In 1998 the IHHA Board of Directors established a procedure to recognize outstanding people who through their dedicated efforts had advanced heavy haul rail operations and technology. The purpose of establishing a Heavy Haul of Fame is to publicly recognize eminent and dedicated persons who have contributed significantly to the pursuit of excellence in the fields of engineering, operations, and management of heavy haul railways.

For an individual to be considered for election into the Heavy Haul of Fame that person must meet or exceed the following criteria:

• A minimum of ten (10) years active involvement in the heavy haul railway industry.
• A significant contribution to the development by either theory or practice, to heavy haul railway engineering, operations or management.
• A general recognition by their peers of having in-depth knowledge of heavy haul issues and a willingness to share this knowledge and experience.
• Leadership and visionary attributes.
• Outstanding professional and personal character.

Election to the Heavy Haul of Fame is made at the Annual Board of Directors Meeting and the Award Presentation is made at the next IHHA Conference or STS meeting.

The Directors of the IHHA hold the Heavy Haul of Fame recognition as the highest honor it can bestow upon an individual who has been outstanding in the heavy haul railway industry. The IHHA Directors sincerely believe a single individual can make a significant difference and it is appropriate to publicly recognize these accomplishments.

Recipients of the Heavy Haul of Fame Award

Bill Harris and Braam le Roux

In 1999 at the STS meetings in Moscow, Russia the first two Heavy Haul of Fame Awards were presented to William J. Harris, retired Vice President Research of the Association of American Railroads and to Braam le Roux, retired Chief Executive of SPOORNET.

Both of these gentlemen were strong supporters of technology, research and development in the area of heavy haul operations, engineering and management. Both contributed significantly to the growth of the heavy haul rail movement in their respective countries and thereby influenced world-wide heavy haul development. Bill Harris developed and lead an outstanding rail research and development group that made it possible for American railroads to successfully create a safe and efficient heavy haul environment.

Braam le Roux’s leadership was largely responsible for South Africa’s rail system, SPOORNET, developing into a leading heavy haul rail operation that efficiently moved coal and iron ore by unit trains to transfer terminals for export shipments. 

Steve Marich and John German 

It was not until the 2003 STS meetings in Dallas, Texas that the board of Directors elected another two individuals to the Heavy Haul of Fame. The Board unanimously elected John G. German and Steven Marich to the Heavy Haul of Fame. Once again these two individuals made significant contributions to advancing heavy haul operations in their respective countries which benefited heavy haul operations through the world.

During his career, Steve Marich has made significant advancements in rail and wheel metallurgy overcoming serious problems in service failures and shortened service life. Based on his work, heavy haul operators like BHP Iron Ore and other Western Australia iron-ore railways were able to overcome rail and track problems that limited their efficiency and capacity. Steve’s work on the issues of rail and wheel service life began when he was with the Melbourne Research Laboratory.

John German began his career on the Great Northern Railway in 1943 and advanced to Superintendent of Motive Power; in 1961 he was appointed Chief Mechanical Officer for the Missouri Pacific Railroad and retired as Vice President of Engineering in 1983. During his career he was involved in numerous activities that progressed heavy haul issues and lead to changes in operations and management handling of heavy haul unit trains. In 1983 John was asked to assume the duties of the first Executive Director of the International Heavy Haul Association; he effective lead the organization until 1994.

Harry Tournay

Harry was inducted to the Haul of Fame at the 8th IHHA conference in Rio de Janeiro in 2005. His career has involved broad experience of the head office engineering function of Spoornet with particular emphasis on design and development of rolling stock He is an acknowledged expert in heavy haul rail matters, particularly involving wheel and rail interaction. He has published many IHHA papers ranging from car and vehicle suspension design to wheel/rail interaction. He is an author of a chapter in a book on wheel/rail interaction published by the International Heavy Haul Association and has lectured on the subject of rail vehicle suspension design and wheel/rail interaction at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. Mr. Tournay was Chief Engineer, managing the department of Railway Engineering within Spoornet before moving to Transportation Technology Center, Inc.

Dan Stone

In 2007, at the STS held in Kiruna, Sweden, Dan Stone was elected to the Heavy Haul of Fame. Currently operating his own company, Mr. Stone is a world leader in heavy haul railway metallurgy. Previously, as Chief Metallurgist at TTCI and Director of Metallurgy with the AAR, Dan served as the industry’s primary metallurgical engineer in the area of wheels, castings and tank car plates. Research projects have been completed which have produced the knowledge necessary for manufacturing rails with 30 percent greater strength and toughness, wheels of improved resistance to failure, and fracture safe cast steel freight car components.  Duties have also involved drafting new specifications for rail steels and couplers and freight car truck cast steels. 

Geng Zhixiu

Mr. Geng Zhixiu was elected to the Haul of Fame at the 9th IHHA conference held June 22-24, 2009 in Shanghai, China. Mr. Geng is the key person for China’s heavy haul technology, the academic pacesetter for railway heavy haul and electrification technologies. He has been directly involved with the Datong-Qinhuangdao coal line since its inception. It opened in 2002 with a design capacity of 100 million tonnes. It has expanded its capacity ever since and reached 340 million tonnes in 2008, the largest traffic volume in the world. Mr. Geng has won numerous Engineering and Achievement awards and is very worthy of being China’s first Haul of Fame recipient.