Just heard that Barry Wingard is gone. Barry was one of a small group, of which I was also a member, back in the 1970's. We were the ones who originally began the process of cataloguing all the stuff generated by "that firm" in Oregon. It was called the Kadee Variation Collectors Club. It sure took off in the early 1980's! Hard to believe so many years have flown by. Sorry to learn of his passing. Boxcab E50
Sorry to hear of his passing too. I'm relatively new to collecting N scale and was not aware of this particular group.
John- This was 25-30 years ago. And the KVCC doesn't exist any more. What helped this segment of the hobby take off, were early discount retailers. Such as BLW (Pete Postel), and N Gauge Exchange(Lee Elder.) And then the advent of their auctioning discontinued cars. Possibly the most successful auctioneer of them all, was Wick Brandon. Founder/original owner of TexNRails. After Wick retired, and had sold the shop, he founded the group that leads the N collecting world today. The N Scale Collector. Wick was another of those N pioneers that had a huge impact on our scale. And is also, sadly, no longer with us. Great guy to know. Fun. Sense of humor. Memories! Boxcab E50
Sad news indeed. I last spoke at length to Barry at the Chantilly Ntrak convention. His N Scale collector book was first to feature S&R Models' Special Run cars, as he wanted to catolog them all (something I have never done). His efforts were important to early N Scale collecting. Our thoughts will be with his family. Steven
I've collected postwar Lionel since 1981 and recall seeing Micro Trains take off when attending multi gauge train meets or picking up issues of MR and RMC. Then there is Kato whom I think grew the hobby even more innovating smooth, reliable drives. I will attest that after collecting a number of pieces, Micro Trains rolling stock along with Atlas and a few others has a way of attaching themselves to your brain cells, causing an addiction. Cruising websites and train shows examining it and hunting it down to make up interesting sets with the right chemistry is fun and challenging.
Barry was a great friend for the past 22 yrs,we horsed traded N scale stuff all the time.We spent many of hours on the phone until email gave our voices a rest.Now he at rest playing with all the Trains.Bernie
In addition to all his work with Micro-Trains, Barry also authored "The Collector's Guide to N Scale" which appeared back in 1984. His compendium on the Atlas rolling stock led directly to the establishment of my "A1G" site covering that particular part of the hobby. My only personal encounter with him was at Chantilly and he seemed genuinely pleased that his work has had an influence on others in the hobby. He'll be missed at the NSC-Cons and elsewhere.
