Model Railroader, No Longer with Us, Who Impacted You and Why

Arnold, didn't know him but knew Jim Madden that had a huge train collection. He lived only a few miles from me when we lived in the Bay Area. He died a few years ago. His daughter lives with her husband in the old house now. I went back three years ago to see Jim's layout one more time and talk to her about my good friend. His layout from the 40's and 50's is still upstairs and fully operational. In the late 40s and 50's he started buying Lionel trains after Christmas. They were very affordable after the holidays. Under his layout are boxes and boxes of unopened trains. We went through his stuff together. Just and example there was a big box of gooseneck street lights in their original boxes. Electronic sets from the late 40's. Name it, they were there. His layout has two electronic sets. She asked me what I wanted. I told her I always loved his City of Portland set. She gave me the set plus three extra cars. We talk on the phone often and I'm teaching her how to run the trains. 

Jim took me to my first TCA local meet in the 70's. He helped get me back into trains. I still miss him. Here's just few pictures of his collection and always unfinished layout. Don

Don's above heart warming reply got me thinking that it might be good to morph this topic into one where we reminisce about a train collector and/or operator, no longer with us, that impacted us as model railroaders.

I was considering considering changing the title of this topic, but I don't know how to do that. Arnold

Arnold, 

Check your email if it helps you.

Tom

Arnold D. Cribari posted:

Don's above heart warming reply got me thinking that it might be good to morph this topic into one where we reminisce about a train collector and/or operator, no longer with us, that impacted us as model railroaders.

I was considering considering changing the title of this topic, but I don't know how to do that. Arnold

For me it was Owen Sturm:

When I got back into the hobby I met Owen at the first breakfast prior to the Allentown First Frost meet.  During the breakfast we got to talking and I mentioned how I was having problems getting some scenery just the way I liked it, specifically, the inside detailing of tunnels.  Fast forward several months to the Spring Thaw meet and he shows up with a CD he burned showing me the techniques and examples of what he had done on his layout.  This was totally unexpected as I only had met him ONE time previously and had NO communication with him since our initial conversation.   This lead to a friendship which ended far too soon.  He was a true gentleman and a class act and I miss him to this day.

-Greg

MNCW posted:

Arnold, 

Check your email if it helps you.

Tom

Tom, as you can see, I edited the topic thanks to you. Arnold

Jim Weaver - Atlas O.  He was the driving force behind new products.  He asked question and responded to recommendations.  

For me, my great friend, one of my mentors, and very well missed is Paul Arnone .....a dedicated NYC fan although his passion was 2 rail, he had an extensive collection of some of the finest prewar and postwar trains I’ve ever seen.....when my dad had his hobby shops and Lionel dealerships, we serviced all of Paul’s equipment......whenever Paul came to visit, he would bring coffee and donuts....it wasn’t just drop off trains and run, he loved hanging out in the service dept. and watching us work on his pieces...we’d spend hours pouring over pictures of NYC equipment, and applying those findings to his own stuff......when my son turned 5, Paul gave him a piece out of his collection, which my now adult son still cherishes....upon his passing, Paul left me a Lionel scale Commodore Vanderbilt. With a note he had written before he’d passed on....one of the greatest guys I ever knew.....sorely missed, but always here with me.....all I have to do is fire up that CV........Pat 

Scale Rail,

If Mr. Madden's 1950's layout still exists, I would love to see some video of it running, with all of that original equipment. 

The guy l miss is the Marx collector, Tasker Brush.  Met him at the Wheaton train show when l never missed a month.  Really nice guy and my go-to guy for Marx questions.  We independently showed up at auctions, shows and conventions from York to Santa Clara.  He chaired the York Marx meet with John Fox, which continues.  He was a tremendous wealth of Marx knowledge that is a loss to this hobby.  

Really Nice Topic...

I remember alot of guys in the early 1970s that were in the Detroit Toledo Chapter of the TCA.  Floyd Scrace, Art McWood, many more helped inspire me on my quest to collect Lionel...  was really great time at the Meets...

Over past decade lost some friends who were always at my train parties and at Wild Bills Train shop in Detroit Area...  Elmer was a great train repair guy...  Wild Bill could always talk me into a Train...  Bert always was life of the party...  Victor was everyone's good friend...

I know alot of this forum remembers these guys and how they helped us enjoy this hobby over last 20plus years...  trips to York, hanging out in the hobby shop, local train meets...  good times will be missed...

Folks in the Southern California area will surely remember Ed Karper. He was one of the good guys gone too soon. When I  got back into O gauge around 1996, Ed was always at train shows, his tables and merchandise neatly displayed and the best part...he always had his signature candy dish filled with really good free candy!

I only knew Ed by being a customer of his. He was one of the most patient and kindly guys I've ever met. Always willing to help a novice with accurate information. He new alot about postwar trains and could provide valuable context on all things Lionel. I never knew if he had a home layout, but I imagine he did. 

He was always known to be fair and honest in his train dealings and had the friendship and respect of all who knew him.  When I go to train meets these days I miss stopping by Ed's tables and saying hello and getting a free piece of candy...

John

Super O Bob posted:

Really Nice Topic...

I remember alot of guys in the early 1970s that were in the Detroit Toledo Chapter of the TCA.  Floyd Scrace, Art McWood, many more helped inspire me on my quest to collect Lionel...  was really great time at the Meets...

 

Over past decade lost some friends who were always at my train parties and at Wild Bills Train shop in Detroit Area...  Elmer was a great train repair guy...  Wild Bill could always talk me into a Train...  Bert always was life of the party...  Victor was everyone's good friend...

I know alot of this forum remembers these guys and how they helped us enjoy this hobby over last 20plus years...  trips to York, hanging out in the hobby shop, local train meets...  good times will be missed...

 

Thank you, Bob, for sharing the above with us. I've posted many Forum topics the past 2 years, but I now feel that this one is my best.  It was inspired by my reminiscing about Joe Buderwitz, who I didn't get to know well because I was in awe of him: a great lawyer and train collector and operator, with great charisma.

Speaking of great train repair guys, what would people like me do without them?  IMO, they are the best among us. Arnold

John Meyncke posted:

Folks in the Southern California area will surely remember Ed Karper. He was one of the good guys gone too soon. When I  got back into O gauge around 1996, Ed was always at train shows, his tables and merchandise neatly displayed and the best part...he always had his signature candy dish filled with really good free candy!

I only knew Ed by being a customer of his. He was one of the most patient and kindly guys I've ever met. Always willing to help a novice with accurate information. He new alot about postwar trains and could provide valuable context on all things Lionel. I never knew if he had a home layout, but I imagine he did. 

He was always known to be fair and honest in his train dealings and had the friendship and respect of all who knew him.  When I go to train meets these days I miss stopping by Ed's tables and saying hello and getting a free piece of candy...

John

 

 

What a delightful man.

Arnold

Here's another delightful man who inspired me, and is no longer with us, that I never even met: Bruce Manson from Pennsylvania.

I'm sure many of you folks knew Bruce Manson through the TCA and possibly this Forum, with his AF trains and layout. I only knew him through the McComas and Tuoy Pennsylvania Suite video. I especially liked the "Red Light District" on his layout, the way he described it, and all of his charming and witty remarks about his trains and other collectible toys on that video. Arnold

I'd have to say Boyd Mason. He ran the Hazlet Train Stop in Hazlet NJ, a Lionel Service Station. I think he had at least one of everything Lionel ever made. He was a real character. A pro golfer bought the entire collection upon his demise; sorry, can't remember the name, but y'all will easily recall.

Boyd taught me how to repair trains when I was 22 or so. He'd pay me in trains, and would often have me tag along to meets in north Jersey. He helped me not only learn about how to repair them, but also gave good guidance on what to buy and not buy based on condition that a) mattered and b) didn't matter.

I agree...  this hobby more than cars, r/c, and others i've done, are filled with the nicest most helpful i have found...

Hello Carl, it may have been Ed Dougherty (sp?). He has a large collection of Lionel trains but I don't think he is playing professional golf any more. I think that he lives in Pennsylvania.

Had to think about this one for a few minutes, but then it hit me. Back in 1969 the NMRA national convention was in Minneapolis. I was eight. My dad saw something in the newspaper about some layouts being open for public viewing. There was one in particular that really captivated me.

Earl Rymerson was a Flyer guy, but more than that, he was a showman. The layout wasn't huge, it filled half the basement of his small house, leaving room for an upright piano and some standing room for guests. The layout was very busy, with all kinds of things to look at. He had these really cool curved bridges, that caught my eye.

After running the trains for a while, he would play the piano and have a sing along, as he frequently hosted scout groups. He also kept a photo album, full of Polaroids that he took of all his visitors. I only when there a few times, but he made a lasting impression on me.

Not long after he passed, about 20 years ago now, his son had the local train group, of which I was a member, over for one last showing. I brought with me one of the Polaroids that Earl had given me. The album was still there, and I was able to locate the matching picture.

Arnold, thanks for making me clean out the cobwebs from that corner of my brain.

Hank Schmidt, owner of a train shop in Santa Clara, CA, was the one - for me and others as well - who provided focus on the collecting (and then operating) part of the hobby back in '72.  Hank brought me into the TCA and TTOS way back in 1972.

His train shop was a marvel - it was open only a few hours each day as he had a "regular" job with Lockheed in Sunnyvale.  The coffee was always on and there were always a few, if not many, TrainHeads in the shop.

I remember at a local TCA meet bringing a few of the "extras" of my early train buying to sell.  Well, it was my first time as a seller so I had no idea of pricing, etc.  Hank took pity and bought a few things from me - and those trains ended up in his shop at a "list" price less than what he paid me at the meet.       A terrific train guy that I will never forget.

He was the president of the local TCA  and TTOS while I knew him.  Unfortunately, Hank passed in the late '70s.  A permanent loss to our hobby.  He was the standard of friendship and affability.

TNCENTRR, I never filmed his layout or even took pictures tell after he passed. Here I was with all kinds of TV equipment in my van and never thought of shooting Jim's wonderful layout. All we ever did was run trains. I was going to finish detailing his RR but never got around to it because we just wanted to run that wonderful railroad. It really is a time machine from the 40's. He had wonderful stuff upstairs in the layout room. He bought many train stores parts when they closed down. He had boxes of receivers for the electronic cars so he installed them in cars that were never made to run with electronics. He put together a Lionel scale Hudson from parts. Can't tell how many Saturdays I would go over there, knock on the door and Jackie his wife would just say "come on in Don, Jim's up stairs". Don

RT, I must have known Hank, I was in the local TCA and President of TTOS after him I think. Do you have a picture of him? Don

Ed Reutling.

Ed got me started kitbashing stuff into something I wanted and I hold him responsible for getting me into BPRC.

We emailed and talked a few times just before he moved then passed.

Here's a photo of Ed's SCL Whalebelly Hopper while he was building it, I built one for SAL.  We built them from a Weaver 50' tankcar:

And mine, complete:

Art Howes posted:

Hello Carl, it may have been Ed Dougherty (sp?). He has a large collection of Lionel trains but I don't think he is playing professional golf any more. I think that he lives in Pennsylvania.

YES!  Ed's the gent who purchased the trains!

It's pretty recent but Richard Kughn who passed on about a month ago was a true inspiration for me. Not just for saving Lionel from dying into obscurity and being a driving force for the company to bring out some exciting new product and competitive innovations, but also reminding us to have fun and take pride in your work and accomplishments. As well as work really hard and be smart to succeed in life. His museum-status collection at Carail with that amazing standard gauge layout easily sticks in my mind in some of the greatest toy train layouts and collections.

Chris Rohlfing of the mid-west TCA and his dazzling O gauge layout and collection. He had a few memorably rare pieces, some memorable favorite trains and accessories I was first exposed to, and a wealth of knowledge about the hobby which much of it remains true to this day.

I'm not sure if Stan Roy, Barry Leonard, and Ron Zweig are still around. They were great inspirations to me as well. I know Bob LaVessi told me Ron recently dismantled his hi-rail layout and his scale catenary system. I did chat with Barry at York back in 2010 or so where he was selling some of his stuff. Great guy. Still into trains and still had his layout up back then. Definitely had a lot of hobby experience under his belt.

Oh yes, and custom painter Richard Sherry and his amazing custom paint work. As an artist myself, that was a huge inspiration for me at a young age when I saw his work, especially on the F-3's.

There are some great posts here.

A lot of people (that's aren't with us) here on this forum have guided me. Some other forums as well.

Barry B., Ed Reutling, Ray Shoop, come to mind and I know I'll remember more. It's a little soon to talk about Barry as it still brings me to the edge of tears.

A real big time O Gauge train collector and operator, no longer with us, was Old Blue Eyes. Never met Frank Sinatra, but saw his beautiful trains and layout with models of houses, like those in his hometown, Hoboken, NJ, in OGR and/or CTT magazines, and also got to know him by reading the biography written by one of his daughters. 

I love his hit: "When I was Seventeen," or was it called "It Was a Very Good Year."

What struck me from his biography was how generous Frank was. My father was also very generous, and that is a very admirable quality IMO. Also, although Frank divorced and remarried several times, he maintained a warm friendship with his 1st wife, who I believe was the mother of all his children. Frank also had great relationships with all his children. Although divorced, he was a good family man, IMO. Although Frank was a huge celebrity and star, I think he was a lot like most of us.

Did Frank Sinatra ever go to the York train show? Wouldn't that have been something to see him there. Arnold

Bud Ritter of Baltimore, Maryland......when I was getting back into the hobby in 1980 while I was an internal medicine resident at U Maryland Hospital, he was big help to me. He was a TCA member who was also a clerk at Antique Train & Toy World on Falls Rd (off I-83) in Baltimore. He spent endless hours answering my questions as I got back into the hobby......mostly filling in the gaps in my PostWar knowledge.

Peter

Greg Houser posted:

For me it was Owen Sturm:

When I got back into the hobby I met Owen at the first breakfast prior to the Allentown First Frost meet.  During the breakfast we got to talking and I mentioned how I was having problems getting some scenery just the way I liked it, specifically, the inside detailing of tunnels.  Fast forward several months to the Spring Thaw meet and he shows up with a CD he burned showing me the techniques and examples of what he had done on his layout.  This was totally unexpected as I only had met him ONE time previously and had NO communication with him since our initial conversation.   This lead to a friendship which ended far too soon.  He was a true gentleman and a class act and I miss him to this day.

-Greg

Me, also. Owen was always so happy, which impressed me since I often come across as a grump. The last time I saw him was at York. He said, "Hey Joe, are you avoiding me?" I think of him often. 

Mine is a little different. I shared an office(1996-2007) with my friend Steve, he was big into HO. Just talking to him about what he was doing, inspired me to "open the boxes".

I had always kept my OGR subscription going during the everything is in the boxes era. The internet was young and I didn't have any local source for O gauge. I came across Just Trains(Kurt) in Delaware and someone,I forget his name, who sold Williams Trains in the MD PA area. I had to learn all over again. They were both big helps and along came OGR Forum and all the information/help one could ever need.

All 3 are gone now

Steve died very unexpectedly in 2007, I had a hard time  working on the layout for a few years. The forum kept and keeps me involved. 

Joe Hohmann posted:

Greg Houser posted:

For me it was Owen Sturm:

When I got back into the hobby I met Owen at the first breakfast prior to the Allentown First Frost meet.  During the breakfast we got to talking and I mentioned how I was having problems getting some scenery just the way I liked it, specifically, the inside detailing of tunnels.  Fast forward several months to the Spring Thaw meet and he shows up with a CD he burned showing me the techniques and examples of what he had done on his layout.  This was totally unexpected as I only had met him ONE time previously and had NO communication with him since our initial conversation.   This lead to a friendship which ended far too soon.  He was a true gentleman and a class act and I miss him to this day.

-Greg

Me, also. Owen was always so happy, which impressed me since I often come across as a grump. The last time I saw him was at York. He said, "Hey Joe, are you avoiding me?" I think of him often. 

When I saw the title of this post, this was the first person I thought of as well. I was in this hobby most of my life, but never really had anyone to share it with until I found this forum and went to my first Allentown Breakfast. There were a few guys there who were very welcoming, including Owen. He (and a few of the other guys, who's names I won't mention to keep from embarrassing them, but if you've ever been to the breakfast, you know the guys I mean) made sure I was involved in the conversation, and exposed me to several new aspects of the hobby. This was a big deal to a teenager who always felt like he was odd for having this hobby. I would run into Owen at a few events throughout the year, and he'd always ask me what I was doing on my layout, and share what he was doing on his. We would bounce ideas off each other (more me bouncing ideas off him and him telling me what he was doing), and just have a good time every time we saw each other. 

The last time I saw him was after a York Forum Presentation. I saw him talking to some other guys whom I didn't know, so I was waiting patiently to talk to him, when he motioned to me and said something like "hey kid, well come over here" (he never remembered my name, but he remembered me and my layout). I had a great time and regret not staying to talk to him longer. Every now and then I still think I hear his voice or see him out of the corner of my eye at a train show. 

Since i returned to the hobby 30 years ago, I've met several people who influenced the direction I've taken. A couple were an influence and didn't even know it.

Bob Roach  (2-rail operator, San Francisco Bay Area) -- Demonstrated that you could loop run with scale via creative space utilization and clever placement of industries (his layout spanned a garage and a room going through the wall between).

Ed Reutling  (2-rail modeler, moderator of O Scale Modeler's Yahoo Group) -- Prodded me to take risks in modifying equipment, small space designing, thinking outside the box. I was happy to have actually been of assistance to him on a couple of projects.

Al Bailey  (Tinplate Tracker Founder, 3-rail module operator) -- Inspired creative module designing. Demonstrated that you could enjoy model railroading even if you didn't have space for a layout at home and at the same time socially interact with other modelers you might not have even met otherwise.

Barry Broskowitz  (3-rail operator, DCS expert) -- We shared quite a bit of information off-list regarding DCS operation issues (as I'm sure many others have). He'll definitely be missed. Encouraged collaboration on improvements to the DCS system.

Jim Weaver  (Brought Atlas back into O scale) -- Brought product to market at a reasonable price that rivaled brass in detail. Atlas-O (and O scale in general) isn't the same without his presence. My collection has a LOT of his products in it -- some of which I've be revisiting for conversion to 2-rail.

Citrus Empire Model Railroad Club (O Scale 2-rail layout, Pomona, California) -- Founded in 1939, the club built a very large O scale layout (the largest in Los Angeles County) under the bleachers at the LA County Fairgrounds. I'd visit the layout every year and haven't been to the LA County Fair since the layout was dismantled. They were a major influence in the design of the AGHR layout, and member Bob Penny (deceased) was a big factor i my switch over to scale-sized equipment prior to the AGHR project.

Hopefully I'll make it onto someone's list in the distant future.

Long time TCA Member George Critler showed me how to repair my trains in the 60s.Bruce and Anna Manson were from the Bay Area,great people.Lee Heirmonous was from Oakland and had a great train store[Lees Trains] and Bill and Gwen Clarke who had Bills Trains which was originally Jack Colliers,Toys for Men in San Francisco.BillPhilllips from Auburn who had a great collection of LIONEL and MTH in a detached building.All of these people taught me something about the hobby.

Mikey

scale rail posted:

RT, I must have known Hank, I was in the local TCA and President of TTOS after him I think. Do you have a picture of him? Don

Don ... I only have a mental picture of him, darn it!  I w wish I had a photo!  He was slightly heavy-set, jovial, and articulate.

He knew his trains!!!

AGHRMatt posted:

Since i returned to the hobby 30 years ago, I've met several people who influenced the direction I've taken. A couple were an influence and didn't even know it.

Bob Roach  (2-rail operator, San Francisco Bay Area) -- Demonstrated that you could loop run with scale via creative space utilization and clever placement of industries (his layout spanned a garage and a room going through the wall between).

Ed Reutling  (2-rail modeler, moderator of O Scale Modeler's Yahoo Group) -- Prodded me to take risks in modifying equipment, small space designing, thinking outside the box. I was happy to have actually been of assistance to him on a couple of projects.

Al Bailey  (Tinplate Tracker Founder, 3-rail module operator) -- Inspired creative module designing. Demonstrated that you could enjoy model railroading even if you didn't have space for a layout at home and at the same time socially interact with other modelers you might not have even met otherwise.

Barry Broskowitz  (3-rail operator, DCS expert) -- We shared quite a bit of information off-list regarding DCS operation issues (as I'm sure many others have). He'll definitely be missed. Encouraged collaboration on improvements to the DCS system.

Jim Weaver  (Brought Atlas back into O scale) -- Brought product to market at a reasonable price that rivaled brass in detail. Atlas-O (and O scale in general) isn't the same without his presence. My collection has a LOT of his products in it -- some of which I've be revisiting for conversion to 2-rail.

Citrus Empire Model Railroad Club (O Scale 2-rail layout, Pomona, California) -- Founded in 1939, the club built a very large O scale layout (the largest in Los Angeles County) under the bleachers at the LA County Fairgrounds. I'd visit the layout every year and haven't been to the LA County Fair since the layout was dismantled. They were a major influence in the design of the AGHR layout, and member Bob Penny (deceased) was a big factor i my switch over to scale-sized equipment prior to the AGHR project.

Hopefully I'll make it onto someone's list in the distant future.

Matt, I think it's great that this topic resonated with you as an O Scale 2 rail hobbyist. 

Those from any and all gauges and scales, including real trains, are more than welcome to post a reply on this thread.

Arnold

Thank you Arnold, a great thread

For me, it was my best friend’s Father, Ashby Coleman 

He bought and built a LIONEL train set (F3 I believe) and layout for his son Bill

He was not a collector or particularly tied in to the hobby, but he did something special for his son, and I also greatly benefited 

I can still remember the smell of the train room and the excitement of playing with that layout as a kid

Thank you for renewing the memory

A good man

Jerry

Along with Richard Kughn there was Lou Caponi, "Loco Louie". He was really an icon of our hobby. Not only did he teach me the business end of the hobby, but was a great friend as well.

He was also a force in bringing the LCCA and the NJ Hi Railers  to many of us.

Rest in Peace Lou, we still love and miss ya.

After reviewing the above replies and meditating on them this evening, the following has occurred to me. Many of you already know what I'm about to say.

Generosity, kindness, knowledge and willingness to share it, common interest, friendship, these are some of the common themes that have been expressed.

Something else we all have in common, with each other and with those model railroaders  no longer with us, involves the inner child. It takes courage and a zest for life to express one's inner child the way we do.

It takes courage because we all risk being called idiots for being grown men playing with trains. I submit, however, that it is liberating, even exhilerating, to conquer this: "I'm a master model railroader and songwriter to boot, some people say I'm crazy, but I don't give a hoot . . ."

Zest for life: that is the engine that motivates us to dream; to do the hard work of designing, building and maintaining our train layouts; and then to use them as vehicles to entertain ourselves and others.

The truth is that what we do is very emotionally healthy! Model railroading reduces our stress, provides a wonderful and engrossing escape from life's troubles, adds much fun and joy to our lives, and enables us to develop great friendships.

Arnold

I must mention someone else that helped me and my love for trains. Errol B Ohman. I signed on to film the Golden Gate RR Museum's Southern Pacific 2472. I was to make an hour DVD to raise money for the museum. Little did I know I would film the train for almost six years with much help from Matt of this forum as sound man. I remember my first day of filming. The train crew as in many projects like this were a little apprehensive at best. Who was this guy with all this equipment and will we like him or not. Will he get in our way and will he be a danger to us and himself. Errol was the first to welcome me and thank me for doing this project. We went over the rules and the does and don't of railroading. He was always the guy that asked what I needed. Another shot of use going around a curve, no problem. He would back her up and do it for the camera. When he got sick he still engineered as long as he could. You never heard a thing about his health though we all knew something was wrong. His wonderful wife road most all his last runs. One of the last days I saw Errol was at lunch with some other crew members. He handed me a shirt that stated I was a real "Crew Member". It was one great moment for me. I still and always will keep that shirt. This a short video about Errol.......

Dale Manquen, major contributor to the Electronics Forum, never met him personally but Dale was always cordial to the questions that I emailed  him, never condescending or negative, posting this out of respect for him and his family.