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Edaville Railroad Discussion Forum

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Fred Richardson

I am not sure if any of you heard. But Fred passed away last Thursday. There will be a memorial service for him in April and I will keep you posted.

Re: Fred Richardson

Although I never met him, a true Edaville legend, he had to have lived a long life (89 or 90), God bless him!

Re: Re: Fred Richardson

It is with sadness that I read your posting Brenda. Fred had his 80th birthday celebration at Edaville in June of 1997, with a special train arranged by Paul Hallet and Rick Knight and the volunteers of South Carver Rail.

I had been thinking of Fred and his approaching 90th birthday and wondering how that special day might have been celebrated.

I wanted to interview him as well and ask for his remembrances of trips that he shared with F. Nelson Blount. The two men visited the Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes Railroad in the mid-30's as the railroad was nearing abandonment.

Fred's enthusiasm and encouragement of narrow gage preservation will always be remembered by me and I'm sure many of the others at Edaville.

My sympathies to his friends and family.

Re: Re: Re: Fred Richardson

This is very sad news.

Fred's involvement with the Two-Footers spanned the entire preservation era. His credentials for keeping Two-Foot preservation alive in the post/pre-Maine period were impeccable and I've never heard ANYONE say ANYTHING about him that wasn't tinged with great respect and downright affection.

On a personal note, I was very fortunate that Fred gave me my first cab ride in #4 at Edaville. He even let me pull the throttle. I remember that I didn't know about the time lag between pulling the throttle and the engine starting to exert extra power.

I learned that its not like stepping on the gas pedal in a car.

When at first the loco didn't respond, I widened out another notch on the throttle. Two things happened simultaneously - Fred said, "Don't ..." and the passengers got a little jolt. Talk about embarrassed ...

It gave Fred a good little chuckle ...

I'll miss him!


Best Regards,
Glenn

Re: Fred Richardson

I had the great good fortune to fire for Fred when he took "his" engine for several runs up in Maine a few years back. Well into his 8th decade, he hadn't lost a step, and he handled throttle, whistle and reverser with a touch that this fireman could only admire. He was a gentleman too. I posted a couple of photos from that day on the NERAIL site; you can find videos of him at Edaville on his 80th birthday on YouTube and Brightcove.

Rest in Peace, Fred. The 2-footers owe you and Nelson their lives. Seems like it's time for another memorial whistle post at Edaville.


MBC

Re: Fred Richardson

I am sorry to hear of Fred's passing but am so grateful for what he did when he was alive. These little trains that have stolen our hearts would be nothing but memories if not for fred and others like him.

I met Fred a few times when I was nuch younger, and again during the Cranberry Festival in 1997. I remember being out near Cranberry Valley taking pictures as Fred got #7 up to speed. And I swear i ha d hardly gotten back to the platform when I heard #7 blow for the Eda Avenue crossing. Fred had traversed the 5 1/2 miles in a littlew less than 25 minutes! I took a photo of him sitting on one of the cylinders after that run, and you could see the sense of mischeviousness in his eyes.

I think the idea of a second memorial whistle post is wonderful. What a perfect way to remember the "other" man that was responsible for saving the two-footers.

- s -

Re: Re: Fred Richardson

Fred's service is on April 29 at 2:00 pm at the Baptist Church in Barrington, RI

Brenda

Re: Re: Re: Fred Richardson

I too fired for Fred on the day he visited MNG. I warmed up #7 before he arrived and fired a few trips for the Master. I couldn't help but feel the history emanating from the right side of the cab. He told a few stories and played with [actually caressed] the whistle like only a master could do. Yes, I was on some of those hair raising trips around the bogs too............. Oh for the good old days! Long may his memory live. RIP Fred, you will be missed. ES

Re: Re: Re: Re: Fred Richardson

It is sad to hear the news about Fred. He gave me my first cab ride in 1971 on #7 and always remembered me in later years. He was very impressed with a drawing that I did of #7 by memory. He spent time with me telling me about the locomotive and how to fire the locomotive. He would always take time to talk trains.

He will be sadly missed.
VR

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Fred Richardson

On another note he let me do the whistle for the whole trip on my first cab ride with him.