[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 87 (Friday, May 25, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1149]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




RECOGNIZING THE TERMINAL RAILROAD ASSOCIATION OF ST. LOUIS AS THE 2007 
                  RECIPIENT OF THE E.H. HARRIMAN AWARD

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JERRY F. COSTELLO

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 24, 2007

  Mr. COSTELLO. Madam Speaker, I rise today to ask my colleagues to 
join me in recognizing the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis 
for being awarded the E.H. Harriman Award in recognition of their 
outstanding safety achievements.
  The E.H. Harriman Award was established in 1913 by Mary Harriman, 
wife of the late Edward H. Harriman, who controlled and expanded a 
number of railroads, including the Union Pacific, Southern Pacific and 
Illinois Central. Mary Harriman, nee Averell, was from a railroad 
family herself so it was fitting that she would establish this award to 
recognize safety achievements on the part of the railroads whose 
workers labored in some of the most dangerous occupations.
  While the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis was established 
in 1889, its predecessor companies were the pioneers in the river 
crossing at St. Louis which played a pivotal part in the growth of the 
states west of the Mississippi. Originally, ferries transported cargo 
and passengers across the Mississippi River at St. Louis until the 
first bridge, the Eads Bridge which still functions today, was 
completed in 1874. A second bridge was added in 1890 and, with the 
concentration of a number of railroads crossing the Mississippi at this 
location, it soon became apparent that a coordinated effort was 
necessary to handle the growing switching operations on the Missouri 
side in St. Louis and on the Illinois side in St. Clair and Madison 
counties. The Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis was formed by 
the predecessor river crossing companies and the six railroads that 
converged at the Illinois and Missouri sides of the Mississippi River 
at St. Louis.
  Today, the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis owns two 
bridges across the Mississippi, several rail lines within St. Louis, 
Missouri and St. Clair and Madison counties in Illinois as well as a 
switching facility in Madison, Illinois. At this switching facility, 
approximately 30,000 rail cars each month move through 80 holding 
tracks as they are redirected to routes that will take them, their 
cargo and passengers to locations all throughout the country.
  Workplace safety is a critical component of any commercial enterprise 
and railroads have historically been among the most dangerous places to 
work. With the tremendous volume of traffic handled daily by the 
Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis, the safety of their workers 
relies on a cooperative effort on the part of management and those 
workers who must engage in these hazardous activities. Terminal 
Railroad has been a recipient of the E.H. Harriman Award a number of 
times in the past and this recent award recognizes their achievement in 
workplace safety during 2006.
  Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating the 
Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis, its management and 
employees for this very well-deserved award.

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