RPCNB Board

B.A. (Brad) Black has been a member of the RPCA since 1988 and a board member since 1998, serving as President from 2012 to 2015 and currently chairing the By-Laws Committee. With a passion for railway passenger cars since age 15, he has owned over 43 private cars and founded Silver Peak Railroad Resources, offering Amtrak Private Car Inspection services. Professionally, Brad has worked in the rail industry since 1980 with various companies, including the Maryland Transit Administration as an Assistant Chief Mechanical Officer. He is now the Senior Vice President of Virginkar & Associates, Inc., specializing in transit management consulting, and has contributed to the AAR and APTA Mechanical Standards Committees, helping to develop industry standards such as the Code of Single Car Tests for 26C Passenger Air Brakes.

Phone: 630-392-3110
Email: m.voiland@rpcnb.com

Michael Voiland contributed to the operation of the Norfolk and Western 611 steam excursions from 2015 to 2018 and actively volunteers with the Roanoke Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society (NRHS). He has owned two private cars, both sleepers, reflecting his passion for rail travel. Professionally, Michael has spent over a decade working as a systems engineer on LMR radio systems for L3Harris.

Phone: 650-245-2994
Email: r.wullich@rpcnb.com

Mr. Wullich, a native of Batavia, NY, is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in New York and Virginia. An Eagle Scout and St. Bonaventure University graduate, he has owned over 26 historic rail pieces, including the former California Zephyr dome-observation car “Silver Solarium.” His passion for trains began with a Lionel train set, leading him to work with the Western New York Railway Historical Society in 1982 on railcar preservation and excursion operations. 

He has held senior management roles at Intel, KPMG, and Price Waterhouse, and served as President of the Railway Passenger Car Alliance (RPCA) from 2008 to 2012, enhancing the organization’s national visibility.  He has served on the RPCA Board for over 25 years and is also the RPCA Treasurer.

Mr. Wullich resides in Quinton, VA, and works with a number of nonprofit organizations.  He Is also the  Manager of Finance and Administration with FMW Solutions based in Duluth, MN.

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Lewis Foster was born and raised in the area around Roanoke, VA. He is a software development professional and graduate of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech). He currently lives in Blacksburg, Virginia and works as a Software Architect for several education-oriented software applications for Public Consulting Group. He caught the “railroad bug” from his father, who worked for Norfolk & Western and Norfolk Southern.

Along with his father, Lewis owns the “Minneapolis Club,” a former Northern Pacific / Chicago, Burlington, & Quincy 4 double bedroom, compartment, buffet, round-end observation car. Since they both enjoy traveling by train, they decided that this would be a fun (and challenging) project to take on together. The car is currently being refurbished and upgraded for Amtrak certification. Once this work is complete, they plan to make the car available for charter and lease.

Lewis also volunteers with the Roanoke Chapter, National Railway Historical Society. For the past three years he has served as a member of the Chapter’s Board and as Secretary of the organization for the past two. He also works with the Chapter Mechanical Committee, helping to maintain and restore the Chapter’s collection of passenger and freight rolling stock and its two operating locomotives.

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I have been an owner of private railcars since 1985, when he purchased Silver Lariat from Amtrak along with his partner. Their company, California Zephyr Railcar Charters was founded in 1989 to operate Silver Lariat on charters and tours.

In 1992 the Southern Pacific Railroad chartered Silver Lariat for a customer hospitality event in San Diego. That began a long-lasting relationship where Silver Lariat was used for numerous functions carrying top executives and valued customers all over both the SP and later UP systems.

CZRC acquired its second car, Silver Rapids, in 2000, and has operated its third car, Silver Solarium, under lease since 2007. In 2012 we acquired our fourth car, Silver Peak.

Our cars operate well over 50,000 miles annually, sometimes singly, but often in pairs or trios, almost always on Amtrak trains. In 2011 Burt worked with a music promoter to assemble and operate the “Railroad Revival Tour” special train of 14 cars, which took three bands on a seven-day tour from Oakland to New Orleans, with stops for six concerts. The tour was documented in the music video “Big Easy Express”, which won a Grammy Award in 2013.

California Zephyr Railcar Charters joined RPCA in 1999, and Burt has attended every annual Conference since then.