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RIP: Dan McCaffery

SM Sean McCafferyOGR Forum Member

Hello all....longtime lurker, first time poster.  I'm sad to say that avid PRR modeler, O scaler, custom painter & model builder, and most importantly, my father, Dan McCaffery passed away yesterday in Elkton, MD.  He was an avid PRR fan and hailing from St. Louis, a fan of many midwest roads including the Wabash and Ilinois Central.  Growing up, he frequented White Castle prior to trainwatching near StL Union Station.  He would make his way east and grew to love the Washington area railroad scene and operations after meeting the late Charlie Carangi (another PRR fan & ops pioneer)  Dan switched from HO to O and never looked back as he constructed his Washington DC/Baltimore based railroad.  He did however change the layout over to the PRR Middle Division after a trip to the EBT hooked him on the narrow gauge short line.  Dad was a walking encyclopedia on all things plan, train, and ship related.  While layout scenery was not a strongsuit, he was sharp with electronics and track laying.  The railroad featured all hand-laid/spiked track, relay logic home signalling with cut rail signal knock down, tower headphone telephones, and an over-driven Dynatrol Carrier Control from 1983 to 1999, with DCC to come.   Many of his own models were heavily detailed/painted/weathered KTM locomotives.  He was a passenger train junkie, and built many American Standard & Walthers passenger car kits.  His railroad was a good mix of older O scale models (Labelle, Walthers) and newer (Atlas, Intermountain).  He would later start his own O scale painting & detailing business out of his home in Chesapeake City, MD.   I can say that Dad never had a shortage of work, but when coupled with the art of procrastination and the joys of a train loving son at home during summer badgering him in his workshop......well he had his share of late nights of painting, decaling, etc.  Dad was also a fan of streetcars and volunteer at the Baltimore Streetcar Museum for many years,  He was a great model railroad, excellent pilot, and awesome dad!

I1

IMG_2143

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Thanks,

Sean McCaffery

Ankeny, IA

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Images (3)
  • I1: US Hobbies I-1 leading another PRR steamer on the Nothern Central branch of the layout.
  • IMG_2143: Dad doing what he loved
  • IMG_2165: No fake news here, just model railroading
Last edited by Rich Melvin
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R rheilOGR Forum Member

Sean,

I recall being at Dan's garage one night for an operating session when Charlie Carangi handed me his throttle and said " you take over, I am going out for a cigarette" just as the operating session started. Although I had been to Dan's a number of times it was never for an operating session, and I did not know what to do.

Guys like Donald Grant and others were there and started yelling at me to get things going properly. I handed the throttle back to Carangi and said "I'm done." Your father even told me that most of the guys spent the evenings hollering at each other. As I recall Dan usually had about a dozen guys there for an operating session.

Seemed to me it was more of a screaming session.  Sorry that Dan has passed.

Last edited by rheil
PRR8976PRR8976OGR Forum Member DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER

Sean,

  So sorry to hear of your dad's passing. As far as I know, I don't think I ever interacted with him. Can you (or someone else) list his OGR name so I can view his prior posts, assuming he was a poster here. Seems like you have lots of good memories to remember him by- hope that provides some comfort.

  From the picture and article you provided, I could see he was a fine PRR modeler. Looking at the photos from David Eisinger, I liked your dad's snazzy control panel, signaling and fine looking trackage to name just three out of several items. Besides his fondness for The Pennsy, I see he liked his pretzels, too (like me).

  Hope you are able to keep his layout in your family, if possible.

Tom

SM Sean McCafferyOGR Forum Member

Thanks all,

He was an avid O scaler, but not active on this forum.  His heydey was in the 90s as we were regular attenders of the O scale National conventions.  As I've lurked on this forum, I have recognized some names of people that he knew in the hobby so I thought it was a good channel to inform through.  He started building his railroad around the same time I was born....1983...and operated it pretty much continuously throughout.  As Bob mentioned, the operating sessions could be somewhat hectic depending on the crew.   However I met a lot of great people in the hobby and learned about how a railroad works during those sessions (waybills, car routing, passenger train consisting, etc).  The traditions of model railroading and love of airplanes continue on today with his grandkids (my kids).  Thanks everyone for the kind words.

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IMG_1394

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-Sean McCaffery

Ankeny, IA

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Images (4)
  • 20200708_082940: Dad continued to fly up until the end
  • 20200829_112322(0): Grandson get's the I1s started up the hill
  • IMG_1394: Grandkids building a train
  • IMG_1469: The last car added...I gifted him a Koh's Queen Mary for his 80th Bday
Last edited by Rich Melvin
SM Sean McCafferyOGR Forum Member
@bob2 posted:

Long shot: I have several entries in logbook #1 - Summer 1964 at NAS Memphis, by a D (maybe J?) McCaffery.  Probably not the same - but he was the chief flight instructor for the Navy flying club.

@bob2 That was most likely my father.  I don't know exact dates, but I know his Navy tour ended in the late 60s and his last stop  was being stationed in Memphis.  He talked often of the Memphis aero club and would gain his love of flying through being a member of it.  He started his Navy career as a radar technician with stops in San Diego, Honolulu, and Memphis



@Tom Tee:  The visitation will be Friday 11/12 at 10am at Immaculate Conception Church, 455 Bow Street, in Elkton, MD with a funeral service to follow at 11am.  All are welcome, but masks will be required.

And yes, the lower level HO below my Dad's layout was "my" layout which was supposed to go all the way around, but never made it that far.  The younger operating crew and myself had a blast on that layout!

Last edited by Sean McCaffery

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