Editing William Barclay Parsons (section)

==Career==
[[File:111-SC-22344 - NARA - 55204387 (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|Lieutenant Colonel Parsons in France, October 1918.]]

Parsons worked for the [[New York, Lake Erie and Western Railroad]] from 1882 through 1885. He wrote ''Turnouts; Exact Formulae for Their Determination'' (1884) and ''Track, A Complete Manual of Maintenance of Way'' (1886) which both addressed railroad problems, and this interest in rail transportation continued throughout his life.<ref>''Dictionary of American Biography''. Volume VII, Page 276.</ref>

Parsons designed the [[Cape Cod Canal]] as Chief Engineer.  He was also Chief Engineer of the [[Early history of the IRT subway|Board of Rapid Transit Railroad Commissioners]]<ref name="1904Resignation">{{cite news|title=WILLIAM BARCLAY PARSONS.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1904/12/02/archives/william-barclay-parsons.html|access-date=August 14, 2017|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=December 2, 1904}}</ref> and was responsible for the construction of the [[Interborough Rapid Transit Company|Interborough Rapid Transit]] (IRT) subway line.<ref>Parsons Brinkerhoff Quade & Douglas, Inc., "The Man Who Planned the Subway: William Barclay Parsons and the New York IRT", 1980 (PB Communications).</ref><ref name="Parsons1929">{{cite news|last1=Parsons|first1=William Barclay|title=TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF THE NEW YORK SUBWAY; Bitterly Assailed at the Outset, the Ever-Growing System Has in That Period Replaced the Old City With an Entirely New One|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9F0CE0DC1E30E73ABC4F51DFB6678382639EDE|access-date=August 14, 2017|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=October 27, 1929}}</ref> He left New York in October 1886 to serve as Chief Engineer for the [[Fort Worth and Rio Grande Railroad]], although he retained his affiliation with the District Railway Company. In 1887, he became the Chief Engineer and General Manager of the Denver Railroad and Land and Coal Company. He returned to New York in 1891 upon the completion of these railway projects and a number of water-work ventures in Mississippi.<ref>{{cite web|title=Historic American Engineering Record, Interborough Rapid Transit Subway|url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/master/pnp/habshaer/ny/ny0300/ny0387/data/ny0387data.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151114035657/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/master/pnp/habshaer/ny/ny0300/ny0387/data/ny0387data.pdf |archive-date=2015-11-14 |url-status=live|publisher=National Park Service|page=208}} {{PD-notice}}</ref>

Parsons was appointed to the [[Isthmian Canal Commission]] in 1904 by President [[Theodore Roosevelt]].<ref name="WBP1932Obit"/> He was also appointed to the advisory board which provided technical advice to the [[Royal Commission on London Traffic]] in 1904, along with Sir [[Benjamin Baker (engineer)|Benjamin Baker]] and Sir [[John Wolfe-Barry]], both British civil engineers.<ref>''[[Dictionary of American Biography]]''. Volume VII, Page 277.</ref> In early 1905, he traveled to [[Panama]] as a member of the committee of engineers which favored a sea-level canal.

Parsons was the Colonel of the 11th Engineers of the [[American Expeditionary Forces]] (AEF) in France during World War I.<ref name="1916Engineering">{{cite news|title=FORM WAR RESERVE OF CIVIL ENGINEERS; Leaders of Profession Co-operating with General Staff in the Movement. A BILL NOW IN CONGRESS Measure Provides for Commissions, Special Military Training, and Making Men Subject to Call.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1916/03/19/archives/form-war-reserve-of-civil-engineers-leaders-of-profession.html|access-date=August 14, 2017|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=March 19, 1916}}</ref> He was with a team of engineers in [[Battle of Cambrai (1917)|Battle of Cambrai]] that was suddenly attacked by Germans while making railroad repairs; the engineers fought back with picks and shovels. He was awarded the [[Distinguished Service Medal (U.S. Army)|Army Distinguished Service Medal]] for "specially meritorious services" and received decorations from Great Britain, France, Belgium, and the state of New York.<ref>''Dictionary of American Biography''. Volume VII, Page 277.</ref> The citation for his Army DSM reads:

{{Blockquote|The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Army Distinguished Service Medal to Colonel (Corps of Engineers) William Barclay Parsons, United States Army, for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished services to the Government of the United States, in a duty of great responsibility during World War I, as Major, 11th Engineers (Railway), during its organization and training period, Chairman of Engineering Railway Commission sent overseas to investigate and report upon railway conditions in France; Lieutenant Colonel and then Colonel, 11th Engineers, during its combat operations. By his wide experience, sound judgment, and brilliant professional and technical attainments, Colonel Parsons handled many difficult problems which confronted him with conspicuous success, thereby rendering services of great value to the American Expeditionary Forces.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/18013|title=Valor awards for William Barclay Parsons|work=Military Times}}</ref>}}