ABOUT
The Canadian Railway Hall of Fame honours Canadian achievement in the railway industry by highlighting the people, technologies, organizations and communities that have been instrumental in creating Canada’s vibrant railway industry. The Hall of Fame’s goal is to increase public awareness of the industry’s rich history, as well as its current importance in ensuring essential goods reach markets in Canada and around the world.
Shining a Light on Canada’s Rail Industry
Since the Hall of Fame was established back in 2002, it has introduced people across Canada and around the globe to the individuals and groups that have helped make our country’s rail network what it is today. From Charles Melville Hays (president of the Grand Trunk Railway), to Violet Isabel Cumming (one of the many women across Canada who helped keep the nation’s railways running during WWII), the Hall of Fame brings the stories of Canada’s rich rail history to life.
Board of Directors and Selection Committee
The Hall of Fame’s four-member Board of Directors is made up of representatives from the railway industry and the conservation field who have a wide range of experience with the rail industry as well as with heritage and community building.
The Board helps to provide the overall strategic direction for the Hall of Fame. It also works in tandem with the Hall of Fame’s Selection Committee to review, research and make recommendations on the selection of nominees to the Hall of Fame. Ultimately, it is the Selection Committee that selects nominees for induction into the Hall of Fame each year.
We strive for a balanced geographical representation on both the Hall of Fame Board of Directors and the Selection Committee, and work hard to attract members from across Canada who have a passion for our nation’s railways.
Our Current Board of Directors:
Janet Greene is Manager of Outreach and Training for the Railway Association of Canada (RAC). In addition to planning and implementing corporate events, trade shows and training courses, she works collaboratively with community colleges offering the Railway Conductor Program in Canada. She also leads RAC’s Human Resources Committee, which aims to advance Canada’s railway industry workforce through employee training, development, and recruitment initiatives. Previously, she was RAC’s Events Coordinator. Janet joined the RAC in 2002 while attending Carleton University, where she received her BA in Law.
Shawn I. Smith is Senior Vice President of the Northern Plains Rail Companies, which include short line and industrial operations across western Canada and the US Midwest, rail car and locomotive repair services, and consulting services. He began his career at Canadian National in the early 1980s, and has been an engaged member of the industry since. From 2008 – 2012 he held an executive position at Canadian Pacific Railway as GM Network Strategy, Industrial development and Interline.
In 2001, Mr. Smith was appointed a member of the Board of Directors of the Railway Association of Canada. He also served on the Association’s Safety and Operations Management Committee and the Policy Advocacy Committee. Mr. Smith is a founding member of the Canadian Railway Hall of Fame and takes a keen interest in the past, present, and future of the industry. He is a member of the American Association of Railroad Superintendents, and the Lexington Group. In 2017 he served as a member of the RAC Rail Safety Act Review Committee.
C. Stephen Cheasley is the President of the Canadian Railroad Historical Association (CRHA), a non-profit corporation founded in Montreal in 1932 to preserve Canada’s railway heritage. The CRHA is the owner and operator of Exporail, the Canadian Railway Museum, Canada’s largest railway museum and is the publisher of Canadian Rail magazine and books on the history of Canada’s railways.
Mr. Cheasley retired from the firm of Fasken Martineau after a long career in the legal profession. He is currently President of the Canadian Railroad Historical Association Foundation, Chair of the John Abbott College Foundation and Vice-President of the Fonds d’investissement de Montreal which renovates low-cost housing in conjunction with Montreal community groups.
Mr. Cheasley has been active with the Montreal business community as President and Chairman of the Montreal Board of Trade, President of the Montreal International Conference Centre Inc., Treasurer and Director of Montreal International and Vice-President of the Old Port Corporation. He was Chairman of the Lakeshore General Hospital and led its campaign to expand, adding the first ambulatory health care centre in Montreal.
He is married to Janet McMichael and has four children and two grandsons
Brent Cheek is currently Superintedent for Northern Plains Rail Services based at Lamont, Alberta. Brent is responsible for operations at Alberta Midland Railway Terminal, and is a recognized instructor of engineering and track safety standards across Canada. Brent began his career with Canadian National Railways in the maintenance of way department in the late 1970’s on the old Alberta South Division, and has held positions of increasing responsibility ever since. His railway career has taken him from CN lines in Central Alberta across Canada and the United States.
Brent enjoys railway history, especially related to maintenance of way operations and standards.
Johanne Delaney is Secretary and Treasurer of the Canadian Railway Hall of Fame, and also serves as Senior Administrative Assistant to the Vice-President of the Railway Association of Canada. Joanne is a graduate of Algonquin College’s Business Administration Program, is fluently bilingual, and has more than 15 years’ of administrative experience in the railway industry and other sectors.
Our Current Selection Committee:
Leslie S. Kozma was a founding Director and Selection Committee member of the Canadian Railway Hall of Fame. A certified engineering technologist based in Edmonton, Les is a noted railway author and historian with a latent interest in western Canadian railway business history. He is Vice President of the Canadian Northern Society, and was awarded that organization’s Order of Mount Robson in 2014 in recognition of his research and educational contributions.
Together with his co-author Charles W. Bohi, Les has written landmark publications on Canadian railway depots, and in particular has provided guidance to the industry on several historic preservation projects in western Canada. His work has been published in industry journals, Trains Magazine, and CN Lines Magazine.
Paul Clegg is the retired Director of Network Transactions for Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). During his 37 year career with CP he was engaged in Grain Marketing in Montreal, Regina and Winnipeg and Network Strategy and Research in Calgary. During his time with Network Strategy, he was responsible for line sales and acquisitions as well as planning for new rail lines in Alberta’s Industrial Heartland near Edmonton.
Paul has a number of articles published on CPR history including the revolutionary 36’ steel inside sheathed “Dominion” boxcar, meat and livestock movement and aspects of CPR’s building and bridge designs.
Paul is a graduate of the University of British Columbia with a Bachelor of Commerce in Transportation and Logistics. He was also a Logistics officer in the Canadian Forces Reserve. He is a member of the Lexington Group in Transportation History, the National Dream legacy Society and when working, participated in the Canadian Transportation Research Forum.
Brian is currently Director of Service Design at Canadian Pacific, headquartered in Calgary. He began this role in 2012 after serving in several service and operational planning roles at CP, and regularly interacts with all Class 1 railways, Chicago intermediate carriers, and many short line and regional roads — in addition to working towards optimizing CP’s train design across the network. Brian has an extensive backgound in traffic pattern analysis, and the development of operating plans for the railway.
Brian was Chairperson of the AAR Gateway performance Improvement Committee from 2012 to 2014, has a strong understanding of railway interline agreements, operational practices, and regulatory environments, and specializes in rail business history and the evolution of the North American railway network.
Dean A. Tiegs of Spruce Grove, Alberta was a founding selection committee member of the Canadian Railway Hall of Fame. Dean began his railway career with Canadian National Railways in 1984 as a train order operator and held positions in operations, marketing, and IT. Currently he is working as a private IT consultant, and is Secretary of the Canadian Northern Society. He has a latent interest in railway operations and history, and in particular the history of the Canadian Northern Railway.
Dean and his wife Lorrie operate Whale Tail Graphics which specializes in providing graphic design and art work to suppliers in the Canadian railway industry.
Doug has had a lifelong interest in the railway’s historical, present and future roles using technology to meet the changing needs of business and society.
A graduate of Acadia University with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree, he spent 38 years working for the federal government on rail matters. The first eight years were with the Canadian Transport Commission undertaking specialized rail costing studies. The last 30 years have been spent in the Rail Policy Branch of Transport Canada working on passenger rail, environmental and short line files. He served on the Rail Passenger Action Force in 1985 and was a member of the inter-government team studying high speed rail in the early 1990s.
Doug has served as a member of the Board of the Directors of the Canadian Railroad Historical Association and has been the co-editor of their historical journal, Canadian Rail, for over 35 years. He has authored over a dozen books on many aspects of Canadian railway history and has had articles published in Trains, Passenger Train Journal, and Canadian Rail.
Now retired, he is restoring a 125 year old house and garden in Brockville, Ontario.