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Before his contact with Commissioner Reimer, Edward Laning, 29, knew little of railroad history, a lot about the theory and practice of mural painting. Leaving Amherst because the sound of John Coolidge's saxophone was more than he could stand, he went to Manhattan, entered the Art Students' League. There he became an ardent pupil and disciple of Kenneth Hayes Miller, and a faithful follower of the painter who inspired Instructor Miller, Peter Paul Rubens. In Europe Laning had made a Rubens tour through Paris, Holland, Belgium, Spain, the result of which is obvious in all his work. Critics consider him one of the more promising of young muralists, hope he will acquire a little of Rubens' gusto for humanity as well as his sense of form and color.