Hello all ---
I place this here in the event that any of the American Flyer (Tin plate or scalers) and S-Gaugers in general, knew of this modeler thru some various internet and magazine articles done on his modeling over the past decades.
I have sad news -- I received a phone call earlier tonight from a long term mutual friend of myself and ED DAVIS, Sr., that Ed Davis Sr., passed away on September 5th this (2020) year, at age 77, of cancer. I spoke to Ed last on a hot day in August this year -- I suspected nothing but Ed sounded sort of tired.
I met ED back in the early 1960's at Ma Webster basement Hobby Shop on W. 45th Street (Model RR Equipment Co. store I think) - Manhattan NY where Ed worked as a counter clerk. Always with his trademark pipe. We became friends after he joined the TA and later became a Motorman. I rode with Ed who was Motorman on BMT Standards on the Canarsie Line, Q Type wood EL Cars on the BMT Myrtle El in the later 1960's, and other consists - on my photo taking joyrides.
I moved to Pennsylvania and lost track of ED until we re-connected in the 1980's by phone and mail -- and more so thru the very early Model Sub Talk forum (long gone now) and SUB TALK forum (before Sub Chat) -- Ed then living in Montana since 1977 and working as a locomotive engineer on Burlington RR freight trains. Ed wrote / authored the book THEY MOVED THE MILLIONS -- a history of NYC Transit and its rolling stock.
Ed was a regular (forums handle was "bigedirtman") on old Sub Talk Board and present Sub Chat -- but Ed has not posted at Sub Chat over the past few years. He was a regular poster on my own NYC Transit Modelers Group Forum up until his death.
Anyway, here BELOW is Ed's Obituary link - and for me, another in a series of my long term lifetime pals has passed on -- too many happening in the past few years; Joe Saitta, Doug Diamond, Vince Seyfried, -- too many more names to go on .
Ed modeled NYC Subway and EL trains and trolleys in S GAUGE and hand built ALL of his rolling stock - yes, I have photos of much of it. Ed would buy old Lionel 027 freight cars on the cheap -- and replace the Lionel trucks with American Flyer freight car trucks --- and increase his S gauge fleet that way. Seems many of those 027 cars were near to S Gauge dimensions to some degree and looked good with American Flyer freight cars - according to Ed.
My condolences to his current wife and grown children in Boise, Idaho - Regards - Joe F
[ EDWARD DAVIS SR., OBITUARY]
https://mtstandard.com/news/lo...04-05aa84447a86.html
DON'T FORGET TO KEEP SCROLLING DOWN ON THIS THREAD-PAGE --- TO SEE MORE POSTINGS AND PHOTOS I POSTED OF ED DAVIS'S S-GAUGE TRANSIT MODELS
regards - Joe F
