department, and the engineer of branch lines' work was assumed by the regular engineering department.

Rea's greatest responsibility was the direction of the huge Pennsylvania Station construction project in New York City. He also supervised the Hell Gate Bridge project, which permitted trains from New England points to reach Penn Station, but the bridge was not completed until 1917.

From the description of Records, 1866-1916 (bulk 1905-1912). (Hagley Museum & Library). WorldCat record id: 122503388