Spencer A. Cherry

Biography

Spencer A. “Cap” Cherry was a veteran railroader whose career included work for the Richmond & Danville, Louisville & Nashville, Southern Railway and Tennessee Central.

A native of Birmingham, Alabama, Cherry began railroad service in 1887 as a train hand on the Georgia Pacific Division of the Richmond & Danville Railway. He was promoted to conductor and yardmaster in 1888, later worked for the Louisville & Nashville Railroad in Birmingham, and then served as a conductor and master of trains for the Southern Railway.

Cherry joined the Tennessee Construction Company while it was building the Tennessee Central’s western division from Nashville to Hopkinsville, Kentucky. After the work was completed, he was retained as master of trains for the Tennessee Central in Nashville. In 1902, he became a conductor for the railroad and served on the first passenger run between Nashville and Hopkinsville. In 1913, he was promoted to assistant superintendent of the Tennessee Central.

Cherry also pursued interests beyond railroading. In 1915, newspapers reported that he had secured patents for an automobile wheel designed to replace pneumatic tires. By 1929, he was retired and living on Hydes Ferry Pike, where he was known as a coin collector; many of his early American coins reportedly came into his possession while he worked as a conductor. He also encountered trouble during Prohibition when he was accused of violating Tennessee’s “bone dry” law.

Cherry died in April 1942 at age 82.