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Home > Archives > Amtrak President Alan S. Boyd, 1970s.

Amtrak President Alan S. Boyd, 1970s.

Black and white portrait photograph of Amtrak President Alan S. Boyd; dates to the late 1970s.

Amtrak President Alan S. Boyd, 1970s.

Alan S. Boyd (1922-2020) served as the third president of Amtrak from 1978 to 1982. A lawyer by training, in 1967 Boyd became the first secretary of the newly-created U.S. Department of Transportation. He had headed a task force that looked into establishing a cabinet-level department that would be home to a collection of transportation-related agencies. Between his time with the federal government and Amtrak, Boyd led the Illinois Central Railroad.

Under Boyd's leadership, Amtrak began operating the Crescent (New York-New Orleans); introduced the first Superliners and AEM-7 electric locomotives into revenue service; ordered Amfleet II equipment for long-distance trains; launched the "America's Getting Into Training" advertising campaign; put Arrow, a new nationwide ticketing and reservation computer system, into operation; and reorganized the company's management structure.

Photographer: Unknown for Amtrak. From the Amtrak Corporate Collection.