William. B. Storey

William B. Storey, Iota, 1881, Phi Alpha 1910-1911

William B. Storey, Iota, 1881, was a well known engineer and railroad executive. As an undergraduate, on the University of California’s annual Charter Day, Storey was given the honor of serving as “President of the Day.” (March 23, 1881)

Brother Storey had a long and distinguished career in the railroad industry starting as an
entry level employee and to rising to head one of the nation’s largest railroad systems.
Storey worked for two years in the Surveying Department of the Southern Pacific
Railroad as a rodman and lineman before entering the University of California. He
studied mechanical engineering at Cal and then joined the Central Pacific Railroad as a
levelman, transitman and assistant manager. From 1893 to 1895, he was assistant
engineer with the United States Hydraulic Mining Commission. In 1895, he was
appointed chief engineer and general superintendent of the San Francisco & San
Joaquin Valley. In 1900, he was appointed chief engineer of the Atkinson, Topeka
Santa Fe (Santa Fe system). In 1909, he was promoted to vice president in charge of
operations and construction and in 1917, with the outbreak of World War I, he was
appointed the federal manager of the system. On January 1, 1920, Brother Storey was
appointed president of the system and served until his retirement on May 2, 1933. He
remained on the Board of Directors until his death in 1940.

Brother Storey was a supportive Elder of the Iota chapter throughout his life. During his
term as Phi Alpha, The Circle was named the official publication of the Fraternity and
Brother Herbert Gould who was already the first traveling secretary working at the newly
established Central Office, moved it from the Xi chapter house to No. 6 Madison Avenue in Chicago, IL. In 1910, the Lambda Psi chapter at the University of Wisconsin was chartered.

Brother Storey “had been an indefatigable pedestrian, until recently walking every day
from his home to his office in the Railroad Exchange Building, no matter what the
weather. Not long ago, he surprised his friends by outlasting other members of his
party on a five-hour tramp through the Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico.” (New York
Times, October 30, 1940)