40th Anniversary Book 10.5x13.5 FINAL

Administration (UMTA). UMTA provided funding for Airtrans and wanted to obtain system reliability data as a means of promoting this new transport mode. Seeing the opportunity to segue into consulting, Dennis resigned from DFW and began harvesting Airtrans data for UMTA. Boxes of information, stacked nearly to the ceiling in a warehouse, housed meticulous records and logs kept by the Airtrans operator, LTV. The information UMTA was seeking was there, hidden deep in the data. The work allowed Dennis to establish a foothold as a new consultant while looking for additional work. Soon, another opportunity arose. Braniff Airways, then the largest carrier at DFW, began an ambitious expansion program: adding new routes and airplanes and a new, rooftop people mover within their terminal. Being selected to design this new system, provided Dennis the revenue and security to invite others to join his budding firm. Don Ochsner and Harley Moore came on board, both of whom had worked with Dennis on the DFW Airtrans project. “It was a huge leap of faith for all of us,” said Dennis. Assuming that the new firm could survive on the Braniff work while establishing a reputation and bringing in new assignments, Don and Harley moved to Dallas. But things didn’t work out as planned. Just a few months into the project, Braniff fell on hard times and cancelled the project, leaving nothing but a big hole in the ground where their new terminal building was to be built. “Suddenly we were in danger of seeing our dream die,” Dennis recalls. Having hired two additional engineers (Andy Wetzel and Wade Scott) and an office manager (Betty Wethington), the small firm scrambled to get new work. Thankfully, the contracts did come in, the crisis was averted, and Dennis Elliott & Associates, Inc. (DEA) continued to grow.

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Airtrains (1973)

Lea+Elliott, Inc. So there they were, these two companies, striving to grow and expand as experts in automated transit. DEA worked predominantly on airport people movers and NDL worked predominantly on urban people movers: both firms could sense that competition was inevitable. Rather than pursuing that course, Dennis Elliott and Chuck Elms decided to pool resources and work together. The first opportunity to do so arose with the advent of the Downtown People Mover program sponsored by the UMTA . They first worked as co-subcontractors on the Miami and Detroit Downtown People Mover projects—two of the first federally funded urban automated transit systems. Working side-by-side, the engineers of the two companies found they enjoyed collaborating. More importantly, they realized that both companies had equally high ethical and professional standards. With much to gain strategically, it just made sense to join forces. Pooling their experience and their expert staff allowed the merged company to become a leader in automated transit—a leadership position that Lea+Elliott has maintained to this day. The new field of transit automation was fast- moving and challenging, but the Lea+Elliott staff met it with intelligence, curiosity, and a sense of

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