He was an attorney for the Soo Line before joining the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad in 1954, later serving as its president from 1957 to 1966.
During World War II, Quinn was posted to work for the Federal Bureau of Investigation as a counterespionage agent.
[1] In 1954 the Milwaukee Road recruited Quinn to join the railroad as a general solicitor.
He returned to the Milwaukee Road in 1970 as chairman, shortly after the CB&Q merged into the Burlington Northern Railroad.
[1] Quinn was the last leader of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad and was involved in its notorious scheme of de-electrification in 1972, right before the 1973 oil crisis.