Commentary HOLLIDAYSBURG, Pennsylvania—If you were the president of a railroad 100 years ago, you were kind of a big deal. Yet when Alan Maples became president of the Everett Railroad Company in 1983, a purchase that made him the youngest person in the history of the industry to hold that title, the Alabama native knew full well he would not wield the prominence, power, and influence the title once held. Maples shrugs, smiles, and admits that a few people, including his parents, thought he was a bit daft when he said his career goal was to run a railroad—at the very time the industry was on its knees. In fairness, lots of children want to run railroads when they first catch sight of a train chugging along the highway and hear the long-long-short-long rhythm of the whistle in the distance. “I grew up in Bethesda, Maryland,” Maples said. “There was …