After over 10 years of service to the Reading & Northern Railroad, Bill Clark, senior vice president of coal marketing, has announced his retirement effective May 31.

Clark joined the industry in 1981 working for Canadian Pacific in the marketing department. Throughout his career spanning over four decades in the rail industry, Clark held senior marketing roles for various Class 1 and regional railroads including 14 years with Norfolk Southern in its coal group.

Following a stint in the private sector working in coal purchasing and rail logistics for PPL, Clark joined Reading & Northern in 2016.

Clark worked diligently to develop R&N’s dried coal business serving the domestic steel industry. Through creativity and his relationships in the coal and steel industries, Clark was able to penetrate a market long held by the trucking industry.

Dried coal has become R&N’s largest growth market, going from a few hundred cars a year when Clark started to a projected 3,500-plus carloads in 2026. Clark also oversaw the coal group through three consecutive 1 million ton shipping seasons, the first time that R&N’s achieved that accomplishment.

Andy Muller, R&N owner and CEO, said, “It would be difficult to overstate Bill’s accomplishment for our company. Reading & Northern has always called ourselves ‘The Road of Anthracite.’ Bill turned that road into a supercharged freeway. All of us at Reading & Northern owe Bill a huge debt of gratitude. And we wish him happy trails in his retirement.”

Taking over management of R&N’s coal group are Jim Cerulli, vice president of coal business development, and Mike Sharadin, vice president of coal sourcing.

Cerulli joined RBMN in 2015 after spending several years as a public schoolteacher in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Throughout his 11-year career at R&N, Cerulli has held various roles in the transportation and marketing departments including heading up the industrial development program for several years before joining the coal team full time in 2023.

Sharadin joined Reading & Northern in 1996 and spent 20-plus years with the railroad before leaving for a short stint with Amazon in logistics. He returned to Reading & Northern in 2023 in his current capacity and remains an integral part of the coal and marketing team.

Wayne Michel, R&N president, said, “While it is impossible to replace Bill’s knowledge and experience, we are fortunate to have two very dedicated railroad veterans in the wings. Jim and Mike have been working closely with Bill over the last two years, and they will work with me to make sure our coal customers continue to have a superior experience when working with Reading & Northern.”

For any coal marketing and or business-related matters, Cerulli can be reached at 570-640-8011 or jcerulli@readingnorthern.com, while Sharadin can be reached at 484-525-5960 or msharadin@readingnorthern.com.