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A Christmas Bell Story

Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-Chief
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Ryley Pope will receive a very special gift on Christmas morning, thanks to Siemens Mobility employees in Marion, Ky.

From bringing families together for the Holidays to that first electric train set beneath the tree (I remember mine well, from 1963), railroads and Christmas have been linked for generations. Here’s a particularly inspiring story of kindness and caring provided to us by Elizabeth Cho, who handles public relations at Siemens Mobility.

“I am sharing a really nice story about our employees at Marion, Ky., who got to be ‘Santa’s Elves’ for a gift to a young autistic boy,’” Betty wrote to us. “This was a recent story within our company, but I thought it was just lovely, and wanted to share it with you as well. It’s about a father’s love and support for his son’s obsession with railroad crossings and bells, and how our employees in Marion, really needed this to help get them into the kind of Holiday spirit we all need, especially after this year.”

We are delighted to share it with Railway Age readers:

They say the Holiday season is not about what you get, but what you give. This year, our Mobility employees have taken this sentiment above and beyond with a truly heartwarming act of kindness.

It all started at the beginning of December, when Ryan Pope reached out to Siemens Mobility through a web inquiry form on behalf of his 10-year-old son, Ryley.

Ryley, who was diagnosed with Autism at age two, has had a lifelong passion for all things trains, especially grade crossings.

Mr. Pope noted in his request, “Ever since Ryley was old enough to walk, he has been obsessed with ANYTHING train related. As he’s matured, his focus has moved away from the trains, and has inexplicably shifted toward the crossings themselves … particularly the crossing bells. I am blown away by his dedication to learning about these signals,” explained Mr. Pope.

He continued, “With autism, oftentimes children become fixated on one particular subject, and it becomes the driving force for what motivates them. Ryley’s focus is, without a doubt, railroad crossing bells.”

Inspired by Ryley’s passion, Mr. Pope was determined to get his son a crossing bell for Christmas; he believed it was truly the greatest gift he could give to Ryley. However, despite his extensive search, he had been unable to find one for sale. In reaching out to Mobility, Mr. Pope hoped to get some advice on where he could find a crossing bell and if they were available for sale to the public. He wrote, “New or used, it doesn’t matter…I just want one for him.”

Although Mr. Pope was only asking someone to point him in the direction of a crossing bell for sale, the team at Siemens Mobility  was touched when he read the Pope family’s story and became determined to make Ryley’s Christmas dream come true …  and swung into action, thanks to a dedicated group of employees in Marion, Ky.

As one employee noted to the team, “You all have the chance to be the North Pole—Marion, Ky. division!”

Moved by Ryley’s story, Marion employees added special touches to Ryley’s Christmas package, including a Siemens shirt and hat, a signed Christmas card from team members, and a stub mast with a plate for Ryley to mount his crossing bell on—along with the crossing bell itself. The team put together Ryley’s gift in record time so that he would be able to receive it on Christmas morning.

To further fuel Ryley’s interest in grade crossings was a personalized package with a set of railroad crossing crossbucks and a Siemens hard hat/vest, and an invitation to attend to one of Siemens Mobility’s Touch-A-Truck training events in the future.

In a heartwarming email to Ryley’s dad, one employee wrote, “Ryley has touched us all … we consider him to be part of our team now.”

The Pope family received the Christmas Bell and the rest of Ryley’s Christmas package last week, and Ryley’s whole family expressed their most sincere gratitude to all members of Mobility who helped to make this happen. Randy Pope, Ryley’s grandfather, touchingly wrote to Mobility, “It is refreshing to know that in a seemingly uncaring corporate world, Siemens and leaders like you are still interested in making a small difference to those having ‘special’ needs and requests. Thank you all for making our world a little brighter.”

Needless to say, the Pope family is excitedly looking forward to Christmas morning, when they will give Ryley his Christmas Bell and other Siemens gifts.

Thanks to the employees in Marion, one little boy’s Christmas dream has come to life! After such a difficult year, it is inspiring to see the power of human kindness and the willingness of our people to further one young man’s passion, and how our products do, indeed, touch people—in ways we never expected! 

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