My deepest condolences to his friends and family.
I have used his many helpful tips/tricks from the Backshop. In 2004, I met Jim at the Aberdeen Hobby Shop (Aberdeen NJ) when OGR and MTH were having a joint event. I got Jim to sign my first ever OGR magazine Run 204 (DEC 2004). At that time I never heard of this magazine that and I am forever grateful to him for introducing me to OGR.
Very sad news. I met Jim at a Great Train Show in San Diego about 13-14 years ago. He was so nice and spent time explaining my many questions as I just got back into the hobby after about 25 years. At his urging, I checked out this forum. I have enjoyed reading and responding here and have learned so much. I will be ever thankful for his patience, he spent over an hour putting up with my questions, and letting me know about this forum. I've enjoyed his backshop articles and videos. My prayers to his family and friends,
Bob
Wow. So sad. Condolences to his family, his friends, and to all of us.
I will miss my friend. 
Oh man, very sad news. I didn’t know Jim, but I enjoyed his series and sent several folks to back issues for information on a project they were doing. His series will be sorely missed. RIP!
Godspeed Jim. You will be missed by all. Condolences to your family.
To say I am in shock is a complete understatement. I had no idea he was having severe health issues. My condolences to his family, the OGR family, and the community at large.
I am grateful for all his help over the years, both in person and through his many articles. I first met him when he was Editor for the LOTS Switcher magazine. With his moving on the OGR, he greatly expanded the number of people he influenced in this hobby. His articles and ideas were both practical and innovative. I was especially fond of the continuing series on his layout build, and looked forward to them in the OGR magazine. I was disappointed when he skipped a month, but knew the next article would more than make up for it.
Here is a shot of Jim at the New Jersey HiRailers TrainStock II in 2010.
Keep the rails polished until we meet again, Jim!
Chris
LVHR
What a loss to the OGR community. Jim was a sincere Talented and awesome gentleman. I had the pleasure to have lunch with him a couple of times. He will be missed. God bless,
Mark
I am stunned, saw him last York, and he looked great.
Jim was a great guy, I hung out with him some at York. I will miss him, and I will never forget him.
See you on the other side, Jim.
God bless this man.....he will be missed in our hobby!
Very sad. I enjoyed his projects especially how he incorporated Lionel uncoupling magnets into Gargraves track. He was one of a kind.
Tom
So very sad to hear this. I spoke with Jim at York on a couple occasions over the years He was a kind humble person with a fountain of knowledge about our wonderful hobby. I'm glad I was able to tell him how much I enjoyed his Backshop articles. My heartfelt condolences to his partners and staff at OGR, and certainly to his family. Jim will be missed in a big way.
Very sad news. One of the best in the hobby. Condolences to all of his family and friends.
Eternal Rest Grant Unto him O Lord.
I want to "like" all of the posts so far for all of the heartfelt thoughts. Very sad. I still have jim's Backshop series on VHS tapes and have been following him for at least 20 years.
My heartfelt condolences to Jim's family and friends.
Jim, you will be missed
Very sad to hear. Jim was a wealth of knowledge for the O Gauge community... He will be missed.
Sad news. Condolences and prayers for Jim and his family.
Prayers!!!
Wow.. What a great asset to the hobby he was.. Jim was always willing to share his expertise with us.. Seems too many 'cornerstones' of our hobby have passed on.. RIP, Jim.. My condolences to his family..
Terrible news'.. Jim's column will be sorely missed'.. May he rest in peace.
I am very sorry to hear this news. My condolences to his family and the OGR staff.
Jim was very approachable at the York train meets and would readily entertain many train and layout questions. I enjoyed when Jim was posting to the forum his layout progress updates. His enthusiasm was entertaining and contagious.
Sincere condolences to Jim's family and many, many friends.
Oh such sad news. I have all of Barrett in the Backshop within arms reach. His contributions to this hobby are vast, and his smile contagious. My most sincere condolences to his family.
Paul
Very sudden for those of us that didn't know he had been ill.
My condolence's to the Barrett family.
As if 2020 wasn't challenging enough and then news like this. Peace to all his family and friends. Such as loss for the O scale community.
Prayers and condolences for Jim, his family, friends and all who he may have touched in this world.
Sorry to hear this, prayers to friends and family.
Dean
Wow...too bad. I met him at Davis Electronics, which closing was a loss to the area. Way too many pillars of this hobby seem to be sinking under the waves of time. Scary, and l don't like it. Thanks to him for his many contributions.
Like Tom Densel said on page 1 this is like a punch in the gut. I didn’t know Jim well but I met him once at York and he was really nice. I guess you could say I was a Jim Barrett fan. I remember the early days of this forum and how he helped so many folks. When you think about it, it really is amazing how he helped so many people outside the forum with his enthusiasm which was evident in his videos and articles. I am stunned and extremely sad to hear this news. I didn’t know he had any health problems but just by going by how he looked in recent pictures he looked young to me. Unfortunately, I assumed we had many more years of Backshop articles coming from him. My sincerest condolences to his friends and family.
Wow. I am so sorry to hear this. I offer my prayers and condolences to his family.
I have fond memories from the days that this forum started up,Jim was always a true gentleman and always helpful.
Norm
I am at a loss for words about this news. I will miss Jim and his personality. God's blessings and my sympathy to his family and friends. He will be greatly missed.
Very sorry to read this. While I didn't know Jim or some of the other recent passings personally, their videos, writings, and postings and contributions here on the forum made Jim and the others all seem like friends. Condolences to those who knew him.
I am so sorry to hear of Jim's passing. My sincere condolences to his family, friends and all at OGR. I met him a couple of times and he got me started on building and then kitbashing Ameritowne buildings. I always read the Backshop first when each new issue arrived. We have exchanged emails in the past and he was always ready to answer any question or offer help. A very big loss.
Tom
Geez, what sad, deflating news. Jim was certainly one of the real mainstays of the O Gauge community, a figure who’s passing leaves a huge void in the hobby. Condolences to his family and to all his OGR co-workers.
Wow! Another horrible tragedy this year! I had started to write a recent response to his column in the Backshop about dust and our layouts (2 runs ago) but had not finished it to send in to him. I thought I had more time Another good friend in the hobby that didn't know me but I think I knew him hobby-well through meeting him in person, once at Train Fest, and re-watching him in videos clinging to his words of wisdom, and ingesting his columns because they were like he was giving an apprenticeship class as the master teacher. My heart is heavy on this news.
Mike
So sad to hear this news. Our hobby suffers another huge loss. Prayers for Jim's friends and family.
This is certainly very sad news as he was always super fun to be around at the York meets. He will be missed very much. I have more to say, but I need to get dates and names correct before submitting. May the Lord be with his family, friends and business associates. It’s a sad day. Thank you Alan for giving us the news. Your Tennessee connection.
I am very sorry to hear this. God bless Jim.
A large loss to the model RR community. May his family be comforted by knowing how much he was appreciated for helping so many.
I’m sorry to hear of Jim’s passing. Alan said that many O gauge layouts run better today because of Jim’s advice. I know mine does.
Very sad news. Jim's work leaves quite a legacy for the model railroad community and surely leaves a big hole in the hearts of many. My condolences to his partners at OGR, his family, and all those who loved his work.
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