In memoriam: Walter Winzen

Walter Winzen, founder and chief executive officer of Missouri-based Transportation Products Sales Co. (TPSC), died Jan. 19 of heart failure, the company has announced.

"We are saddened by the passing of Walter Winzen, but confident his leadership will live on in all aspects of the business operations, especially his mission to find solutions that advance the rail industry," said TPSC President Sid Bakker in a press release.  

Winzen began working in the railroad industry in 1971, when he accepted a position at St. Louis Railway Supply. Over the next three decades, he founded three companies that continue to operate and serve the railroad industry across North America: TPSC in 1986, Automated Railroad Maintenance Systems in 1990 and Railroad Battery Services in 2006.

Prior to joining the rail business, he served in the U.S. Army from 1962 to 1964. While  studying electrical engineering and business at Washington University, Winzen worked at McDonald Douglas on the Gemini spacecraft. He also worked at Sherwood Medical, where he managed production of the Digecon System.

For the past 37 years, Winzen contributed to rail industry associations including the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association, the Railway Supply Institute and Railway Systems Suppliers Inc. (RSSI). Most recently, he served as president of the RSSI board.

Winzen is survived by his wife, Debra; seven children and 10 grandchildren.