R&N's Bill Frederickson

Alexander D. Mitchell IV · **Posted:** Thu Dec 10, 2020 12:17 pm

Clipped from the Reading & Northern's Passenger Dept. Facebook page:

Quote:

A note from Andy Muller, Jr. (Owner and CEO - Reading and Northern Railroad):

"It is with deep sadness that I must share this email, our chain has been broken. [Tuesday, Dec. 8th] we lost an employee, a friend, and yes, a family member. Our brother Bill Frederickson passed away, very unexpectedly. I can’t tell you all the pain I feel. Yes Bill was a family member. I first met Bill very early in my railroad career, probably in 1986. We shared our love of steam engines together for many years. Bill, following in his dad's footsteps Duke, was always there to help me. It never went unnoticed. Most of my steam program is thankfully because of four generations of this family who have been here for all of us, and helped make this railroad the success it is today. He will truly be missed. I hope all you fellow brothers and sisters, pray for Bill and his whole family as they go through one of the saddest experiences any family has to face. I hope it helps them a little to know that the first run of the 2102 will not forget Bill, as it will be dedicated to him. He will be with us.”

Kelly Anderson · **Joined:** Tue Sep 14, 2004 7:52 am **Posts:** 2477

Scranton Yard · **Joined:** Thu Feb 27, 2014 10:08 am **Posts:** 733

Bill worked at Steamtown in the early 2000's as the (first?) contractor on the project to restore the Boston & Maine No. 3713, which is a partnership originally formed in 1995 between the Lackawanna and Wyoming Valley RHS, Inc. and the Steamtown National Historic Site. He did much of the early work on the first firebox resizing the staybolt holes, pad welding the thin areas on the firebox, and removing and replacing rigid staybolts, caps, and sleeves as well as performing repairs to the flue sheets.

He was succeeded in 2008 by Mike Tillger, who surveyed the boiler and provided all of the information for the initial Form 4 calculation, and Charles Rice, who was brought on to do weld repairs and fabricate a firebox. Rice had previously worked on 1361.

co614 · **Posted:** Fri Dec 11, 2020 12:52 pm

May Bill R.I.P. Another reminder of how important it is for us active in the steam side of the industry to be making a real effort to find, recruit and train tomorrow's steam caretakers.

I've had the pleasure of working with 3 different young men this past week all of whom intend to pursue a career in tourist railroading with an emphasis on steam.

Bill was a dedicated steam lover who did his best to share his love of steam with others. He will be missed for sure.

Ross Rowland