Born in Upper Sandusky, Ohio on December 21, 1848, T.J. Duddleson’s railroad career began at the young age of 13 when he took over as fireman on a wood-burning locomotive when the grown man in the job left to fight in the Civil War. Traveling west he worked for the D&RG in Coloardo and Utah working his way up to assistant superintendent in 1888. A brief stint in California was followed by time with the Oregon Short Line as Trainmaster and then superintendent of the divisions out of Poctaello, Idaho.

He left the Oregon Short Line to take on the role of Superintendent of the NNRy, a position he held until his death on November 30, 1931 at the age of 82.

His time at the railroad saw the development of much of the complex that is still in service today. A look into the NNRy archives finds his name on hundreds of the documents that relate to the day to day operations of the railroad. Of note, he was heavily involved in the “Safety First” campaigns of the 1910s which would be incorporated in the company logos and ingrained into the safety conscious work culture of the railroad which continues to this day.

Outside of work he was known as an accomplished trap shooter, an avid fisherman and was a member of the Masonic Order for more than 50 years.