Ross E. Rowland, Jr.

    Ross E. Rowland, Jr., of Sackets Harbor, NY, the nation’s most renowned railroad preservationist and entrepreneur, passed from this world on Saturday morning July 19th after a brief battle with cancer. 

   He was born in Albany, New York, on July 11, 1940, the son of Ross E. Rowland Sr. and his wife Helen. His father, grandfather and great-grandfather all were railroaders, which contributed to Ross’s lifelong love affair with trains and railroading, especially steam locomotives. That passion eventually led to his creation of the signature nationwide event that celebrated the American Bicentennial, the American Freedom Train. The Freedom Train was a steam locomotive powered extravaganza that toured all contiguous 48 states and stirred the hearts and stimulated the imaginations of untold millions of people who visited the train, or who went down to the tracks to see it roar past as it went from city to city during its two year tour of the nation. In all, the Freedom Train brought the history of America to the citizens of 138 cities.
   His family moved to Cranford, New Jersey, in 1945, where Ross became an avid and unabashed railfan, using his family’s connections to gain access to those sacred places that were called roundhouses, which held the machinery that breathed fire and, at that time, moved the nation.
   Ross went on to serve in the United States Army National Guard and entered the commodities trading profession in New York City. In 1966, at the young age of 26, he founded Floor Broker Associates, Inc. He was elected to the Board of Governors of the COMEX (the primary futures and options market for trading metals such as gold, silver, copper, and aluminum) and was a member of four other exchanges: New York Coffee & Sugar, New York Mercantile, New York Cotton Exchange and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. He would work in the world of commodity trading for 33 years prior to retiring.
   Ross was a pioneer and visionary in the railroad industry. In 1966 he founded the High Iron Company and was the first person to run privately-operated mainline railfan excursions with steam locomotives. He was the first to resurrect a steam locomotive from a museum and return it to active service, the Nickel Plate 759 in 1968. Ross had the vision to create and run the Golden Spike Centennial Limited in 1969. It was on this trip that John Wayne suggested he run a train to celebrate the Nation’s bicentennial, and thus the American Freedom Train was born.
   On May 19, 1971 Ross was awarded an honorary lifetime membership in the Brotherhood of
Locomotive Engineers, only the fifth individual to be so honored by the Brotherhood. There were only four recipients before him: Dwight D. Eisenhower, Herbert Hoover, Harry S. Truman, and J. Edgar Hoover. President Ronald Reagan appointed Ross to Amtrak’s Board of Directors. In 2021, Ross received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Heritage Rail Alliance.
   At the same time America’s love affair with trains was in steep decline as the nation approached its 200th birthday. The fabled and melodic “Whistle in the Night” was replaced by the annoying blast of the diesel air horn and the most common contacts that the general public had with railroading were the annoying waits for mile-long freight trains to clear highway crossings. Young boys no longer looked forward to receiving the annual Lionel and American Flyer catalogs as their attention shifted to other pastimes.
   Yet in those darkest of days for the railroad industry, one man had both the vision and the intellect, as well as the determination and tenacity, to not only change the public’s perception of the industry, but also to challenge the imaginations of youngsters whose parents and grandparents once had taken them trackside to witness the singular event that tied the nation together as it celebrated its hallmark birthday. Many of those young boys and some of those young girls were so entranced by what they saw that a few years later they became the next generation of professional railroaders, and a few years after that, many of them populated the executive suites of our nation’s railroads, as the industry regained its luster. 

   That man was Ross Rowland. His crowning achievement was The American Freedom Train. In 1970, he founded the American Freedom Train Foundation, a non-profit, educational foundation to commemorate America's Bicentennial. It became America's only successful national bicentennial project. During the 21-month, 25,000-mile journey to 138 cities throughout the 48 continental United States, the Freedom Train hosted 7-million paid visitors. At the same time, more than 40 million people were able to view the train from trackside. The 24 car train included 10 display cars and two showcase cars. The display cars carried 512 treasures of Americana, including George Washington's copy of the Constitution, the original Louisiana Purchase, Judy Garland's dress from The Wizard of Oz, Joe Frazier's boxing trunks, Martin Luther King Jr.'s pulpit and robes, replicas of Jesse Owens' four Olympic gold medals from 1936, a pair of Wilt Chamberlain's basketball shoes, and a rock from the Moon. The two
showcase cars included a twice life-sized replica of the Liberty Bell, a lunar rover, and a 1904
Oldsmobile.
   He followed the astounding success of the AFT by collaborating with the Chessie System to run the Chessie Steam Special, followed by the Chessie Safety Express. Ross created the Steam Locomotive Corporation of America in 1980, with the express purpose of restoring ex-C&O 614 to mainline steam service. The 614 was the last steam passenger locomotive built in America, Lima Locomotive class of 1948.
   Ross would go on to form American Coal Enterprises (ACE) in 1984, with the mission to design and produce modern steam locomotives that would lessen America’s dependence on imported oil. ACE used the 614 as a test bed for new coal burning technology designed to make coal-fired locomotives more efficient.
   In 1998, he formed Iron Horse Enterprises to run the 614 in fan trip service between Hoboken and Port Jervis, NY. In 2000, Ross headed west to Alberta, Canada to manage the Wilderness Railway, a tourist oriented shoreline. He has been credited as being the most effective and creative public advocate for the railroad industry and it is widely believed that he did more to make the general public aware of the positive aspects of railroading than any other person of either the 20th or the 21st Century. His genius helped restore the industry’s luster during its darkest hour, but also planted seeds in the minds of many young people that railroading could be a positive and productive profession. He was recently nominated for induction into the National Railroad Hall of Fame in Galesburg, IL.
   As a child Ross would vacation with his family in Clayton, NY and those pleasant memories brought him back to the area where he spent his final years enjoying hours on the water on his boat, The Hustler, and planning his next steam powered adventure.
   Ross was also a very religious man attending services at Sulphur Springs United Methodist
Church while at home and seeking out the nearest parish church when out on the railroad with one of his steam powered extravaganzas. His many friends and associates say that they will remember him not only for all of his accomplishments, but more importantly for the unbridled enthusiasm that he brought to each of his ventures, his vision, and imagination in seeing everything that was possible, his positive attitude when nay-sayers questioned the validity of what he was proposing, his passion in reaching out to younger generations and sharing his knowledge and experience, his firm handshake, his constant and radiant smile, and most of all, his keen sense of humor.
   One of his great joys during the past several years was playing Santa Claus, while his wife, Karen, played Mrs. Claus on Norfolk Southern’s Capital Region Toys for Tots train which ran between Albany and Binghamton. 

   Ross is survived by his wife Karen, daughter Cathy Pattison, son Joe Rowland, and grandson
Ross James Rowland.
   Family and close friends are invited to attend a service at Sulphur Springs Methodist Church on September 28, 2025 at 3:00 PM. Arrangements are entrusted with Cummings Funeral Service, Inc., Clayton and online condolences to his family may be posted at www.cummingsfuneral.com.
   In lieu of flowers, please make a tax-deductible contribution to:
Mott’s Military Museum
5075 so. Hamilton Rd
Groveport Ohio 43125
   The museum is devoting a large area for the Ross Rowland story. Please specify that your tax deductible donation is for the Ross Rowland exhibit.

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