Amtrak President and Chairman W. Graham Claytor, Jr., 1982.

Color photograph from the 1982 Amtrak Annual Report (p3). W. Graham Claytor, Jr. served as Amtrak President and Chairman from 1982 until 1993.

Photograph Details

Date Archived:: July 18, 2014
Geography:: National
Decade:: 1980s
Data Format:: Image
Date Created:: 1982; Download the full-sized version of this photo

W. Graham Claytor, Jr. (1912-1994), served as the fourth President and Chairman of Amtrak from 1982 until 1993. According to his inaugural "Letter of the President and Chairman" in the 1982 Amtrak Annual Report, Claytor came to the company “with the goal of improving every service currently operating and at the same time reducing the costs of operating those services.” He also acknowledged his predecessors, noting that their “legacy…is the stability of Amtrak as a system and as an institution.”

A lawyer and World War II naval hero, Claytor gained extensive knowledge of passenger and freight railroading as the vice president, president and chairman of Southern Railway between 1963 and 1977. Following retirement from Southern, Claytor began a second career in government service with the Carter administration. Between 1977 and 1981, Claytor served as Secretary of the Navy, Acting Secretary of Transportation and Deputy Secretary of Defense.

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