“Friend of Restoration” Award
Andy Muller, Jr. CEO, Receives “Friend of Restoration” Award
- Submitted by Matt Fisher: GM of Passenger Management
The Heritage Rail Alliance had its first fall conference in over 2 years.
This year the conference was centered in Hartford, CT at the Bradley International Airport. Why a rail conference at an airport you might ask? Simple, representatives from railroads, rail museums, and non-profit organizations around the US and Canada attended, so the Sheraton at the airport was the perfect place.
The several days conference spent time at Southern New England rail attractions. There were guest speakers on various topics, including Reading and Northern Steam volunteer Brain Messinger who spoke about customer service. The main event occurred Saturday, September 10.
Many awards were given for specific projects around the country. Also, awards were given to influential people in the industry. Andy Muller, Jr being one of them for “Friend of Railway Preservation”.
Andy overseeing the progress of the 2102 Steam Engine reconstruction
Full details of the restoration, history of the 2102, and videos can be found at our RBMN Passenger website…
Although Andy was unable to attend the ceremony, Tyler Glass and I attended and spoke on his behalf.
It was a great event to meet new people in the industry and socialize with those who we knew, but so infrequently see. This award was given to rail industry leaders in the past several years.
Andy and the Reading and Northern were very deserving of this award in 2022. Millions of dollars have been spent in recent years to get the 2102 back out and running, but also to buy nearly 20 pieces of equipment for the passenger department to use on various tourist excursion trips.
Please read the restoration article in our upcoming RBMN Fall Newsmagazine which goes into detail as to what the paint and restoration department have been working on in summer and early fall for more details.
Photo: c.o. John McCardell
Test Run of the 2102 with Andy at the helm before its 2022 unveiling
Regular schedule train rides and special events (including steam trains 2102 and 425) are located on our RBMN Passenger website…
Thank you to Andy and the Muller family for continuing to believe in the passenger department.
It has become not only a hobby to run passenger trains, but a core piece of the Muller business.
With more trains, equipment, and routes in the planning stages for 2023, the need to restore the equipment is greater than ever. I am looking forward to continuing working with Andy restoring and preserving the equipment, and more importantly, sharing the memories with all of you and the general public for years to come.
Congratulations Andy!
