Leonor Loree

Leonor F. Loree’s flamboyant style and ability to turn a phrase made him an oft-quoted business baron. He is best known for the phrase, “This is a helluva way to run a railroad.” Loree started as a simple trackman and became an assistant in the Pennsylvania Railroad engineer corps. His performance under crisis during the Johnstown flood led to a position as general manager of all lines west of Pittsburgh. When the Pennsylvania Company acquired controlling interest in the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1904, he became president. While director of more than 50 railroad companies, he also raised funds for Rutgers, a cause he was dedicated to until his death in 1940. As first chair for the New Jersey College for Women Committee, he devised a dormitory system of small houses that could be sold privately if the college failed financially. He also built an athletic field—calling it Antilles Field, after the ship that brought him, his family, and 250 stranded Americans back from Europe after the outbreak of World War I. He also acquired and presented the infamous statue of William the Silent, located on Voorhees Mall on the College Avenue Campus.