OGR Webmaster posted:scott.smith posted:I can see the threads now on the Model Train Journal Forum.
Rich Melvin Fired as publisher of O-Gauge Railroading Magazine...LOL!
Now that IS funny!!!!!!!
Congratulations, and a job well done!
A new broom sweeps clean ! Ask GE !!
Congratulations Rich. OGR brought me back into the hobby.
Lou
Foxchaserr
A hearty congratulations, and a big thank you, to Rich, Alan, and the entire OGR family. 
The magazine and the forum are sources of valuable and helpful information for the O gauge community. The forum, especially, has become Stop #1 and THE place to go on the 'Net for everything O gauge.
First Rich, Thank you for getting me straight on putting pictures on the forum. I am 87 years old now, and last May I took my daughter & grandson to the national parks. We took the train first class from Boston to Flagstaff, AZ, rented a car & drove to the Grand Canyon, Hoover dam, Zion Nat Pk, Bryce canyon, the arches (moab) & the four corners, & then picked up the train in Gallop, NM back. If you haven't been to the Nat Pks, you have to go. Hope that you have many great years ahead of you in retirement. See this country first. Stay well, Ed
Best wishes to the both of you, Rich and Alan. Rich, you have a valuable asset going into retirement...hobbies and interests. Many don't. You and others have made OGR what it is today. I still have a copy of "O Scale Railroading" from Oct. 1987. They were kind (or desperate) enough to give my Christmas layout 2 pages.
Rich,
I refuse to say goodbye to you and Linda, We still have years together working on photography/imagery for Collector's Gallery, It has been a rewarding experience being your partner for the last 15 years!
My only complaint is , thanks to your influence and the rest of the staff, I now run my trains as well as collect them. Oh Well :-)
When it comes to running trains, "now I are one one of them operator types" and it is partly your fault!
Alan, you are going to take us to the next level in this digital environment. I look forward to that and being a part of it.
Rich, very glad you and Linda will be doing what you want with traveling and the grand kids.
Ed
Congratulations all around.
Rich, have a wonderful time in retirement. Anyone having achieved any of the three of your careers (Engineer/Pilot/Publisher) would be putting a big check mark in the "Success" column. It has been my pleasure to have met you. You're leaving things better than you found it. It doesn't get any better than that.
Alan, I'm confident you'll do a great job. Ultimately I see you continuing the quality and innovation we have come to expect from OGR. The company is in good hands.
Forumites: All is well. Tomorrow morning the sun will still rise. We can continue our banter on this incredible forum. And every month our favorite magazine will be in the mailbox.
In so many ways, I'm glad that the magazine was not sold to an "outside" group. The announcement on Friday at the Fairgrounds was some very, very good news.
Continue on, OGR!
BTW ... what a great surprise/pleasure to see Myron Biggar once again. I thought I bought my first OGR way back in the very early '90s when he was the chief.
Congrats Rich and best wishes. Enjoy your many miles traveling this great country. Thank you for all you have done for OGR magazine and this Forum. Alan is just the person to keep this growing.
Congrats to Rich and Alan......You're always welcome to run trains in Freeport, Pa. Tom
Jim Barrett posted:"LASH-UP...LASH-UP...LASH-UP..."
Gotta get that in one last time (boy, he hates that...)LOL!
I just KNEW you were gonna do that!
RonH posted:Question for Rich:
What type of layout have you installed in the motor home?
Must be some heavy duty magnetraction.
Can you post some picturesNo layout in the motor home. Even with all four slides out, it's only about 420 square feet. There just isn't room.
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Lash Up
Rich you shouldn’t have any problem towing this around with you with all that horsepower you & Linda will be driving around in.
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Congratulations Rich, on your retirement. May it be long and healthy for you both. I hope you and Linda enjoy your travelling and doing whatever you want! Be careful out there, drive safely and slow enough to stop and enjoy the scenery and whatever else you may find out there. Stop by once in a while to say Hello to all of us here on the forum!
Thanks for the OGR magazine and forum. Not sure which one I enjoy the most, both are great. They have both helped me get back into the hobby and I have learned a lot from each one as well. They both contribute to some of my retirement fun and enjoyment!
Congratulations to Alan as well! Not quite like retirement, but I certainly do hope you enjoy your new position and wish you the best.
Wishing you guys many years of happy days!
(Now, I can say that I saw a lash-up of trainmasters with Ed Dickens as the train's driver)
EBT Jim posted:(Now, I can say that I saw a lash-up of trainmasters with Ed Dickens as the train's driver)
LOL!
Jim, you hit FOUR of my "hot buttons" in ONE sentence! You've been paying attention! That's gotta be a record.
Marty E, that lash up picture of yours is a classic. Glad you posted it.
Rich, That is a great looking motor home! I remember seeing two at York side by side similar if not the same. Ride in style and comfort!! You both have earned it!!
Rich
Driving a Winnebago along a superslab may not be as thrilling as driving the Nickel Plate loco, but roads often go where no railroad has been before. See the USA in style!
Alan
All the best to you as you ascend the ladder of success in the publishing biz through OGR.
Mike Mottler LCCA 12394
Have a blast, Rich..but I'll bet there will be a time when you will want to take the throttle of 765 one more time!
And thanks for a nice, clean forum, free from the bunk that goes on "outside"!
Ed
MartyE posted:Lash Up
NOW THAT'S FUNNY !!!!
Thank you Rich and best wishes for good health, safe travels and enjoyment. You not only took OGR, the magazine, to a new level, but the Forum is the best thing going. THAT is a real accomplishment against what I assume to be a deeper pockets competitor.
Alan, I know you're gonna do great and I wish you the very best.
Gerry
Ed Mullan posted:Have a blast, Rich..but I'll bet there will be a time when you will want to take the throttle of 765 one more time!
I don't see that happening. It would spoil this very special moment with my grandsons...
This was a wonderful way to wrap up my career with the 765.
Rich, “Thank You” for all you have done for OGR the magazine, OGR the video, and all you have done for this wonderful OGR, the Foum...All super Successful because you raised the bar to a new level. Now that Alan, The Adman, has been given this new opportunity, “Publisher”, he will have many records to break. He can make it happen. To all the OGR Staff, Thank You for making Our Hobby, Model Railroading, so much fun. Your The Best. I wish you the very best during your travels and your and Linda’s retirement...If ever in Tennessee, come see me...The Light will always be On....Leapin Larry
OGR Webmaster posted:EBT Jim posted:(Now, I can say that I saw a lash-up of trainmasters with Ed Dickens as the train's driver)
LOL!
Jim, you hit FOUR of my "hot buttons" in ONE sentence! You've been paying attention! That's gotta be a record.
Marty E, that lash up picture of yours is a classic. Glad you posted it.
You forgot one: take a VERTICAL movie of the event.
Congratulations and enjoy!
Ah, yes...vertical video. The bane of every professional videographer.
I always enjoy watching a tiny vertical picture on a big HORIZONTAL screen. 
Rich,
Congratulations upon your retirement!
I retired almost two years ago, and all I can tell you is that now every day will be Saturday! Your how to video about TMCC moved me into the world of command and control, and I never looked back. Thanks for all you have done for OGR and model railroading.
Enjoy your retirement!
Alan,
And congratulates to you and best of luck in your new position as the OGR Publishers!
The invitation to visit the Casey Jones guys down here in Memphis is always open to you, and now we will have to take you out to dinner since you are now a VIP!
Take care,
Richard Gonzales
OGR Webmaster posted:Ed Mullan posted:Have a blast, Rich..but I'll bet there will be a time when you will want to take the throttle of 765 one more time!
I don't see that happening. It would spoil this very special moment with my grandsons...
This was a wonderful way to wrap up my career with the 765.
Awesome video Rich, and a great moment to legacy of the 765, you, and your grandsons. It was a great pleasure to meet you at York, just once. I do hope to be able to have that pleasure again. Great travels across this great country in your future. 
Rich,
You will enjoy retirement. I did it at age 57 and never looked back! Never again am I working full time, only part time to keep busy. Run 189 was about Jim Bengert, a friend of mine from the AOL train board days.
Polish up that motor home. If you make the trip to New Jersey, there are 2 clubs you can visit, www.ocsmr.com and the NJ hirailers.
Alan, congratulations on your new endeavors, looking forward to seeing your layout, you are going to put it in the magazine aren't you?
Rich, thanks for all you've done over the years. I have really enjoyed the OGR magazine and I especially liked your video on the DCS system. You have a way of making things easy to understand. I'm sure I'll be looking at it many times as I hook it up and start using it. Enjoy your retirement and hopefully your better half will not have to many "honey-do's" for you to do. Take care on your trips and I hope to see you now and then in the magazine.
Best of luck to you both,
Alan, congratulations my friend on becoming the new publisher of O Gauge Railroading magazine. I look forward to how you will provide continued marvelous O gauge content for the subscribers. Good luck and have fun!
Rich, best wishes on your semi-retirement and much fun and joy as you travel the country with your bride. Through my subscription to OGR along with participating in the Forum, they have exponentially increased my knowledge, fun and love of the model railroading hobby. Thank you for providing that not just to me but to all of us.
My wife Lynley and I had the pleasure of riding the 765 excursion out of Steamtown, the trip where the rails were greased coming out of the tunnel. What an adventure that was! For a short time we in the car we were riding in thought the trip would be cancelled. But your expertise kept the trip going. After that I was walking through the train to the souvenir car when I saw you sitting at a table looking exasperated from the ordeal. I wanted to say hello, but didn't approach to let you decompress. We really enjoyed the excursion and will never forget it. We had missed the excursions around Horseshoe Curve but we did get trackside at a few spots for some good pictures and video (widescreen format).
Also a big thank you to Ed and Jim for continuing to provide your talents to us through OGR magazine. I'm not into the collecting aspect of the hobby, but I always read and enjoy Ed's writing. And Jim's well documented backshop articles and the new layout build have been infinitely helpful.
Thank you OGR management for all the continued fun!
Rich, I wish you well in all your travels.
May all your roads be safe and true.
May your adventures be interesting and fun.
May your life be forever long and happy.
And, may you smile through it all.
Alan, I wish you even more success at the head of this ship. If you run it as well as the sales of advertising, the ship will stay afloat for a long time.
Well, for the better part of a year and change I have been picking up OGR Magazine at the new stand in town. Well, no more. The December issue I had picked up at York on Saturday, I tore out the subscription flyer and put it in the post this morning. I opted for the two year option. I hope my print is legible, lol, should be. So I should get the last issue Rich will he publisher of. Sorry it took so long to do so, but now your stuck with me for two years reading everything(except Rich since he is retiring).
Maybe folks who own any version of the 765 should send in pics for the upcoming issue? Sound like a great idea?
Good job, Dave; becoming a subscriber!!
I like the 765 photographs idea
Congratulations Rich on a well deserved retirement. Driving the RV might not be all that different than maneuvering 765, albeit with air conditioning and (hopefully) no smoke and steam. Too bad Stanley Steamers didn't come into the modern age, you could have had a Stanley RV that combined two of your passions, steam engines and travelling *lol*.
Have fun, and as Mr. Spock said, "Live long and prosper".
holy batman off to the sunset.
Bob
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If there is a stove and a tea kettle, I'm sure he can get some whistling going. Might be to high pitched depending on the overall construction on the tea kettle, but have to settle for what's out there. Of course, unless there is a custom designed tea kettle?
I wish I had gotten a 765 when Lionel offered it, but that was before I got myself fully back into the swing of this great hobby. Well, I can always see about finding an 844 or 8444 with Rich at the crew talk. I may know where one is, but I'd have to wait to pick it up. Pockets are a little light from York, lol.
Rich, you can park that thing anytime out at the farm to explore a working farm, and relax here in Northeast Nebraska. On your way to Crawford Ne. to see the only tunnel in the state and so much more. I think you should consider joining the UP historical society or maybe the Milwaukee. They are having a joint meet next summer in Olympia Wa. which should be a lot of fun. If you haven't been to Yosemite, that would be on my list. Donner pass, whats left, Feather river canyon and Keddie Y. Good luck and thanks for sharing your knowledge.
Alan is a wonderful person and perfect man for the job. Thanks for all you have done. Keep up the great work guys
