WRI Founder Gordon Bachinsky Honored With Canadian Association Of Railway Suppliers’ Lifetime Achievement Award

Gordon Bachinsky, Founder Wheel Rail Seminars. Photo credit: Julian Haber

MONTREAL –– This week, the Canadian Assocation of Railway Suppliers (CARS), which represents over 150 companies that are important to the operations of Canadian freight and passenger railways, as well as transit authorities, awarded its Lifetime Achievement Award to long-time railroader Gordon Bachinsky.

The CARS Lifetime Achievement Award honors those who have had a profound and lasting impact on the Canadian rail industry. Candidates for the award must demonstrate unwavering dedication, exceptional leadership, and tireless involvement in every facet of the community of Canadian railway suppliers.

CARS noted that Gordon’s “commitment to excellence, generosity of spirit, and [his] ability to bring people together have not only advanced our industry but have inspired countless others along the way. From your early contributions to your continued advocacy and mentorship, you have exemplified what it means to serve with integrity and passion. This award is a testament to the legacy you’ve built and the respect you’ve earned across the sector.”

Readers will remember that Railway Track and Structures is the presenting sponsor of the annual Wheel/Rail Interaction (WRI) Heavy Haul conference, and we are proud and excited to celebrate this award with his team and beloved wife, Toni.

Sylvia Newell, President,Canadian Association of Railway Suppliers (CARS); Gordon Bachinsky, Founder Wheel Rail Seminars, Evan Clarke, CARS Policy & Event Coordinator. Photo credit: Julian Haber

Concurrent with the award presentation, CARS provided the audience with a summary of Gordon’s career, which is reproduced in its entirety below.

Gordon’s railway career of over 50 years began in 1974 with Canadian National in his hometown of Winnipeg, Manitoba.  He worked in passenger train baggage operations at Union Station, as a waiter in the dining car across Canada, in diesel shop maintenance at Symington Yard, and as an Electrician Apprentice at Transcona Shops while obtaining a degree in Electrical Engineering. After earning his degree, Gordon went to work for the Toronto Transit Commission where he was involved in the procurement of new technology transit vehicles involving linear induction motors and a moving-block train control system. He returned to CN in 1984 as an Industrial Engineer headquartered in Montreal, where his primary assignment was to evaluate CN’s system-wide rail grinding program. From that, he developed a preventive approach that was adopted by the heavy-tonnage Mountain Region in western Canada.

Gordon moved to the Harris Corporation in Melbourne, Fla., where he supported products for distributed locomotive power. In 1990, he started Advanced Rail Management Corporation (ARM), which provided a unique blend of consulting engineering and contract services to railways and transit systems in North America with a focus on optimizing the wheel/rail interface. The company worked under his leadership on freight and transit systems throughout North America until it was sold to Global Rail Group in 2022.

Through his work at ARM, Gordon also saw a need to better educate and bring together practitioners from track and vehicle departments to improve vehicle/track interaction on their systems. In 1994, he founded the annual Wheel Rail Interaction Conference, or “WRI,” an event that has drawn participants from all over world over the past 30 years. The quality of the material generated by the conference is such that articles based on WRI presentations are published monthly in trade journals devoted to railway engineering.

Gordon also has a great passion for working with young people coming into the rail industry.  He has worked closely with the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg and Simon Fraser University in Vancouver over the past 10 years to support engineering studies in wheel/rail interaction-related research.  He plans to continue this support and ongoing efforts relating to the WRI conferences well into his retirement.

The Canadian Association of Railway Suppliers (CARS) added that “it is with great pride and admiration that [we] extend our warmest congratulations to you on being selected as the recipient of the CARS Lifetime Achievement Award.“

Upon receiving the Award, Gordon offered remarks to CARS and the audience. He said “I am truly honored to receive this Award, and even though I’ve lived 40 years of my life in the U.S., I’ve always been a proud Canadian railroader.” Gordon added that he has a huge amount of passion for and love of the railroad industry, and noted that work and life is really based on relationships. “Looking back on my career, I treasure the relationships I’ve developed and am so grateful for them,” Gordon added. Inspiring people, getting to know them, getting them to know others, and cooperating with one another is a hallmark of Gordon’s career.

Gordon said that the most important person behind his career is his wife, Toni. He pointed out she had always sacrificed so much for the business and given him such tremendous support and love. “In many ways, she deserves this award as much as I do.“