Chessieman, Kim Smith, has passed away.

Oh my.  I was just thinking about him two days ago.  He was a world of knowledge with anything B&O, Western Maryland, Chessie, etc.  I never had the pleasure of meeting him, but I greatly enjoyed his posts.

I will miss you Chessie Man.

My thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.

He was definitely one of the good guys from early on. I too will miss having him around. Hard to believe ChessieMan is gone. Prayers to his family...

Ohhh Man   Very sad news  Kim was a great guy   Always a smile on his face and always had good things to say  My prayers are with his family   Very sad about this news

Yes Kim was a super guy, I will miss him and the photos he took for us folks who could not make it to York,.eg. B&O, PRR E44 and a lot of others. He was one of those guys who thought of others beside himself. God give him and his family piece. We will miss you Kim.

John Pignatelli

I can't believe we lost another one of the good guys. I missed talking with Kim at Fridays this past October. I didn't know he was ill. We would kid each other about which Chessie road was best C&O or B&O. He will be missed.

Scott Smith

I am so sorry to hear this.  Last time we spoke he was very upbeat.  My condolences to his family. 

My condolences as well.... I enjoyed communicating with him too, and his presence here.... I will look forward to talking with him again on the other side..... swell guy.... Whenever there is a parting here between us like him - I am sure we will remember him as a kind and caring partner in this hobby we share......  

My thoughts, prayers and condolences to his family and friends.

Andy

Sincere condolences from all of us in the OGR family.  I only met Kim briefly at one of the York events, but I remember him well from his posts here.  Definitely one of the "good guys" of this hobby.

I knew Kim was going through cancer treatments and had spoken to him several times over the past year about it since he reached out to me to draw on my experience. Kim was a great person and very courageous, he didn't let his illness affect who he was and how he looked at life. I was unaware that he had passed on a couple of weeks ago, I hadn't spoken to him since returning from Arizona. May God grant peace to Kim's family and friends.

He was a good guy I met him also at the OGR party as well, my condolences to his family, may he rest in peace.-Don Klose

As I mentioned in the other thread, Kim and I often traded information on the Western Maryland.  His wealth of knowledge and often obscure information sources added greatly to my experience as a WM fan.  I will miss that.

My biggest regret is that Kim wasn't with us long enough to see his wish for a WM Potomac fulfilled.

Poppyl 

I am sad to hear this news.  I met Kim at the Crescent Model Railroads and often met up with him at York.  We often talked about modeling the B&O, WM and Chessie.  Last York we talked a bit.  I knew he was ill, but shocked to hear of him passing away.

My thoughts and prayers go out to his family.

Chris

Not only was he a fan of the B&0/C&O,WM Chessie he was also a Southern Railway fan.

I'm sadden to hear the news of his passing, My thouhgt and prayers to the family.

R.I.P my friend.

had a few chat sessions with him on here, R.I.P. chessieman..

My deepest condolences to his family and friends.

Indeed, another loss for us all.

Farewell and God Speed Kim

I just ran a nice 41 car B&O freight train in Kim's honor, blew the whistle all the way around one time. 

I was never lucky enough to meet Kim. I did talk to him several times on the phone. I can tell you this, he had a heart of gold that was the size of Texas.

My sincere condolences to Kim's family and friends.

He will be missed.  Does someone have a photo of him that they could post?  Thanks

From the Washington Post announcement:

http://www.legacy.com/obituari...th&pid=156182298

Although I didn't know Kim personally, we did share a couple of threads on the 3RS forum, some of my first posts on that sub-forum.

His passion for the B&O and the T-3 was contagious, and lead me to purchase my first 3rd Rail Engine.  When the T-3's were delivered in early January, I hope Kim got to enjoy this model.  I know that I really enjoy mine.

Jim

Gentlemen and Ladies,  

I am sad to hear that Mr. Smith is no longer with us. We should all rejoice that Kim has now arrived at the big train station in the sky. I will miss you Chessieman.

Chessieman was a extremely helpful in instructing me on painting the 21^st Century Baltimore and Ohio ES44AC drawing.  I delicate this painted drawing to the one, to the only Chessieman.

Respectfully,

Frank Swafford

         Drawing by Michael Eby           Painted by Frank Swafford

I did not know the gentleman but wanted to post my prayers for his family.

Respectfully,

Dennis

Piscataway, NJ

Very Sad to hear of Kims' passing.   I did not know him personally, just from his posts here on the forum.   Such a shame.