Bill, a native of Bridgeport CT, came into this world the same month and year as Trains magazine. After serving in the Army, he graduated from Yale Law School while working as a crew caller for the New Haven RR. He spent most of his career teaching law at the University of North Dakota, with other teaching stints in Louisiana, Illinois, Georgia, Colorado, Michigan and Idaho. He is a co-author of several books on transportation law and now teaches intellectual property to on-line students. He claims to be the first passenger on Northstar commuter and on the first run of the North Star (two words) operated by Amtrak, as well as the last passenger out of New Orleans on both the Kansas City Southern and the Texas & Pacific. He lives in Little Falls, Minnesota with his world famous cat, Mauser.