It is sad to announce the passing of Tinplate Art ( vita sine litteris mors est) Life without learning (or knowledge) is death. Those Latin words were always displayed on Art Poole's discussions on the OGR Forum. His last post was on June 7, 2023 and was regarding Art's "I have done it all." Art had a wealth of knowledge of toy and real trains and he collected and transformed almost all gauges and styles of trains from the HO to the BRUTE and all between. He fought failing kidneys for 18 years receiving dialysis virtually three days a week at the hospital every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. His goal was to live to the age of 80 and he did. He encouraged so many in the toy train collectors and operators to really understand their function. He was licensed to operate real steam engines and did that in his younger days and made the treks around New York to Madison Hardware, The Lionel Showroom and American Flyer Showroom. He met and talked to the movers and shakers in the early toy train era. His health was a deterrent but not a block on his enjoyment of people. His wife, Kay and his family survive. A memorial will be held at his home in Nashville, TN on Friday July 15, 2023. God Speed my friend. You fought the good fight!
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Sad to hear, he was certainly a shining light here in the forum, and in life as well.
Sad to hear. Another bright lantern on the O Gauge forum has been extinguished.
@1938Robert, Bob, thank you for posting the kind words about our friend @Tinplate Art, Art Poole. He was a very knowledgeable fellow about all facets of railroading and several years ago came to Clarksville to visit us. We had a fun train day. He will be missed by many folks all over the country. We in the Nashville area will really miss his whit and humor. RIP my friend, May God Bless his family.
WOW, 80 years young. My best to the Family.
So sad to read this. I enjoyed his posts here on the OGR Forum. My condolences to his family.
Art was one of the good guys. Always enjoyed his posts here on the Forum. Condolences to his family.
So sorry. He was a great contributor to the forum.
Prayers to Art!!!!
Very bad news. Condolences to the family.
A source of wisdom and enthusiasm, Art will be missed. Sympathies to his family and friends.
Sad news…..Art was a wonderful fellow. About 20 years ago, I was making regular trips to Nashville for HCA and had the occasion to have lunch with him. He faced his End State Renal Disease with bravery and class. We all will miss him.
RIP my friend.
Peter
So sad to hear this. Art was one of the truly great old time posters on this forum. Always a gentleman and a wealth of train knowledge. My deepest condolences to his wife and family.
I have known Art from a distance for many years, dating back to the AOL Forum days. I had the occasion to meet him at a train shop in Charlotte, NC, a number of years ago because he knew I would be visiting relatives there and he wanted an autographed copy of, as I recall, the garden railroading book I had written. I spoke with Art by phone a number of times over the years, and he really could, and would, talk your ears off. A truly fine fellow who loved this hobby. My sincere condolences to his family and friends. His contributions here will certainly be missed, but also will be long remembered.
Very very sad news. I always loved reading his posts.
My condolences to his family and friends. God's speed Art.
Sad to hear of his passing, condolences to his Family and Freinds
I have learned much from his informative and well thought out posts over the years. Godspeed Mr. Poole.
A shock to read that news. The forum has lost another piece of its backbone. His posts will be missed. Condolences to his Family and Friends.
Thank you for this notification.
Very sorry to hear this. I remember Art from the early days of the forum and I also exchanged some emails with him about tinplate trains a number of years back. As others have mentioned, one of the good guys.
RIP.
This is very sad for me. I'm going to miss his Forum handle, as well as his sage advice.
There was an earlier thread of how we got into this great hobby. For me, earliest memories of Christmas, it was watching Dad's 366W standard gauge set race around the balsam tree. I still have that tinplate treasure. Dad's ceremony of bringing it down from the attic each year shortly after Thanksgiving, was one of those forever-etched memories. He had an early version of the Gateman, too, which seemed to buzz open more than being closed. It's among the great memories of my own Dad...Arthur...Art, as everyone called him.
So"Tinplate Art" was a trigger ID for me...of my own wonderful memories.
Now I have TWO that I'll miss.
KD
I just found this announcement and am very saddened by this news. Art was a wealth of knowledge and information on so many topics, not just model railroading and trains. He used to do some LGB repairs for us at Charlotte Electric Trains. His interests varied and changed when it came to his hobby. He will be missed . My condolences to Kay and the rest of his family and friends.
@1938Robert posted:...snip... He fought failing liver for 18 years receiving dialysis virtually three days a week at the hospital every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. ...snip...
I suspect that you meant kidneys; my mother was on dialysis for about thirteen years (other stuff took her home) due to total kidney failure.
Anyway, my condolences to Art's family and friends. Prayer are sent.
Very saddened to read of this.
Art was indeed one of the really good ones on this forum.
His forum presence will be missed.
Andre
For those interested, here is a short obituary:
Thanks for the many replies regarding Art. He was one of a kind and many will miss him. His wife, Kay and family held a memorial for Art which I attended. The memorial included reading some poems he had written as well as some meaningful poems and stories that were related by his family including Kay and children and grandchildren. It was held at their home in the Germantown area of Nashville. It was kidney failure and I am sorry I typed liver failure in the announcement post. I am still recovering from surgery and strong feelings for one of my friends, Art and his family. Thanks to all that shared and those that knew Art and cared for him.
Another sad loss to the Forum and the hobby. I always enjoyed reading Art's posts, all the way back to the early days of the Forum. Condolences to his family and friends.
Chris
Art will be missed for sure. Bless him and his family....
Whether he posted under Multi Gauge Art or Tinplate Art,his postings were always very interesting to read. It is particularly sad to lose another
of the originals that posted here from the very beginning.
Norm
@Norm posted:Whether he posted under Multi Gauge Art or Tinplate Art,his postings were always very interesting to read. It is particularly sad to lose another
of the originals that posted here from the very beginning.
Norm
……and, he originally posted (long, long ago) under the Forum name, Beowulf, since his specialty, early on in his career, was olde English literature…..
He is missed! When we spoke, his bravery as he faced his End Stage Renal Disease was inspiring……
Peter
Sorry to hear that news. My condolences to his family.