Edward H. Harriman (1848-1909) railroad czar, was one of the early turnaround pros. He started on Wall Street at age fourteen as an office boy, but by twenty one he had displayed sufficient gumption that his uncle lent him $3,000 to buy a seat on the stock exchange. His first foray into the transportation business was as owner of a boat plying the Hudson between New York and Newburgh not until age 33 did he buy his first railroad a broken-down affair He reorganized it and made a tidy profit on its sale.
A subsequent involvement with the Illinois Central taught him much. The lesson was a long and thorough one: he was almost fifty when he became a director of the Union Pacific, a property in receivership and near collapse. Undaunted by rusty rails and track-edge communities turned ghost towns by the Panic of 1893, Harriman plugged $25 million into the company in 1897 before his first inspection trip was completed.
By 1901 he'd turned the railroad completely around, and set out to acquire the Central Pacific, which would bring the Southern Pacific with it. He coveted the Santa Fe, Northern Pacific and Burlington lines, too, but died young--sixty-two in 1909. Had he lived longer, his name might have become even greater.