RIP Richard Hendrickson

Our model railroading world lost another of its prototype legends - Richard Hendrickson passed away recently as the result of a severe fall. He was in his early 80's.

Richard was one of the very first to research and widely publish railroad prototype information for the benefit of prototype modelers and those who simply had interest in the details of railroading. He was particularly interested in steam era freight cars of all types, and freight car details - particularly railroad trucks. He authored countless magazine articles, booklets and books on the topics, and was a huge Santa Fe fan, with several books written for the Santa Fe Railway Historical & Modeling Society in particular.

I met Richard in person only a few times, usually at Tinkertown in St Louis, but we communicated often via e-mail and he was always happy to answer my many questions, in particular regarding railroad trucks. A nice guy - our hobby is better because of him, and will miss him.

Ken

 

Sorry to hear of his passing. But I am grateful that some of his knowledge is in print, or stored in electrons. We are loosing this generation, and the WW2 generation at an alarming rate. So grateful you took the time to listen to him..

 

Thanks, Ken, for the news. The realm of steam-era freight car research and modeling railroading won't be the same without him, but it wouldn't have been the same, either, if he hadn't shared all that he knew. Whether rivet-counters or simply modelers who strive to put their rolling stock in the right time and the right place, we're all richer for his efforts.

 

FYI

As fate would have it, Richard did an update to a very nice summary he did a year or so ago on HO Scale Freight Car Trucks, which he posted in April of this year. For those of you who would like a nice reference to the HO trucks we have available today, or who just want to see what all of them look like (well, at least most of them), Richard's article is well worth downloading and printing. No charge. Do a Google search on Richard Hendrickson Freight Car Trucks, and you will see this and other references to his writings on the topic. The quickest way to find and download the April, 2014 article is to get it from the link in Tony Thompson's SP postings, which will appear among the top two or three results of your search.

This is a very good example of the very helpful stuff Richard published - his articles in the hobby's magazines, journals, booklets and books probably number a hundred or more - easily. I read everything I could find that he wrote. I miss him already.

Ken

 

Here are two of Richard's writings including the most recent update.

http://www.frisco.org/shipit/index....ckson-ho-scale-freight-car-truck-guides.6755/

 

FYI. For you N-scale modelers, note that Richard's HO-scale freight car truck article contains a reference to a similar listing of trucks available in N-scale.

Ken

 

I don't want to overplay the loss of Richard Hendrickson, but I feel obligated to post the announcement from the Santa Fe Railway Historical & Modeling Society regarding Richard's recent passing. As a uneducated rookie in the hobby, I met Richard at Tinkertown here in StL many years ago. He responded kindly then to my many questions, and continued to do so every time I, and many, many others, asked. He was a giant in the translation of prototype railroad information into fine railroad models. He was a great one in our hobby - just look at all the stuff he contributed to or published. He was one of my buddies. RIP Dr Richard.

Richard Hendrickson 1931-2014.

Dr. Richard Hendrickson, prolific author, noted historian, and long-time promoter of prototype modeling passed away unexpectedly on June 28. Hendrickson died of a heart attack and subsequent fall at his home in Ashland, Oregon. He was 83 years old.
A native of Glendale, Calif, Hendrickson developed an early fascination for trains in general and more specifically the Santa Fe. As a teenager summering with family in Oceanside, Calif., he gained the confidence of a Santa Fe crew who allowed him to drive a 2-8-2 on the branch line to Escondido. Decades later he was still remembering the fun of that seminal experience.

Hendrickson amassed a huge library of photographs and information about American railroads which he willingly shared with manufacturers as well as like-minded hobbyists. In addition to serving as an inspiration to railroad prototype modeling at meets around the nation, Hendrickson was an active technical consultant to authors and numerous manufacturers of model railroad equipment. A partial list includes Balboa Scale Models, Train Miniature, Life-Like Proto 2000, Walthers, Atlas, Branchline, Kadee, Tangent, and others.

Hendrickson was a marvelously well-informed historian and modeler who authored more than 400 magazine articles on freight car history and modeling. For five years he wrote a column critiquing commercial models in Rail Line News. He authored or co-authored four books about the freight cars of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, and co-authored 'Billboard Refrigerator Cars' with Ed Kaminski. He figured prominently in the creation and development of the current Santa Fe Railway Historical & Modeling Society and its predecessor organizations.

Arrangements have been made for his railroad library, photographs, and collection of reference material to be donated to the California State Railroad Museum at Sacramento.

In addition to a compelling interest in railroads, Hendrickson pursued other activities with equal vigor, including fine food, wine, travel, skiing, hiking, bicycling, sailing, and the theater – particularly Shakespeare. He also loved flying and occasionally performed aerobatics in his classic Citabria airplane. He remained interested in sports cars which he raced competitively as a young man.

Hendrickson served his nation during the Korean War as an electronic technician aboard a destroyer.

Following his service in the U. S. Navy, he studied at the University of Connecticut where he earned his Ph.D. in English linguistics. His 31 years of teaching at the university level included time at San Diego State before transferring to Sonoma State University where he and his wife made their home in Cotati, California.

In addition to his wife, Sandra, Richard is survived by his three children, Graham, Kimberly, and Karin; plus grandchildren, Blake and Camile.

Richard Bale, News Editor
Model Railroad Hobbyist magazine (posted by the Santa Fe R H & MS)

 

Link is fixed.

 

Richard was the best reference there was in the model RR literature regarding freight car trucks.

K