Meet our rail experts.

The National Rail Consulting Group (NRCG) was organized in 2018 to provide specialized rail consulting services to short line, industrial, finance, public sector, and institutional clients. An affiliate of FMW Solutions LLC, NRCG provides management consulting and professional services specific to the rail sector.

Our team consists of former railroad, agency, and industry leaders, each of whom brings a unique perspective to rail-related projects. Each of these experts has a deep understanding of the industry and a passion for seeing it continue to prosper.

Davidson A. Ward | Managing Partner

With a background in project management, railroad strategic planning, rail equipment and infrastructure appraisal, grant writing, and design, Mr. Ward serves as co-founder and Managing Director of NRCG. Ward specializes in the management of all manner of projects ranging from detailed rail litigation support to mechanical inspections and cost estimates to return equipment to states of good repair.

Mr. Ward is a key player in NRCG’s litigation support Team, having served in project management and leadership capacities on multiple high profile litigation exercises in the past few years, including matters relating to rail equipment, infrastructure design, and regulatory oversight.

Prior to his work with NRCG, Mr. Ward served as Principal Consultant with the Washington, D.C. based R.L. Banks & Associates, Inc., where he was a leader in its rail asset valuation and strategic planning division. While at RLBA, his work focused primarily on operations, commercial and equipment tasks. During his time with the firm, Mr. Ward has appraised more than $1.5 billion worth of rail equipment, managed due diligence support assignments worth in excess of $325 million, and has managed contract bid projects on behalf of clients worth more than $1 billion.

Furthermore, Ward serves as Chairman of the National Academies of Science Transportation Research Board Committee on Rail Rolling Stock and Motive Power AR 020. He also serves as President of FMW Solutions LLC.

John F. Betak, Ph.D. | Senior Associate

John Betak is a Senior Associate with the NRCG, the Managing Member of Collaborative Solutions LLC, a Senior Research Fellow in the Center for Risk Management and Insurance at The University of Texas at Austin and a Research Fellow at the Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation at Rutgers University. Dr. Betak is a senior consultant with 40+ years of diversified, international experience in management, consulting, administration and research in corporations, non-profits and major North American universities.

Before establishing Collaborative Solutions in 1995, Dr. Betak was an AVP at Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail) where he developed/managed the corporate industrial development, plant rationalization and line sales, short line marketing, non-hazardous solid waste business group, real estate portfolio and Geographic Information System.

Dr. Betak was part of the team that developed the plan that led to the restructuring of Conrail and its return to profitability. Key elements of that plan led to the passage of NERSA and a fundamental shift in the rail industry's ability to restructure their operations. It also led to the development of the modern short line and regional railroad industry. Dr. Betak was a member of Conrail's Strategic Management Team and Operating Committee and he was one of the senior team members involved in implementing continuous quality improvement throughout the company.

In addition, Dr. Betak was President of CRC Properties (the wholly-owned real estate management subsidiary of Consolidated Rail Corporation), where he was responsible for managing the real property assets portfolio comprised of buildings, real estate holdings, corridor assets for utility utilization, etc.

Kevin Sweat | Director of Safety and Compliance

Mr. Sweat offers clients rail safety reviews, and regulatory compliance audits, as well as provides operations training and he will be a key member of the FMW rail operations team. He maintains a deep knowledge of rail operations, regulatory compliance, and safety. 

Mr. Sweat is a Florida native with over 15 years in the railroad industry, with experience on numerous railroads throughout the country, ranging from tourist railroads, short lines, Class Is, and commuter railroads and he has provided regulatory and operational oversight for intercity passenger rail and short lines.

Mr. Sweat has over a decade of experience as a locomotive engineer and conductor on freight and passenger railroads, and he holds certifications from the FRA in Accident Investigation and Positive Train Control. He most recently served for six years as an FRA Operating Practices Inspector for the Florida Department of Transportation.

Daniel C. Collins | Senior Associate

Daniel Collins, a former Official with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), provides expert consultancy to industry and Government on a host of safety and security issues. Over the past several years Mr. Collins has served as a Project Manager on the development and implementation of a GIS based software to help Short Line railroads become compliant with Federal Hazardous Materials routing rules.

Prior to that engagement Mr. Collins ran a non-profit organization providing real time content and response information in a proprietary software to emergency responders dealing with railroad freight and passenger incidents. At one time over 2 million responders had secure access to this information.

Mr. Collins is currently serving as a railroad industry expert to deploy GIS based solutions to short line railroad business, operations and logistical issues.

R. Lee Meadows, Jr., P.E. | Senior Infrastructure Associate

Mr. Meadows is a railroad professional civil engineer with nearly 50 years’ experience in the design, construction, maintenance, and reconditioning of railroad track infrastructure. Meadows began his rail career in 1972 with the Norfolk and Western Railway, rising in ranks from track inspector to Division Engineer with successor road Norfolk Southern Corporation. In total Meadows has been responsible for the inspection and maintenance of more than 5,000 miles of Class I mainline track spanning all terrains from the fields of the Midwest to the grades of tunnels of the Appalachian Mountains.

Following retirement from NS in 2004, Meadows has taken on an ambitious series of projects, including overseeing the surveying and construction of more than 20 miles of mainline-quality branch lines in the rugged mountains of West Virginia. With experience in both field work and detailed engineering design, Meadows’ approaches projects with an “out of the box” mentality, willing to accept new ideas that are rooted in the realities of proven practice, while still ensuring clients are receiving the best benefit.

Mr. Meadows specializes in reviewing and value engineering proposed track projects with experience rooted in having overseen thousands of miles of program and routine maintenance plans. He has scheduled and supervised numerous, large track projects such as tie renewals, rail installation, track resurfacing, shoulder cleaning and undercutting operations, structure upgrading and grade/sub-grade stabilization. Further expertise include having supervised numerous bridge and culvert rehabilitation projects including complete renewals, extensive tunnel repairs and tunnel portal reconfigurations. Meadows’ experience extends to having managed tasks at all levels of engineering responsibility including third party contract work on many projects.

J. Allen Rider | Senior Mechanical Associate

Mr. Rider is an expert in railroad motive power and equipment matters. Mr. Rider’s career spans more than 40 years, where he worked in the mechanical departments of two Class I railroads, rising to the rank of Manager of Locomotive Engineering at Norfolk Southern Railway. Since retiring from NS in 2017, Mr. Rider has been involved in a number of motive power-related assignments, including troubleshooting and planning matters.

In addition to his extensive knowledge of all aspects of railroad operations, Rider has considerable management experience in railroad shop operations and staff supervision. He is a specialist in troubleshooting locomotive mechanical and electrical systems, including having worked extensively in the application of Positive Train Control to the NS diesel fleet.

Rider’s experience spans knowledge of “on the ground” maintenance and troubleshooting to executive-level decision making regarding motive power and fleet decisions.

Thomas P. Loftus | Senior Finance Associate

Mr. Loftus is a former railroad executive with extensive experience in corporate finance, acquisitions and financial management. He has particular strengths in the areas of valuation of acquisition targets, corporate finance, financial risk management, financial planning and analysis, and financial management. He has been part of Financial Advisory teams to the US Federal Railroad Administration, where he was responsible for evaluating passenger and freight railroads and rail transit systems applying for multi‐million US dollar loans under the Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement (RRIF) Financing Program. In this role he has performed due diligence on multiple loan requests.

Mr. Loftus has also represented applicants seeking RRIF loans. For these engagements, Mr. Loftus led teams assisting the clients with preparing RRIF loan applications, including development of business plans and financial projection models required by the RRIF loan application. He has served on a number of international project teams including the World Bank‐financed restructuring of the railway system of Azerbaijan and was a senior key professional on a team hired by the Romanian state‐owned railway companies to conduct an analysis of the financial status of the companies and recommend strategies for improving profitability and overall financial health.

Most recently he served on teams supporting JICA‐financed passenger mass transit railway development efforts in Jakarta, Indonesia, as well as supporting projects involving Indian Railways. He was a senior financial advisor to XpressWest which is developing a new multi‐billion dollar high speed passenger rail system to run between Las Vegas and Los Angeles in the United States. He previously served as Senior Vice‐President and Treasurer for Genesee & Wyoming Inc. a freight rail holding company with international operations and annual turnover exceeding USD $2.3 billion.

Doyle Cheatham | Senior Operations Associate

Mr. Cheatham offers more than 40 years of experience in Class I railroad operations, training, and management. Mr. Cheatham retired from Norfolk Southern Railway in 2017 following a 37 year career that encompassed nearly all facets of railroad operations training. This experience included serving as Division Road Foreman of Engines, Assistant General Superintendent of Transportation, Manager of Specialized Locomotive Applications, and Road Foreman of Engines.

Since retiring from NS, Mr. Cheatham has offered his professional experience in a consulting capacity. Specific areas of expertise include: distributed power utilization and training, locomotive positive train control, train energy management, training development, and budget / cost control skills. 

Kelly Lynch | Director of Marketing & Strategy

Mr. Lynch leads marketing, strategic planning, and media production, as well as provides operations planning, grant writing, and logistical support for National Rail Consulting Group and its clients. He has over 20 years of experience in railroading, film and video production, digital marketing, advertising, preservation, fundraising, and community development. He has worked for a variety of Class Is, short lines, and regional railroad companies in numerous roles, including ranging from brakeman to trainmaster.

Specific areas of expertise include: railroad operations, public-private partnerships, logistics planning, customer service and customer experience, digital marketing, and public relations.

Roy Wullich | Manager of Operations and Finance

Mr. Wullich serves as Manager of Operations and Finance. He brings over 40 years of experience in both accounting and finance along with a variety of experiences in railroad operations and historic preservation.

Mr. Wullich has held various senior management positions at several international companies including Intel, KPMG and Price Waterhouse.