Misty Mountain Railroad Builder is Gone

Sorry to hear this   Misty Mountain is a gem of a railroad   My prayers are with him

Rich...this is very sad news.  Charles was a great man...with a heart and mind of a young man.  He gave so much to this hobby and I feel so lucky to have been able to talk to him a few years back.  We will miss him and so will the hobby.....

God Bless him and his family....our prayers are with them.

Alan and LaKeeta...

So sorry to hear this.  He will definitely be missed.

Art

I was very sorry to hear that Charles Griffin has passed.  I am grateful that  I got to finally meet him during the LCCA annual  convention last year.

He epitomized the term "fine gentleman" and it was great to meet him in person.

I great loss to his family and to the hobby.

Ed Boyle

I am sorry to hear this.  My family enjoyed his video and visiting his layout.  I will keep Charles's family in my thoughts andj prayers. 

I am sorry to hear of Charles passing, I always enjoyed his layout whether in the magazines or the DVD's. Rich, please pass along our condolences to his family.

Jeff and Debbie James

My prayers are with Charles and his family. May he rest in peace!

May his memory be for a blessing for all time, and a positive reminder of our hobby

Condolences to his family. He had a huge impact on our hobby and will be missed.

This is so sad to hear, a great man and one of the best layout's I've ever seen.

My prayers and condolences go out to his friends and family.

Alex

My prayers for Charles and his loved ones.

Ralph

Thanks for the update Rich - Charles was a wonderful fella!

Rich:

Thank you for posting the update.  This is very sad news!

My most sincere condolences to Charles' family and close friends.

Curt

I'm sorry for being ignorant, but until you mentioned it in your post, Rich, I just today viewed the famous 'Misty Mountain Railroad' of Mr. Charles Griffin and I was delighted to see such a beautiful and magnificent layout.

Thank you,

Ralph 

Sorry to hear this.  My condolences to his friends and family.

- Mike

I never met Mr Griffin and with his passing I never will unfortunately.

I just feel sad. He brought a lot of happiness to a lot of people. I wish the best

for his family. 

My prayers and condolences go out to his family and friends.

Andy

I  never had the opportunity to meet Charles, but I spoke with him several times in recent years.  Even on the phone he epitomized the term "Southern Gentleman."  We have lost a true ambassador of and for this hobby.

Deepest condolences to his family and friends. I had the honor to meet him years ago and see the Misty Mountain Layout in person and being in Charles's presence you could just feel the love he had for this hobby and for others. He will be deeply missed!

I had the pleasure of meeting him during the LCCA convention last summer when he hosted a tour of his layout.  My prayers and sympathies go out to his family.  He will truly be missed.

Neal Jeter 

I am very sad to hear of Mr. Griffin's passing. I met him  ten or twelve years ago when I discovered by accident that his home and layout was in the same town as my father-in-law. I called him the day I heard about his layout and he invited me over that afternoon and gave me a tour of his layout.  I found him to be one of the friendliest men I have ever met.

He was gracious to contract with me to build one of the "high rise" buildings on his layout. I met with him yearly thereafter and each meeting was more pleasant than the last. He was a gracious host. Every scene had a story and every story was incredibly interesting.

His late son was a very talented modeler and built fine models.  Charles always spoke of him when we talked and missed him greatly.  

I trust his layout will survive in some form or fashion. 

He will be missed.

 Very sad news. I hope his family and friends find comfort.

I'll pray for the family.

So sorry to hear this news. He surely will be missed. 

Rick

I knew it was coming but still I was in tears when I first read the email from Jim Steed yesterday announcing his passing.  This was a great friend of the hobby.  His generosity is incomparable.  I met and became friends with Charles many years ago when I first photographed his layout.  Over the years I've visited with him dozens of times. 

Once, when he was showing me his wonderful collection of passenger train sets, I discovered that he had the entire set of MTH's B&O "National Limited" passenger cars.  I told him that I was so envious of him since I had taken many trips on the National Limited when I was growing up, going from my home town in Mitchell Indiana to Cincinnati to visit my big sister. 

He said, "But you have that set, don't you?"  I told him that unfortunately I had missed that set when it came out.  The next time I came to see him, you guessed it.  He would hear nothing less than I was to have that set on my layout, as a gift from him!  Charles had already set it aside for my trip down to see him, and insisted that I take it home with me to remember all of my wonderful experiences I had riding the National Limited. 

Now, it will always serve as not only my wonderful memory of trains from my childhood, but most of all my memory of a wonderful friend and a generous man.  My heart will always ache for the loss of such a compassionate gentleman. 

When my new layout is finished, this train will be the first to make the grand trip.  It will pass a highway billboard advertising the Misty Mountain Railroad, which I have already made up.  I will now add a small inset photo of Charles Griffin to the billboard.   

Rest in peace, good friend.  You will be missed.

That's a terrible loss to the hobby. Blairsville is so close to where I live and yet I never managed to make it up to the layout, but I've seen many videos and his work was an inspiration for me. I sincerely hope that his legacy will not be lost and that his wonderful layout will continue  be shared with the world in some fashion so that it can inspire future generations of hobbyists. He will be greatly missed and never forgotten.

-Eric Siegel

I think I was the first one to photograph the Misty Mountain layout and Charles and I kept in touch over the years. He was a good friend; it was (is) an amazing layout.

Rest in peace, good friend, God be with you.

Fred Dole

Rest in peace Charles.

Sending prayers for Charles and his family.

Sincere condolences to Charles' family and friends.

It was Fred's photos and articles in OGR Runs 177 and 178 where I first saw the Misty Mountain. I think Fred is correct in that his photos and article were the first to be published on this fabulous layout.

Fred is a master photographer and one of the best model railroad photographers I've ever seen. Yet even his carefully composed, gorgeous photos cannot do the railroad justice. It has to be seen to be believed and fully appreciated.

The Misty Mountain truly is one of the most unique model railroads I have ever seen.

Rest In Peace Mr. Griffin...

My condolences to his family.

Our prayers will continue for Charles and his family.  God Bless.

Steve, Lady and Tex

Trying to figure out how to quote , but my intent is to say what a way to be remembered, by what you can give away.

May he rest in Peace.

I am at a loss of words to Express how bad I feel inside for Not Taking The Time To Go and Personally visit Mr. Charles Griffin and his loyal Group of Builders of One of the Most Famous Model a Railroads in America. Yes, a Model Railroad that set a High Standard in Modelling, Landscaping, bridges, Tall and Really Long Trestles, Bridges that Raise and Lower with Imigination, Steam Engine Chases, Men at War, Monuments of the Highest Quality, and Railroad Pioneers on Their Pedistals!!! Yes, Charles Griffin will be remembered for his Vivid Imagination, For being Humble, and Honored by all of us so called Model Railroaders. Charles Griffin made it Happen, Hard Work, Long Hours,

Much Much Planning. 

We Owe Rich Melvin a Huge THANK YOU, for Bringing Us, The Best Model Railroads in this part of the World to Watch,Review, Try to Duplicate, or Just down right Envy...Its an

honor to know the Folks that Represent OGR MAGAZINE, because They Make this Hobby

What it Is, it's THE PEOPLE, that make this THE BEST HOBBY IN THE WORLD.

May The Lord Bless Charles Griffin and his family and all the folks that have been

touched by his Words of Wisdom on the OGR VIDEO's.

Thanks for the Memories.

Very sad news. My sincerest condolences to his family.

There was a posting on here some time ago about whether modeling was an art....

posters above agree that we lost an artist.