Byron Alfred Nordberg
1936 – 1997
Byron Nordberg passed away recently in California. Byron was perhaps one of the most thoughtful and insightful advocates of rail passenger service in America.
Byron Nordberg has the microphone
at the 23 February 1985 RailPAC convention.
At left is Andrew Selden.
Byron was born in Chicago in 1936. He grew up in the Midwest, and served a full career in the U.S. Marine Corps, including a tour of duty in Viet Nam, where he was an intelligence officer supporting forward Marine combat units. Byron retired from the Marine Corps as a Lt. Colonel and settled in Oceanside, California, with his family.
Byron then launched his second career, as an independent transportation consultant. In that role, he became a member of the Oceanside Transportation Commission where he conceived and championed development of the Oceanside Transportation Center, which anchored local and intercity bus stations with a new Amtrak station, in a single facility. This landmark center became the model for redevelopment of stations all up and down Amtrak’s “San Diegan” corridor.
Byron was not content to stop there. With other colleagues, Byron set a vision for the “San Diegan” corridor which challenged conventional definitions of rail service in southern California. He was a principal conceptual architect of the renaissance of this corridor, individually and through the “LOSSAN” Corridor Committee. His ideas contributed to massive public reinvestment in the railroad, doubling the frequency of service, and extension of train service north of Los Angeles to Santa Barbara and as far as San Luis Obispo.
At the national level, he was an ardent and visionary advocate for Amtrak’s national passenger rail network, helping to define innovative concepts for financing and operating both long distance Amtrak trains, and the regional rail services now operating in Los Angeles and San Diego. Byron finished his career as a field engineering consultant for L.A.’s Metrolink regional rail service.
Byron is survived by his wife, Eunice (who is an Amtrak station agent at the Oceanside station), and daughters, Jeanine and Christie, son-in-law, Brad, and grandson, Owen.
– Andrew C. Selden, February 3, 1997
United Rail Passenger Alliance
Railroad Passenger Association of California
Minnesota Association of Railroad Passengers
