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At the Grand Canyon, a Mechanic’s Love Affair With Locomotives

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Eric Hadder inspects a boiler
Eric Hadder, chief mechanical officer at the Grand Canyon Railway, inspecting the boiler of a steam locomotive. (Caitlin O'Hara/The New York Times)

At the Grand Canyon, a Mechanic’s Love Affair With Locomotives

July 11, 2016
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UA Engineering alumnus Eric Hadder, BS/ME 1995, is chief mechanical officer at the Grand Canyon Railway in Williams, Arizona.

Q. How did you become interested in trains?

A. When I was 2, I stayed with my grandparents while my mother was giving birth to my brother. My grandfather brought out a Lionel train set that had belonged to my uncles, and there was an instant attraction. I played with it my whole childhood. I still have it in a box in my garage, to give to my son when he’s old enough.

Q. And you pursued that early passion?

A. I did. Later I got a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Arizona.