RT&S Editorial Board

For many years, Railway Track & Structures has bene ted from capable editorial leadership and outside contributors. Beginning with this issue, I am proud to announce that we have assembled an Editorial Board for RT&S to provide overall guidance and suggestions for improving the magazine, strengthening the editorial content, and helping all RT&S media outlets to be more useful to the railroad maintenance-of-way sector.

We are very fortunate to have a distinguished group of rail engineers and consultants who are pro led in the “Special Report” section that is found on page 8. Meanwhile, let me introduce the six individuals who comprise our Editorial Board.

• David Clarke, civil engineer, professor and former Director of the University of Tennessee Center for Transportation Research at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

• Brad Kerchof, retired Norfolk Southern civil engineer and writer/speaker.

• William Riehl III, Chief Engineer of Structures for Genesee & Wyoming and AREMA Senior Vice President for 2023-2024.

• Scott Sandoval, Director, Engineering Testing and Compliance at Genesee & Wyoming.

• Robert Tuzik, principal of Talus Associates.

• Gary Wolf, retired Norfolk Southern civil engineer, independent consultant.

Of course, as Managing Editor and Editorin-Chief, respectively, Jennifer McLawhorn and I will continue to make the editorial decisions for the magazine and electronic media. However, our e orts will be guided by, and much more fruitful with, the decades of experience represented by our new Editorial Board. Each member was invited to serve, and they all graciously accepted.

Membership on our Editorial Board is not an honorary position. Each board member is charged with providing regular feedback, advice, and suggestions for articles for both print and web. So, there will be continuous communication throughout the year. In addition, Jennifer and I will formally meet with the board twice each year, and each board member has been asked to prepare at least one original article for the magazine each year. is is a major milestone for RT&S. As best as I can tell, the magazine has never had an Editorial Board since publication began in 1905. Our sister magazine, Railway Age, has long had a series of contributing editors who, I suspect, provide more guidance to the editorial sta than simply contributing an article now and then.

You’ll note that William Riehl, with Genesee & Wyoming, is also the Senior Vice President of AREMA for the 2023-2024 year. You likely know that AREMA elects a new slate of o cers each year, including the SVP position. erefore, each year, the newly elected AREMA SVP will join our board and replace the outgoing SVP. erefore, not only will our Board possess long and superb experience in rail engineering, but we’ll also have a current connection with AREMA through the rotating SVP role. is will ensure that the magazine is connected to the latest thinking, research, and product development in the industry.

We are excited about our Editorial Board and look forward to their contributions. e rail industry, especially maintenance-of-way and infrastructure, is as dynamic as ever. Technology is almost developing faster than anyone can keep track of, and it’s being employed in the rail industry as it makes sense to do so, which is quite o en. Our Board will help us keep track of and report on the latest developments so readers can stay current on infrastructure technology.

We are grateful these six individuals agreed to serve, and appreciate AREMA’s show of support by allowing us to include the organization’s rotating SVP to be a member. As regular readers know, we feature AREMA content in the magazine each month, and each member of AREMA receives a subscription to RT&S. AREMA’s representation on our Board will further strengthen the relationship between our organizations. I believe you’ll see the impact of our new Board soon.

DAVID C. LESTER Editor-in-Chief