The Marty Fitzhenry Memorial at the Toy Train Museum

Ben,

I would like to sincerely thank you for taking the time to create this dedication to Marty. It looks great and is a fitting tribute to a great man who I consider to be a legend.  You are one of the true good guys in the hobby, a good friend and I will be happy to buy you a beer next time we are York. I am glad I contributed to this worthwhile tribute.

Marty was one of my best friends in this hobby and one of the most generous people I have ever met. I think about him almost everyday and wonder  what he would be thinking about certain things in the hobby including no York for almost a year now, Mike Wolf retiring and announcing the closing of MTH etc.  Marty died less than 9 months ago, but it feels a lifetime since I talked to him.

Marty, I miss you a lot dear friend.

Erol Gurcan 

Thank you glad are effort became a reality for a great person !

Very nice, Ben. Thanks for all your work on the memorial.

Thank you Ben. You did well. We miss Marty and when I run my layout, he had a hand in repairs and giving me parts. You honor him.

thanks Ben outstanding job with MARTY'S memorable dedication. really look nice, for his Memory !

Alan Mancus

Very cool Ben. Maybe when the all clear we can all get together, whenever that may be.

Thanks to all those who made it happen. I think Erol Gurcan said it all in his post. Marty was a friend to all he met in our hobby. He will be greatly missed.

Billy C

Ben. Thank you for all your efforts in putting this together for our friend Marty.   Not a day goes by especially in my train room that I don't think about him.

This is a beautiful tribute to a really good guy.

Well done T.C.A. And thank you Ben for heading this up.

Brad

Thank you for the efforts to make this happen.  I wish I had more eloquent words to express what those of us who met and / or knew Marty could say about this man.

Paul

Ben, that's absolutely beautiful ! it brought a tear to my eye. He was a great man who deserved this, he's truly missed.

Thanks, Alex

Came out really nice - I'll look for it my next visit.

Jim

Marty was a legend who passed on his wealth of knowledge to anyone who needed a train problem solved. He is sorely missed by all of us. This memorial to him will keep his memory  alive for us all,

Thanks Ben!  I am headed that way on Friday and plan to stop and see it.

-Greg

What a great thing to see! Thank you, Ben....a great tribute to Marty, a great friend to us all!

Peter

That looks great Ben, a very nice tribute to Marty.  I certainly wish we could have had a proper dedication, but maybe when we are allowed to have another York, we can have a belated dedication.

Ben did a great job on a tribute to a great man. Thank you Ben and everyone who donated for the bricks. Those of us in the hobby keep Marty's legacy going with our memories of and experiences with him. I've had so many  phone calls, emails and texts from Forum members, missing Marty as they fix or run their trains,  relating stories of Marty and trains and good times. This tribute at the TCA museum will assure he is remembered as an ambassador to the hobby. Thank you all.

It turned out very nice.  Thanks for leading the charge on this Ben.

Great job, Ben. I continue to be amazed (and grateful) at the genuine friendships formed in the train hobby. People who live hundreds of miles apart share genuine affection and mutual respect as if we all were neighbors. Marty had hordes of those friends. 

Thanks Ben!  Excellent memorial for a really good guy who enriched our hobby in many ways.

Thanks Ben you did a great job for a true Train Guy.

SAL Gambino/PRESIDENT/ELECT LCCA

Consider all the posts on this thread "LIKED".  Marty was a great friend to the hobby and is sorely missed.  Nice tribute to him.

A fitting tribute indeed.  Thank you Ben for taking the lead and thank you all who made the tribute possible.

Beautiful!, a fine tribute to a nice guy!

Nice tribute for a generous contributer to our hobby, and goodwill to all.

Touching gesture to a man who touched so many in a positive way.

How about a better picture of exactly where it is.

@eddie g posted:

How about a better picture of exactly where it is.

Eddie 

This is the entrance to the museum   The white bricks  in the picture are called the rails   Marty's display is outside the rail on the left side close to the bench by the door

@dottyperry posted:

Ben did a great job on a tribute to a great man. Thank you Ben and everyone who donated for the bricks. Those of us in the hobby keep Marty's legacy going with our memories of and experiences with him. I've had so many  phone calls, emails and texts from Forum members, missing Marty as they fix or run their trains,  relating stories of Marty and trains and good times. This tribute at the TCA museum will assure he is remembered as an ambassador to the hobby. Thank you all.

The May 2020 issue of TCA's National HQ News has Mr. Marty's name in the In Memory List. When I saw he was not listed on the March NHQ News, I had Ms. Amy Fry update the records and here is where he is now:

I have a suggestion for all of you - one of you could write about Mr. Marty's contributions to the hobby and the TCA for the November NHQ. The reason why I suggest this is because whenever there has been a TCA Member who has been a great contributor to TCA, whenever that member has passed away, a member who has known or known of that person has written about them, honoring their contributions to TCA. This has been done for:

1. Arno Baars (TCA 92-35012)
2. Donald R. Speidel, Jr. (TCA CM5-92)
3. Tom Jaworowski (TCA 77-10835)
4. Ron Morris (TCA 64-1063)
5. Ryszard "Richie" Miller (TCA 87-26185)
6. Warren Heid (TCA 60-433)
7. John Gage Parker, Jr. (TCA CM6-143)
8. Richard P. Kughn (TCA 77-10921 - who we all know as the former owner of Lionel!)
9. Bill Van Pelt (TCA 86-23145)

Maybe one of you could do the same thing for Mr. Marty Fitzhenry (TCA 79-13758), given that his name is on a memorial block at the National Toy Train Museum entrance - and we might have a belated dedication to him at one of next year's York shows!

To submit, please email Ms. Amy Fry at membership@traincollectors.org.

Here are some more photos I took of Marty over the years.  Lew Schneider

Finally had a chance to see the memorial that most here contributed to. It came out beautiful to honor a good friend, a train friend and even a football enemy/friend and an ambassador to our hobby. 
Marty will be missed. I think about him running the trains and always think about him every Sunday watching the Jets play. And now not getting a harassing text each week how bad they are and how great his Patriots are. 
Just so you know, Dottie has jumped right into the spot. 
All of Marty’s friends love what you did for him over the years taking care of him when the chips were down. 
His legacy will continue with our bricks/memorial in Strasburg. 

Ben, let me add my voice as a TY to you for doing a really nice thing and great job for Marty. I know you did it from the heart because of the way you spoke about Marty at some of our meetings.

No sense in repeating so much of what was said here, which is so true. Marty was a good friend of mine and a truly exceptional and wonderful individual.

Gerry 

Hi Friends,

Just found two more photos in my file.  One was taken by me at the 2012 NJ Highrailers show and the other was probably shared with me by Dotty Perry.  It's too good not to put it on the internet.  Enjoy.

Lew Schneider

Marty was a great train guy who willing would share his knowledge and expertise with anyone who needed it.  I called him several times and he was always welcoming and helpful and i was but a neophyte still wearing my coal stained diapers.  To think we lost Barry B and Marty within a year of each other(?) its just sad but such is life.

Thank you Ben for getting this done.  I often think of Marty and Barry and try to be as helpful as they were.  This hobby was only made greater by them.  We are lucky to have known them.

Thanks Ben, I have a rail given to me by 3 of my friends a long time ago pretty near where Marty's bricks are.

Thanks Ben, for posting the photo of the finished product. It's a great tribute to a great guy. I knew Marty for just a few years, but in that time had the opportunity to visit with him and Dotty about every 5-6 months during my frequent trips to Boston. His knowledge of toy trains, especially the electronics, and his willingness to share that knowledge, was unforgettable.

Seeing the photo of the memorial reminds me of the advice the Wizard of Oz gave to the Tin Man:

"A heart is not judged by how much you love, but by how much you are loved by others."

John 

Looks fantastic 

I am so sorry to hear of Marty's passing, and extremely proud of all those who chose to recognize and memorialize His contributions to model railroaders and the Model Railroading hobby.

Marty and I had several lively, yet civil , discussions on the Forum over the years.

Hoping he is enjoying every minute in Model Train Heaven !!!

AlanH