Tentative LMOA Educational Program
Railway Interchange 2026
Omaha, NE
Wednesday, June 3, 2026
9:00 AM – 10:30 AM | Opening Session
- Jim Vena, CEO, Union Pacific
- Dave Fink, Administrator for the FRA
10:30 AM – 10:45 AM | Break
10:45 AM – 11:45 AM | Facilities, Material and Support Committee
Chair: Tim Bernat, L&S Electric
- Best Practices: Crane and Rigging Management
- Andrew Waltz, Mid America, Inc.
- Proper Management of Cores within a Locomotive Maintenance Facility
- Tim Bernat, L&S Electric
- Non-Destructive Testing in a Shop Environment
- Kurt Ulbick, Peaker Services
11:30 AM – 1:00 PM | Lunch (Exhibit Hall)
1:00 PM – 2:15 PM | Fuel, Lubricants and Environmental Committee
Chair: Chris Miller, Wabtec
- Alternative Fuel Testing
- Joint paper with Mechanical Maintenance Committee
- Michael Cleveland, Peaker Services, Inc.
- Diesel Fuel Plugging Issues: Identification, Remediation and Best Practices
- Corey Ruch, BNSF Railway
- Results of Mixing Lubricants
- Jonathan Meinhardt, Cummins, Inc.
2:15 PM – 3:00 PM | Break (Exhibit Hall)
3:00 PM – 4:30 PM | Electrical Maintenance Committee
Chair: Brent Brown, Transportation Products Supply Company
- Modern Locomotive Low Voltage / High Voltage Electrical Safety
- Mike Thomason, Knoxville Locomotive Works
- Contactor Control Reliability
- Eric Fortin, DLL, Inc.
- Battery Electric and Hybrid Locomotive Solutions
- Dave Pettengill, Dayton-Phoenix
- DC Motors and Their Use as Grid Blowers in Dynamic Braking Operations
- Steve Romero, Wabtec
4:30 PM – 6:00 PM | Reception (Exhibit Hall)
Thursday, June 4, 2026
8:00 AM | Exhibit Hall Open
9:00 AM – 9:15 AM | State of the Union Address
- Corey Ruch, President
9:15 AM – 10:30 AM | Mechanical Maintenance Committee
Chair: Allen Meek, Cummins, Inc.
- Locomotive Winterization: Best Practices and Innovations
- Boden Bilokraly, Canadian National Railroad
- Autonomous Detection of Rail Air Leaks
- Chris Stoos, Southwest Research Institute
- Learning from Oil Data
- Ian Bradbury, Peaker Services, Inc.