Bad news, Charlie Ro Passed away.

Very sad. Charlie was a great guy. I knew him very well and bought many, many trains from CharlesRo over the last 40 years, right up to the present. Indeed, CharlesRo has always been my #1 dealer. I always looked forward to speaking with Charlie at the York Train Meets and at the store. I can still see him sitting on his chair at his large booth at York. It was clear that Charlie's health was declining over the past few years, but he never complained. Charlie was a real gentleman and a giant in our hobby. He will certainly be missed. Our thoughts and prayers are with Charlie and his family.

Pat

RIP dear friend.  I hope you can now enjoy the Pats from the best seats in the house.  

Prayers!!!

I am very sorry to hear and my condolences to his family. I have enjoyed visiting the shop since I moved back to Massachusetts.

Truly, one of the GIANTS in our hobby! Condolences to his family.

Very sorry to hear this. I visited his store many times during trips to Boston and would ride the MBTA to Malden to get there. I have been attending the Amherst Railway Society show almost every year since 1997. Charlie would always be sitting at the entrance to his display area near the entrance where I arrived at the show and my first stop was to look at the new Lionel items he had on display. I hope to get back to the store and the show when the pandemic is over. And I shall think of Charlie.

MELGAR

Very sad news indeed.  He and Marty Fitzhenry will be running a train store up in the Cloud.

Lew Schneider

My sincerest condolences to his friends and family. God bless all of you. I didn’t know him but I always wanted to check out his store. After reading this entire thread I wish I would gotten to meet him.

Oh, such a shame.  Every grace to the Ro family for what has been such a challenging year; Charlie will be missed.

Jim

Sad news. My condolences and  prayers to his family.................Paul 2

Sorry to hear this.

R.I.P. Charlie

Wow, so sad.....1st time I bought a train from him was in 83......the New York Central 20th Century Ltd......I loved dealing with him and bought many things from him over the years....alway a pleasant visit at York. Loved to go to his shop in Malden when I was in Boston.....a pleasant walk from the Malden MBTA station.....prayers for his family.....

Peter

My thoughts and prayer to his family. Was always nice to see him at York. First purchase with them was the Visionline Big  Boy and not the last one.

Very sad news indeed---have known Charlie for years and in fact he signed my application for TCA way back in 1978! Always had great times visiting with him at the store and of course York. Whenever we made our short journey from Maine to Malden he would always make time for us---in life we meet so many people but I am glad I was fortunate enough to have his friendship also. Prayers and thoughts for his family and thank you to them for sharing Charlie with us! Fond memories are everlasting.

Very sad news indeed. Charlie was certainly one of the great people I have meet in the train hobby. I have been buying trains from Charlie since the early eighties and it was always a pleasure to deal with him. I visited the old store in the early 80's and bought the Hudson Products 700E that day. I will miss seeing him and chatting with him at York and the Big E. He always had something to say about my Yankees! RIP Charlie Ro.

Wow, I met Charlie the first time near 1980, could have been in the 70’s, give or take a few years at Sherman Leonard’s Christmas party. He had a Super Long station wagon full of brand new Lionel trains. I think this was his beginning in the hobby. Wow, time flies and I’ve made many purchases from his Malden Massachusetts store. He was a fun person to talk to at york and was a true ambassador of the hobby. His family is in our prayers, and I’m sure Jim Barrett, Marty Fitzhenry are having a celebration now. Yes, we’ll all be together someday. May God Bless them all. Thanks for the news.

"Will the circle be unbroken...." - hymn by A.P. Carter

He was great i met him about 2014 when Marty Fitzhenry took me to meet him at Charlee ro's Trian shop  he will certainly be missed.  My condolences to his family and wide circle of friends.

they will both be missed very much !!!!!

sincerely

Alan Mancus

Sorry to hear this. I've been a long time customer,I first met him at York in 1979. Condolences to his family and close friends.

That really is sad news.  He has been a fixture at York for years and his store is famous.  I can't tell you how much I bought there on-line.  Condolences to his family.

Rest in peace Charlie and condolences to his family.

https://www.currentobituary.com/obit/249812

What some may not realize is that Marty Fitz and Charley's very close friendship goes back many years (back when Marty was still very much active with the Dedham Police Dept).  I won't go into confidences shared, but I can assure you that both are giants that will be missed for many years to come.  I also had the pleasure of handling some matters for Charlie here in PA....and it was always such a great pleasure to work with him.  God Bless both of these gentlemen and their respective families.  Charley Jr. (aka "Chuckie") now has a huge load to carry....thank God that the great personality of Sr. is fully ensconced in Chuckie.  Please keep all of them in your prayers and PLEASE contribute to the Marine Toys for Tots program as requested in Charlie's obit.

Have known Charlie for over forty years.  A real straight shooter and a pleasure with whom to do business.  Enjoyed visits to his store and the many, many conversations we had at York.  Way too many of these types of notices of late.  Rest in peace my friend.

So sorry another titan of our hobby has passed. I remember Charlie from as far back as the Dover NJ shows, Allentown pa, West Springfield Mass, and of course York. Condolences to his family.

This is a sad day for railroaders everywhere, one of the great pioneers of our industry and a man of great integrity is gone. ,Charlie was a true industry icon. I am proud to have known him and to have had the honor to call him my friend. my sincere condolences to his fine family.

Dick

It was only last year that I saw him at the "Big E". I too am a long time customer with preorders still rolling in. My deepest condolences to his family. Definitely a true Icon in the industry. God Bless and God Speed!

Wow.  That’s a shock. Because of Covid I haven’t been in the shop in almost a year.  I would always see Charlie sitting at his desk behind the counter and go back and say hello.  He always asked how my son was doing in the Navy.   Rest in piece Charlie and my condolences to his family.  

Just read about Charlie - this one knocked me over - really sad news

Like everyone else is saying - just a great guy

Always looked forward to saying hello and talking to him at York - He used to call me Picasso - I'm a painting contractor

RIP Charlie

Rest In Peace Charlie, thanks for all you did over the many years.

Fortunately, his legacy will be continued by his son and also their fine line of USA Trains.

The first time I met Charlie was at the spring York show in 1981. I purchased some MPC Standard "O" cars from him for $5.00 each.

More distressing news in a very distressing year. Charlie was a good man and a true credit to the hobby he served. I believe my first purchase from Charles Ro Supply Company dates to way back in the late 70s when I was still living in Hawaii, and was just getting back into O gauge. I became an even bigger fan when he and Charlie Jr. launched the USA Trains line of Large Scale products. When I worked with Greenberg Publishing back in the late 80s and early 90s, Charlie's booth (actually a lot of booths) at the York Meet was in the Yellow Hall directly across from our Greenberg booth. I got to know Charlie then and would always spend a bit of time chatting with him at every York meet up until the last one held in October 2019. He most definitely will be missed, but he will long be remembered. My sincere condolences to Chuckie and the rest of the family. Rest in peace, Charlie.

Sad news, indeed.  I met Charlie when the only available seat for breakfast in the restaurant at the 1975 TCA Convention hotel in Orlando was at the snack bar next to him.  He talked about how he got into the train business as a sideline to his hair salon.  I started buying from him later that day and have bought most of my new Lionel trains from him during the 45 years since then mostly by mail order but also in person at York.

RIP Charlie and condolences to his family and staff at the store.

Bill

always made me feel like I was his biggest customer. whenever there was a problem without hesitation he would say 'send it in. sad for today but many happy memories of Charlie will stay with us. Condolences to young Charlie and the entire family.

So sad!!   Met him at the 1st. Hobby Vision International Show in Vegas in the early 2000’s.  He invited us to Boston and told us to make sure and stop in if we ever get that way.  We did, 2 years later and he treated us like he knew us forever.  Got a full tour of the building while we were visiting.  Left that day with 4 big bags of Lionel trains, a great trip and super nice person.  RIP. My prayers go with him.

Deepest condolences to his family and friends.

So sorry to hear about his passing. The last time I saw him was the last Amherst Railway Society Railroad Hobby Show I attended. I have always tried to visit his booth first when ever I went to the Amherst Show.At the last show I found a Lionel 2460 Bucyrus Erie Crane Car in one of the many used rr car boxes at his booth. Got it for $20. I was so thrilled to find it I had been looking for one for sometime. He told me I had gotten a great deal on it when I went to pay for it. He was always nice to chat with for a bit before moving on to the rest of the show.