Bob Richardson

[Keith]

From the Rio Grande list today:

Forwarded from the ColoradoNarrowGauge group

Sorry to report that early this AM, Bob Richardson, Narrow Gauge
pioneer, founder and former ED of the Colorado RR Museum and authority
on all things narrow gauge died at age 96. He was healthy until the
last few days when he apparently developed either pnuemonia or kidney
problems. Bob was always concerned about ending up in a rest home
according to long time friend Gordon Chappell, so his passing was
mercifully brief. His death leaves a void in the memory of Narrow
Gauge. I will miss my correspondence with Bob, his wonderful stories,
and the fount of knowledge on the RGS. Bob was there!! So do not
grieve too much for Bob; he's already been to Heaven

[Stourbridge Lion]

:cry: :cry: :cry: :cry:

[BoxcabE50]

:omg: I'd suspect that most people, no matter what US railroad they follow, have heard his name. :sad: Quite a legacy.

Boxcab E50

[coloradorailroads]

As I put on the blog today,
Few people have done more than Bob Richardson to preserve the history and memory of the narrow gauge in Colorado. His legacy remains the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden, where most of his preserved engines, rolling stock and railroad memorabilia are on display. Richardson started the Narrow Gauge Motel in "South" Alamosa, which grew into a museum and eventually relocated to Golden. Richardson was also an author, photographer and "abandoned line reporter" for much of the narrow gauge empire that circled Colorado. People who knew him characterized him as a railfan's railfan and a patient teacher of railroad science and history, especially when he frequented the museum. His numbered Rail Annuals were published under the Colorado Railroad Museum. Prior to that, they were often circulated on mimeographed sheets to the community of interested historians and narrow gauge-minded ferroequinologists.

With his passing, the narrow gauge fans of the world have lost one of their best.

[BNSF FAN]

Sad news. Bob will be missed. My family's prayers go out to Bob's family.

[OC Engineer JD]

My prayers will go to his family and friends today.

[coloradorailroads]

I drove by the Colorado Railroad Museum last night and I didn't see anything outside announcing his passing (I was there after closing).

I hope this just owing to the weekend and people being out of touch. I would think that it would really depress me if an institution I helped create would fail to acknowledge my passing.

[Stourbridge Lion]

CRRM Co-founder Robert W. Richardson Dies at age 96
A fond farewell to a railroad legend.

ROBERT WILLIAM RICHARDSON 1910- 2007

Fondly called “Uncle Robert” by all those who know and admired him, Robert William Richardson, age 96, passed away peacefully in State College, Pennsylvania, on February 23, 2007. Although plagued by short bouts of illness in recent years, Bob had remained basically healthy and in full possession of his remarkable memory and sharp wit right up until the end. Perhaps best known as the co-founder and longtime Executive Director of the Colorado Railroad Museum and a distinguished railroad author and photographer, Bob’s career could easily have gone in a different direction. Born in Rochester, Pennsylvania, on May 21, 1910, he moved with his parents to Akron, Ohio, in 1915 and later graduated from high school there. Diverted from a college education, Bob went to work for a local hardware concern until the depression cost him his job. Along the way he had learned the printing business and proceeded to start his own small print shop in Akron. The depression years were especially hard for printers, and Bob’s shop closed in 1937. Stamp collecting was one of his major hobbies, and George Linn hired him as the second editor of “Linn’s Weekly Stamp News,” the principal publication dealing with that interest. Fortunately, for rail hobbyists and historians, Bob’s other hobby was railroading.

As a teenager, Bob enjoyed watching and photographing trains in Ohio and Pennsylvania. His insatiable curiosity led him to study railroad operations and history, and later he wrote articles for both “Trains” and “Railroad” magazines. In anticipation of forthcoming military service, he quit his job with “Linn’s” but then learned that he would not be called up for some time. Thus, he took a job as an advertising representative for the Seiberling Rubber Company, which required him to travel extensively through the southern states as he assisted Seiberling tire dealers and sought out interesting short line railroads.

In the summer of 1941, Bob and a friend came to Colorado for the first time, making an unforgettable circle tour on the narrow gauge. Bob become completely enamored of the slim gauge railroads of Colorado. After military service with the Army Signal Corps during WWII in Iran, where he studied the Persian railroads and learned to read Farsi, Bob returned to his job with Seiberling, but the lure of Colorado remained strong. He made repeated vacation trips to narrow gauge country in 1945, 1946 and 1947, eventually deciding to make his home here. In 1948 he quit his job, and he and a friend from Ohio pooled their resources to open the Narrow Gauge Motel in Alamosa. The motel grounds offered a fine place to display some of the narrow gauge equipment he had purchased, along with that saved by the Rocky Mountain Railroad Club. While at the motel, he began the sporadic publication of a very significant newsletter called simply “Narrow Gauge News” which later became the Colorado Railroad Museum’s “Iron Horse News.” At Alamosa Bob Richardson tirelessly railed against the abandonment of the historic narrow gauge lines. It can accurately be said that his untiring efforts and the publicity he generated were among the primary reasons that the Silverton Train and the Cumbres and Toltec were preserved for future generations to savor.

While in Alamosa Bob amassed a formidable collection of railroad artifacts and equipment, including famed D&RGW locomotive No. 346, which he purchased with his own funds in 1950. Then Cornelius W. Hauck, another prominent railroad enthusiast from Ohio, acquired D&RGW 2-8-0 No. 318 and placed it at the motel. Bob’s friendship with “Corny” Hauck led to the establishment of the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden, which is today recognized as one of the truly great railroad museums in the country. Purchase of the former farm just east of Golden was completed in 1958, and the museum was officially opened to the public in July of 1959. Construction of the Iron Horse Motel next door was intended to be an additional source of operating revenue but instead proved to be overly time- consuming and was sold. Several years down the road, the motel was purchased and razed to make way for the roundhouse restoration facility and to enable completion of a loop of narrow gauge track. The Robert W. Richardson Railroad Library at the museum was created and named in his honor. Bob served as the distinguished Executive Director of the Colorado Railroad Museum until 1991 when he made the decision to retire and move back to Pennsylvania in that part of the country where he had been raised and where his nephews and niece reside. Even in retirement he continued to produce significant volumes dealing with railroad history, especially here in Colorado. Today persons treasure their friendships and even casual meetings with him and will long remember his myriad contributions to Colorado railroad history. It is no exaggeration to say that he did more than any other person to preserve Colorado’s unique railroad heritage. We are indeed fortunate that his photographs and writings will be available for future generations of railroad enthusiasts and historians.

Bob Richardson was truly one of a kind and will be sorely missed. Rest in peace, Uncle Robert.

Memorial Contribution Ronald C. Hill

[Stourbridge Lion]

Love for trains kept career chugging for decades (http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_5351732)
By Virginia Culver
Denver Post Staff Writer
Article Last Updated: 03/04/2007 12:40:05 AM MST

Bob Richardson's love of trains turned a hobby into a career.

Richardson, who died Feb. 24 at age 96, rode trains, photographed trains, collected trains, wrote books about them and helped found a museum that became the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden. For 33 years he lived in a farmhouse on the museum grounds.

But he became an expert on other things along the way. With travel, he learned the history of cities and states, and with his other avocation, stamp collecting, he learned history, culture and language.

A bachelor, Richardson was a constant researcher, said his nephew, Rick Tyler of Willoughby, Ohio. "And he was a walking Rolodex on the Civil and Revolutionary wars," Tyler said. "He was always fascinating to talk to."

"He loved to tell stories," said Fred Tyler, of Cleveland Heights, Ohio, Richardson's brother- in-law.

But trains came first. Besides railroad cars, cabooses and engines, he collected railroad china, whistles, lights, tickets, company financial books and correspondence, all of which are at the museum. There's also a telegraph station, lanterns, a roundhouse for restorations, tracks and a model locomotive. The Robert W. Richardson Railroad Research Library is on the grounds.

He edited the Narrow Gauge News for years. It is now edited by Bob Jensen, a friend of more than 45 years.

Because of Richardson's railroad books, "he single-handedly saved the history of the Rio Grande Southern Railroad," said Jensen, of Arvada.

Richardson was widely known for his train knowledge. Once, when visiting Norway, he was taking pictures of trains and tracks and a man came out of the station and yelled to him, "Mr. Richardson! What are you doing here?" Rick Tyler said.

Robert William Richardson was born May 21, 1910, in Rochester, Pa., and moved with his family to Akron, Ohio, where he was reared.

Richardson served in the Army Signal Corps and during that time began to collect stamps, learning the history and some language skills of the various countries. For a time he was editor of Stamp News, a weekly publication, said Gordon Chappell, a longtime friend.

At every opportunity Richardson took pictures of trains. Rick Tyler estimated his uncle had 40,000 pictures of trains. Most were given to the Western history division of the Denver Public Library.

While working for Seiberling Tire Co., he traveled to several states. And yes, he always traveled by train, "sometimes on obscure little railroads," said Chappell, who lives in Sacramento, Calif.

In 1948, Richardson moved to Colorado, and he and a friend, Carl Helfin, opened the Narrow Gauge Motel near Alamosa. He began collecting railroad memorabilia.

Later he and a friend, Cornelius Hauck, opened the Iron Horse Motel in Golden. The railroad collection grew and he displayed it on land adjacent to the motel.

That later became the Colorado Railroad Museum, which was eventually expanded to 15 acres. Richardson was the first director and the general manager from 1958 until retiring in 1991.

He wrote four books on trains, including his autobiography, "Chasing Trains."

He moved to Bellefonte, Pa., where he lived the rest of his life.

But he came to Colorado for a visit last summer - by train.

In addition to his brother-in-law and nephew, he is survived by his niece, Jean Tyler, and another nephew, Bruce Tyler, both of Cleveland Heights.

Staff writer Virginia Culver can be reached at at 303-954-1223 or vculver@denverpost.com.

[Stourbridge Lion]

May 5, 2007 2:00 PM on the grounds of the Colorado Railroad Museum

You are invited to attend a Memorial Service for Bob Richardson on Saturday, May 5 2:00PM at the Colorado Railroad Museum to celebrate his life and his important contributions to railroad history and preservation. The locomotive #346 restoration fund has been created to honor Bob. All donations to the fund will be used to complete the last phase in the restoration of the 346. Donations should be made to "Colorado Railroad Museum" and designated to the 346 restoration fund.

Read Ron Hill's tribute to Bob Richardson (http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=llenc6bab.0.gztf96bab.dt7v69bab.630&ts=S0235&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.crrm.org%2Fobit.htm)

[BoxcabE50]

Restoring, and maintaining the 346, would be a wonderful tribute.

:D

Boxcab E50

[coloradorailroads]

Restoring, and maintaining the 346, would be a wonderful tribute.

:D

Boxcab E50
Definitely. That was his passion, preserving the beauty he had discovered in Colorado.

Thanks, Stourbridge Lion, for posting that. I was getting around to it...:embarassed:

[Stourbridge Lion]

http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/data/1536/CTT_141.jpg