Management Bios
Carolyn Hoffman
President | Director | Director of Toy Collections
Dingmans Ferry, Pennsylvania
Carolyn has over 15 years of experience in non-profit management, gleaned primarily in the railroad and military vehicle preservation fields. She currently works professionally as the executive admin for the non-profit Arts Business Collaborative. With over 25 years of experience in executive administration and customer service, Carolyn is also a gifted event planner and organizer. This is best evidenced by the ongoing growth and success of Operation Toy Train, which Carolyn co-founded in 2009 and continues to lead.
Carolyn is the award-winning author of one book on railroad history. In addition to her roles at TOYX, Carolyn currently serves as the vice president at Tri-States Railway Preservation Society and is a senior advisor for The Conrail Historical Society.
Neil Finch
Chairman of the Board | Vice President
Throop, Pennsylvania
A native of Tioga County, New York, Neil’s passion for trains came from his father, a circus fan, who took him to see the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus train loading in Binghamton. Instead of paying attention to the circus, he was captivated by the locomotives nearby, and a lifetime hobby was born. You can find him almost anywhere at one of our events (at the steps, manning the grill, or sometimes in costume). He might even sing a song! Neil works for a major financial institution as an operations consultant. He and his wife Amanda live in Throop with their two dogs and two cats. They both enjoy antiquing and exploring anthracite country in their spare time.
In addition to his roles at TOYX, Neil currently serves as a director for the Tri-States Railway Preservation Society and the secretary of the Delaware & Hudson Railway Historical Society.
Taras Terlecky
Treasurer | Director
Lafayette, New Jersey
Taras is an insurance broker with 25 years of insurance knowledge and experience working with construction clients nationwide. Taras’s current position includes creating and monitoring risk retention programs as well as risk transfer programs for projects ranging from civil, heavy highway, and infrastructure construction to multi-story commercial, industrial, and educational buildings. Taras works closely with project managers and company owners during the risk review process to identify potential exposures, and he secures and implements insurance coverage to minimize the potential out-of-pocket expenses for any losses. Taras also works with the carrier’s underwriters by monitoring the course of construction of the project with site walk-throughs (in conjunction with the insurance carriers’ and contractors’ safety teams) to help identify potential new hazards and mitigate either on-site or with adjustments to the risk transfer program. Taras also has experience with claims handling and has worked with multiple third-party administrators and legal firms during the claims process to help the client work through the incident, offer an overview of the process based on the occurrence, gather the proper documentation to be submitted to the carriers, and help facilitate conference calls to make sure all parties are on the same page and understand the goals for investigation and, if need be, settlement of the incident.
Joe Mele
Secretary
North Haledon, New Jersey
Joe has been in the international shipping business with a stint in the railroad industry since earning his B.A. in political science from King’s College in Wilkes-Barre, PA. He has been on both the commercial and operations side of the transportation industry. A few highlights of his transportation career have been negotiating rail contracts on behalf of his employer, overseeing motor carrier procurement, and creating FMC-regulated service contracts for his customers.
Joe has been involved with numerous railroad historical societies and preservation groups over the years. He was a volunteer on Operation Toy Train’s first Toys for Tots train in 2009 and has been involved with our organization since its inception.
Besides Joe’s interest in TOYX, Joe is also an avid college and professional sports fan. Joe currently resides in North Haledon, NJ with his wife Eugene and dog Duke.
Fran Phillips
Director | Executive Chef
Bloomfield, New Jersey
Fran’s first rail adventures consisted of sneaking into Manhattan on the Long Island Rail Road when she was in high school. She later spent many years commuting on the LIRR where she seldom got a seat. This chronic problem led to the discovery that she could get a seat and not have to change at Jamaica if she boarded in the yard rather than Penn Station. And a whole new world opened. A move to Brooklyn took the LIRR out of the picture and put her above the 86th Street stop on the NYC Subway’s R line. The next move delivered her to NJ Transit.
A 2007 cross-country trip aboard the Pullman Dover Harbor was an epiphany. She spent much of the trip out in the vestibule, taking photos and getting sooty. That year she started volunteering as cook on the car and remains on their roster. Since then, she has worked on such cars as Hickory Creek, Pennsylvania 120, Silver Solarium, Francis L. Suter, Catalpa Falls, and TOYX’s Lackawanna diner 469, as well as behind NKP 765 and N&W 611.
She earned her degree from St. John’s University and worked in advertising. Leaving that field, she and her partner, Terence Mulligan, produced faux finishes and historical ornament for interior design and restoration. She taught as an adjunct art instructor at Seton Hall University and continues to teach at museums, historical associations, and adult schools.
Frank Eichenlaub
Director | Director of Rail Operations
Wantage, New Jersey
With over two decades of professional experience in railroad operations and management, Frank has worked for various railroad contractors, the Morristown & Erie Railway, and the Middletown & New Jersey Railroad. He is currently the Designated Supervisor of Locomotive Engineers (DSLE), Director of Safety, and an operations manager for the New York, Susquehanna & Western Railway.
Beyond his professional experience, Frank has been involved in local railroad preservation groups for over 15 years. The extensive knowledge and personal connections from Frank’s railroad industry experience play an important role in TOYX’s continued operations. In addition to his roles at TOYX, Frank currently serves as the treasurer of the Tri-States Railway Preservation Society.
Matt Wolchko
Director
Garfield, New Jersey
Matt has over 35 years of professional experience as an architect, planner, author, and preservationist. With a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from Penn State University and a Master in Architecture from Arizona State University, Matt is now a project architect and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Associate working for Parette Somjen Architects. He is also a member of several professional organizations, including the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the New Jersey Society of Architects (NJAIA), the Architects League of Northern New Jersey (ALNNJ), and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). His diverse but interrelated background in different aspects of design provides innovative architectural solutions that combine historically significant appearance with modern functionality.
Outside of TOYX, Matt is actively involved in historic preservation, and has served as the chairman of the Bergen County Historic Preservation Advisory Board, as a director of the Lackawanna Cut-Off Historical Committee / Greendell Station Museum, and as an active member of the Association for Preservation Technology.
Tim Farrell
Director
Chester, New Jersey
An electrical engineer by trade, Tim graduated from the Rutgers School of Engineering and has worked for ASCO Power Technologies, a Schneider Electric Company, since 2005, currently as a Senior Laboratory Engineer. He also has 30 years of experience as a soccer referee at youth, high school, and college levels.
Tim has over three decades of experience in volunteerism. Outside of his role at TOYX, he is extremely active in the Scouting America program (formerly the Boy Scouts of America), earning the rank of Eagle Scout as a youth and continuing on to become an adult leader and merit badge counselor in northern New Jersey. Among other Scouting roles, Tim has served as both a District Commissioner and Assistant Council Commissioner. He currently serves the Patriots' Path Council as a District Chairman and an Executive Board Member. He also volunteers as a ham radio operator at the TCS New York City Marathon and United NYC Half Marathon.
Eric “Gus” Hague
Director
Warwick, New York
Bio coming soon!
Tim Meade
Director | Executive Director
Campbell Hall, New York
Tim recently retired from the railroad industry after 38 years of service, holding many positions including Train Dispatcher, Crew Dispatcher, Operator, Station Agent, Senior Rail Safety Training Specialist for New Jersey Transit, and Field Safety Manager, Accident Investigator for Metro-North Railroad. Tim has been involved with Operation Toy Train since 2009 when service began in New York State.
Michael Steinberg
Director
Fort Worth, Texas
Michael grew up in Rockland County, New York, and his love for trains is as close to a lifetime affair as possible. After nearly twenty years in New York, the next twenty were spent in St. Louis, Missouri, where he and his wife expanded their family one cat at a time. Eventually, another human would join; and to his wife’s chagrin, their daughter also quickly took to trains.
Growing up hearing countless stories from his dad about riding the passenger trains of the Santa Fe, Michael joined that family, hiring out on the BNSF in 2004 as a switchman. Over the last twenty years, he has held numerous roles on both the TY&E and Management sides, currently serving as a Senior Manager in Merchandise Service Design, responsible for a territory that includes former Frisco, Santa Fe, and CB&Q Lines across 11 states.
Michael has a bachelor’s degree from Webster University in St. Louis, and he has been involved in railroad historical and preservation for over 25 years. Michael also currently serves as co-chair for the AAR Gateway Performance Improvement Committee.
Rudy Garbely
Media & Communications Director | CMO Locomotives & Freight Equipment
Dingmans Ferry, Pennsylvania
Rudy is a leading professional in the railroad preservation industry with over 15 years of experience as an accomplished railroad historian, researcher, author, and publisher. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in History with honors from Moravian College, and he gained further historical experience and training in preservation and collections management at the Smithsonian-accredited National Museum of Industrial History and Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. He spent the first years of his professional career working at the Morristown & Erie Railway, gaining valuable insight and experience while holding a variety of mechanical, operating, and marketing positions.
Rudy founded The Garbely Publishing Company and has written over a dozen critically acclaimed and award-winning books on railroad history, as well as published over 40 additional railroad books for other authors. His company serves as a marketing and website contractor for over 30 railroad preservation organizations throughout the northeast.
Rudy began his volunteerism at a young age in the Boy Scouts of America (now Scouting America), earning the rank of Eagle Scout and later becoming a merit badge counselor. Outside of his contracted services and his volunteer work with TOYX, he has over 15 years of experience serving as a director, trustee, or executive at nearly a dozen different non-profit organizations. Rudy currently serves as a director for the Tri-States Railway Preservation Society, treasurer of the Delaware & Hudson Railway Historical Society, and senior advisor for The Conrail Historical Society.
Angie Li
Fundraising Director | Photo Guru
Chester, New Jersey
Angie has requested that her bio refer to her only as “that loud girl with the camera.” Potentially against her wishes, we have also identified her as “the TOYX volunteer most likely to randomly supply delicious homemade baked goods.”
Justin Kerstner
CMO Passenger Equipment
Dingmans Ferry, Pennsylvania
Bio coming soon!