FROM OGR PUBLISHER ALAN ARNOLD:
A Memorial Membership has been made to honor Hugo by:
- Philip Gatto (Hudson J1e)
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How nice! I remember "Hugo the Dane". Living in Rheims,France he was a proponent of stud rail.
He was delightful to speak and communicate with. He even made the trip to York.
RIP,Hugo.
Norm
You are correct Norm. He was an early proponent of stud rail. Eventually, when MTH went back into 2 rail he switched to that. He was a really wonderful guy. He sent me a video of him getting a cab ride in a large UP locomotive. What a big smile he had on his face. He was a TCA member since 1967. Just an all around great guy. I miss him.
I remember Hugo, Lisa Marie Tahtaras (hope I spelled that correctly) also deceased, were both avid stud rail hopefuls. There was also a guy, Fred Swain, who really championed it, but could never quite get the switches right as best I recall.
Simon
I found this in run 162. It is a picture of Hugo. He indicated in his profile his "Stud Rail" was featured there. Maybe you can use it for his profile picture.
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DONE!
Thanks, Marty.
Thanks Marty! And thank you as well Rich!
Many years ago Hugo sent me a video of train layouts and a UP cab ride that he filmed while he was here in the states. Here are a couple of pictures that I did a "print screen" off the computer. I realize the picture quality isn't that good but it's all I have. I don't believe that HD camcorders were out yet when he made these recordings. I like the second picture a lot. Just wish it was clearer.
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Images (2)
Hugo was a really nice guy and a fellow PRR (and about every other railroad) fan. I never went to York with him but he was with a group of us from Cincinnati on a trip to Chicago for the March Meet. Our routine was to drive up on Friday morning, hit the major hobby shops (Chicagoland, Berwyn's, Hill's, America's Best and Des Plaines) on Friday afternoon, have a nice dinner and then do the March Meet on Saturday.
Well, you needed dynamite to get Hugo out of those hobby shops. There weren't any shops that carried U.S. 3-rail trains anywhere near him in France, so he made sure to look at EVERYTHING in the Chicago shops. He'd crawl around the floor, go behind the counters and look anywhere that trains might be hiding. The shop staff were by and large good natured about it once we explained what was going on. We thought he was going to need to charter his own plane for the return home since cargo hold space was limited on his booked flight!
He did mess around with stud rail for several years, then finally sold all of his 3-rail stuff and converted to 2-rail. He lived in a small flat in Reims that didn't have much room for a layout. When the flat next to his went up for sale, he bought it, tore down some walls (including one between his living room and the flat next door and bingo, space for a layout!
Clear signals to you, Hugo!
Bob, that’s a great story about Hugo. Thank you posting that. I am sure he really enjoyed those trips a lot. I know I would have. I am the same way in a train store. I can look at stuff for a long time. He really was a great guy.
