Robert G. Lewis, publisher of Railway Age from 1956 until not long before he retired from the company in 1995, died the evening of January 5 at his home in Ormond-by-the-Sea, Fla., at the age of 94.

A native of Philadelphia, Bob Lewis began his career with the Pennsylvania Railroad in the operations department in 1934. He worked for the Bessemer & Lake Erie from 1940 to 1941 before joining the U.S. Navy in December 1941. After World War II, he returned to the Pennsylvania before joining Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corp. as an associate editor of Railway Age in 1947. Lewis served consecutively as associate editor, transportation editor and circulation director of Simmons-Boardman before being named publisher of the magazine and its associated technical monthlies in 1956. He also served as president and vice chairman of the board of Simmons-Boardman.

In  1961, Lewis founded International Railway Journal, now based in England, which this year celebrates its 50th anniversary as one of the world’s leading transportation publications.

After retirement, Lewis retained a connection with Simmons-Boardman as director of special projects.

An appreciation of Bob Lewis’s life and career will appear in the February 2011 edition of Railway Age.