American Passenger Rail Heritage Foundation

Board of Directors

Bob Cox , APRHF President
Currator of the APRHF Silver Rails Gallery & Memorial Library , APRHF exhibition of Amtrak history , Lookout Point Park and Caretaker of the La Plata Amtrak Station & Historic Santa Fe Depot , Member of the Missouri Rail Passenger Advisory Committee (MORPAC) . His latest endeavor for the APRHF is startup and management of the APRHFstore.com .

Amy Cox , APRHF Treasurer
Amy handles the money and the books within the organization.

Nathan Chidester
Sr. Coordinating Producer and Lead Host, APRHF Let's Talk Trains Radio Talk Show, 2008-Present, Nathan has a B.S. in Broadcast Journalism and a minor in Sports Administration from the University of Southern Mississippi, in Hattiesburg, Miss. He has been involved with the Let's Talk Trains Show since 2003, as a regular calller, and in 2008 after the death of the show's founder/host, Richard Hamilton, was one of the people to decide to keep the show going. Nathan was named the Sr. Coordinating Producer and Lead Host of LTT in 2013. The show has grown from an average of 1000 listens per month, to an average of 2500-3000 listens per month. Nathan is a Charter Member of the APRHF and represent the APRHF at different events including National Train Day, at Chicago Union Station and recently, the inaugural run of N&W 611 on May 30th. Nathan has been and continues to be a long-time supporter of railroad history especially passenger rail heritage.

Zelwin Eaton
University Administrator at Northeast Missouri State University , Kirksville, Missouri.

Dave Rector
VP Administration and Finance at Truman State University , Kirksville, Missouri.

(Former APRHF Directors)

Ray Burns (Oct 7, 1942 - Jul 22, 2014)
President, TrainWeb LLC, 1996 - 2014, TrainWeb.com & TrainWeb.org . ( Click here to view a memorial tribute).

Barbara Cepinko , Former APRHF Treasurer
President, Silver Rails , 2014-Present, Provides web hosting for APRHF , TrainWeb.com and TrainWeb.org , President, Silver Rails Properties LLC , 2007-Present, Treasurer, Silver Rails Vineyards LLC , 2014-Present, Co-owner, Depot Inn & Suites , 2007-2015, Former President & Co-Founder of Midcom Corporation , 1979-2013, a computer programming & engineering staffing company that has provided staff to aerospace, defense and commerical firms across the national including JPL, Lockheed, Boeing, TRW, Walt Disney, Hughes Aircraft, Toyota and more.

Stephen Grande , Former APRHF Membership Director & Former APRHF Secretary
Vice-President, Silver Rails , 2014-Present, Provides web hosting for APRHF , TrainWeb.com and TrainWeb.org , Vice-President, Silver Rails Properties LLC , 2007-Present, Vice-President, TrainWeb LLC / TrainParty.com, 1996-2015, Vice-President, Silver Rails Vineyards LLC , 2014-Present, Co-owner, Depot Inn & Suites , 2007-2015, Former VP & Co-Founder of Midcom Corporation , 1979-2013.

Jason Haxton
Museum Director at A.T. Still University since 2001, Kirksville, Missouri. Previously a Truman State University Administrator. Jason Haxton has worked on several projects with the Smithsonian Institute Museums , served as a researcher/benefactor with the state capitol of Missouri, and a lecturer with Missouri's Arts Council . He is a member of several local historical groups. Jason Haxton facilitates exhibits that have served almost 3-million visitors across the USA and travels frequently overseas with exhibits to Germany, Russia, Australia, Canada, and England. He has received federal grants for curriculum development for schools across the nation, and for preservation & protection of artifacts.

Robert Manning
President, Southwest Rail Passenger Association, SWRAIL.ORG , Co-Chair and Organizer of the annual California Passenger Rail Summit 2014-2019, Executive VP of Rail Passenger Association of California & Nevada (RailPAC) , A California State Representative (Members of the Council of Representatives) of the National Association of Rail Passengers (NARP) .

Shivaji Surve
President, TrainWeb LLC including TrainParty.com , 2016-2019, Chief Technology Officer, TrainWeb LLC, 1999-2015, TrainWeb.com & TrainWeb.org

Robert Tabern , Former APRHF Vice President
Robert Tabern currently resides in the Chicagoland area with his wife, Kandace, after calling Illinois, Arkansas, Indiana, and Wisconsin home over the years. He spent almost two decades working in broadcast journalism, holding various on-air, behind-the-scenes, and management positions at commercial radio and television stations across the country. Robert now works full-time in the travel industry, designing new group motorcoach and rail tours. He first became a member of the APRHF following a visit to La Plata in August 2010 and experiencing the warm hospitality of Silver Rails Country. Between 2012 and 2015, Robert served as the Chicago Coordinator for the APRHF-sponsored Trails & Rails program that operated on the Southwest Chief between Chicago and La Plata, Missouri. He became Executive Director of the APRHF Rail Rangers program upon its creation in July 2015, and continues to manage the organization's onboard educational efforts on private rail cars. Robert Tabern departed from the APRHF Board of Directors and Vice President position in December 2018 along with Kandace Tabern to form a new non-profit rail organization, Midwest Rail Rangers .

Kandace Tabern , Former APRHF Secretary
Kandace Tabern currently resides in the Chicagoland area with her husband, Robert, after calling California, Arkansas, and Wisconsin home in the past. Kandace spent most of her career working as a registered pharmacy technician, but now enjoys managing the many aspects of Outside the Rails , a company featuring nearly one dozen railroad route guidebooks written by Kandace and Robert. She became a member of the APRHF in 2012, while taking on the role of Assistant Chicago Coordinator of the APRHF-sponsored Trails & Rails program that operated on the Southwest Chief between Chicago and La Plata, Missouri. Kandace became Chicago Coordinator of the APRHF Rail Rangers program upon its creation in July 2015. Kandace Tabern departed from the APRHF Board of Directors and Secretary position in December 2018 along with Robert Tabern to form a new non-profit rail organization, Midwest Rail Rangers .