Nigel G Bennett

Born and raised in England, Nigel has been a fan of railroading since childhood, where he enjoyed the hobby of Trainspotting, and watching the intensive railway operations. Through his teenage years, steam was the most common locomotive power source on British railways. In his early teens Nigel enjoyed spending days at Bristol Temple Meads station, which then had 15 active platforms and departures commonly every minute during daytime hours. Organized trips from his school often included tours of motive power depots. At the larger of these it was not uncommon to find 100 or more steam locomotives.

Although railways were always a hobby for him, Nigel graduated from the University of Oxford with an M.A. in Biochemistry and a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Bristol, after which he had a 40-year career in accounting and computer systems primarily in the oil industry (Mobil and later BP). Nigel worked in the U.S. for three years in New York in the 1980s with Mobil and moved to Chicago permanently in 1999 with BP.

When Nigel retired in 2012, he was able to fulfill his dream of working with locomotives by joining the Illinois Railway Museum, assisting them with his financial expertise, where he serves as Treasurer on a volunteer basis.