CSR is pleased to announce the addition of two new Technical Advisors to its team: Iiro Hirvensalo, M.Sc. and W. Hugh Odom, P.E.
Hirvensalo, [SHOWN ABOVE], is an accomplished Finnish mechanical engineer and steam locomotive expert. His career has spanned all manner of heavy manufacturing, design, project management and consulting on behalf of a variety of Finnish companies. Not only involved in mechanical engineering, his accomplishments include being a degreed Clarinetist from the Sibelius Academy and is active in the operation/maintenance of mainline steam locomotives.
Hirvensalo's current work, post-retirement, focuses on the completion of a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering with a focus on modern steam locomotives from the Helsinki University of Technology. CSR is excited to welcome Hirvensalo who is helping to expand CSR's knowledge base and assisting on technical matters concerning boiler systems in Europe.
He has maintained a life long passion for railroads, serving as a founding member of the Railway Historical Society of Finland in 1967, an organization with more than 1,000 members today. Hirvensalo is also heavily involved in the operation of Finnish mainline steam locomotives, including 4-6-2 type number 1009 [SHOWN ABOVE].
Hugh Odom, P.E. [SHOWN AT RIGHT] is no stranger to the world of modern steam locomotives. A 1978 graduate of Clemson University with a BS in mechanical engineering and a registered Professional Engineer in South Carolina, he has worked as a project manager, mechanical engineer, environmental engineer, and nuclear engineer at various times in his career, and has over 30 years of professional experience. In addition to working for the Navy and the US Army Corps of Engineers, Odom spent 2 years with Norfolk Southern as a gang foreman in the motive power department. Odom was also briefly involved with excursions with NKP 765 and N&W 611 during this time.
In the 1980's, Hugh was an active member of the Charleston Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society and was a charter member of the South Carolina Railway Museum.
Since the late 1990's, Hugh has maintained a website dedicated to advanced steam locomotives called "the Ultimate Steam Page". Through this page, Hugh established contact with other advanced steam enthusiasts and professionals around the world. Hugh has assisted with projects such as the 5AT Advanced Steam Locomotive Project and the Cliffside 110 restoration project. CSR is excited to welcome Hugh's involvement in its research undertakings, including his assistance on recent White Papers.