Railway Track & Structures - July 2008 - (Page 12)

AREMA NEWS Getting to know Robert W. Walker my 38th year on the railroad. AREMA: How did you get involved in AREMA and your committee? Walker: From 1980 through 1998, I was chief electrical engineer for Conrail’s Metropolitan Region in New York City, which became MTA Metro-North Railroad in 1983. During that time I worked on many electrification projects, including the New Haven Line’s 25 Cycle to 60 Cycle Traction Power Conversion and the Harlem / Hudson Line’s Substation Program. I met many consultants and reached out to other electric traction railroads for advice and information and in the process I made a lot of friends in the industry. I felt AREMA’s Committee 33 was the best avenue for me to continue my quest for knowledge in my field and have been a member for many years. As chairman of Committee 33 I have been particularly pleased with our work effort in updating several parts of our Manual. Since 1998 I have handled force account work at Metro-North which has enabled me to meet railroad professionals in other engineering fields, who I also have contacted through other AREMA committees. AREMA: Outside of your job and the hard work you put into AREMA, what are your hobbies? Walker: I still have a big model train layout with an operating catenary system and I still work on electronics projects. I don’t do much with transistors anymore as most of my work involves vacuum tubes which are on their way back to prominence in audio amplifiers. In my teenage years I stayed away from vacuum tubes because of the high voltages involved but now in my later years I feel that after dealing with catenary and third voltages, vacuum tubes should be no big deal. AREMA: Tell us about your family. Walker: My wife is an executive at a non-profit organization and my son is a student at the University of Connecticut. AREMA: If you could share one interesting fact about yourself with the readers of RT&S, what would it be? Walker: After 38 years, I still enjoy coming to work on the railroad. AREMA: What is your biggest achievement? Walker: My biggest achievement was developing an excellent staff of electrical engineers in the MTA Metro-North Power Department with a good succession plan that went into effect when I moved on to my present position. AREMA: What advice would you give to someone who is trying to pursue a career in the railway industry? Walker: My advice would be that that individual should carefully analyze what area of the industry best fits his/her area of expertise and they should talk to people in those areas to determine the opportunities that exist and the career paths they offer. Robert W. Walker Chairman, Committee 33 Electric Energy Utilization Director Operating Capital Projects MTA Metro-North Railroad ach month AREMA will feature one of our committee chairmen. We are pleased to announce that the July featured chairman is Robert W. Walker, chair of Committee 33 - Electric Energy Utilization. AREMA: Why did you decide to choose a career in railway engineering? Walker: As a child I became active in model railroading as a hobby. This was a result of growing up in Richmond Hill, Queens, N.Y., where my backyard was within a couple of hundred feet of the Long Island Rail Road’s Rockaway Beach Branch. I monitored train operations there regularly and was saddened when the line was abandoned in 1962. AREMA: How did you get started? Walker: In addition to developing a love of trains, both large and small, I also developed a hobby of dabbling in electronics, namely building little radios using the first transistors made available for hobbyist use in the early 1960s. After high school I pursued and received a degree in Electrical Engineering from NYU in New York City. In my senior year many companies came to interview graduating seniors for entry-level jobs in the industry. In the auditorium many companies had long lines at their tables with seniors competing for jobs. One table had no lines; it was the Penn Central Railroad table. They were looking for civil, mechanical and electrical engineers to join the railroad. Even though they were already in bankruptcy at that time (1970), I thought that working for them in the field of electric traction would be a marriage of my two favorite interests, trains and electricity. As they say, it’s all history since then and I’m in 12 Railway Track & Structures July 2008 E 2008 Upcoming Committee Meetings August 11-12 Committee 1-Roadway & Ballast Pueblo, CO August 12-13 Committee 7 - Timber Structures Phoenix, AZ September 20-21 Committee Meetings in Salt Lake City, Utah, See Page 15 September 24-25 Committee 38 - Information, Defect Detection & Energy Systems Salt Lake City, UT October 7-8 Committee 15 - Steel Structures Chicago, IL October 16-17 Committee 8 - Concrete Structures & Foundations Des Moines, IA October 28-29 Committee 30 - Ties Savannah, GA November 6 Committee 28 - Clearances Phoenix, AZ Novebmer 19-21 Committee 36 - Highway Rail Grade Crossing Omaha, NE Warning Systems www.rtands.com http://www.arema.org http://www.rtands.com

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Railway Track & Structures - July 2008

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