VERY SAD NEWS: JIM BARRETT OUR FRIEND AND PARTNER HAS PASSED AWAY ...

Very sad to hear... my condolences go out to his family.  I've got his Backshop videos on VHS... I guess I'll need to take the VCR out of storage, hook it up and spend some quality time with Jim over the weekend.

Alan, thanks for posting the story about Jim and the mighty Mercury. It is the first smile I have had since you and Allan gave me the news. I feel a little bit better after reading it. In addition to being a pillar of our hobby, Jim was one of the GREAT LEAD FOOTS of all time. Just one of the awe inspiring things he was and did. God bless you Jim Barrett.

Ed Boyle

I only know Jim through his articles and will certainly miss these. My condolences for those who knew him personally. 

Rest in Peace Jim.  You will be missed but you are in a better place now.

Aw shucks!  Jim has long been one of my favorite people in this wonderful hobby of ours.  I will REALLY miss him.  God speed my friend...

Jon

Eternal Rest Grant unto him, and let perpetual light shine upon him.  May he rest in God's peace!

May he rest in peace.  Last time I saw him, he had driven from Ohio that morning to Metuchen NJ to attend Barry's interment, and then drove back.  A fine gentleman.

I am in shock! This is very sad news. He was always eager to answer my backshop questions and emails. I had called OGR years ago, and to my surprise Jim answered the phone. He quickly answered my question, and we reminisced about working for GE.

I am not sure how far he was on his layout, however I hope he was able to enjoy it. He sure deserved it.

My sincere condolences and prayers to his family and close friends. RIP.

Joe Gozzo

Could there be a better legacy for Jim than the wonderful sentiments expressed in this thread by all those whose lives he touched?

It must have been 15 years ago when Jim, Mike C and the OGR gang came out to photograph my layout for OGR and we all went for pizza too.  So, I had a chance to spend quality time with him and it was one of the most fun days I ever had.  He was, one of the nicest men I have ever met.  And a Lionel Postwar Master to boot!

Shocking news! Jim’s articles were the first thing I read in the magazine. God Bless Jim and his family and friends.

I always enjoyed Jim's articles, he was a great source of information. I talked to him a few times at York, always upbeat, even on day 3  

He will be missed

My heartfelt condolences to Jim's family and friends...

Jim Barrett’s passing is a great loss to this forum, the magazine, the hobby, and, most of all, his family and friends. I had the undeniable pleasure of meeting him at a photo shoot of Forum member Pete Kruimer’s railroad some 15 years ago.  He was the nicest man, as pleasant and knowledgeable in person as his frequent, well-written, and informative replies to questions posed here would lead one to believe. And as his articles in OGR clearly demonstrated, he was always ready and able to share his knowledge and advance the hobby. He will be missed.

Sorry to hear, thoughts and prayers to the family and friends

Jim was the very best. What an empty feeling upon hearing the sad news. He was my inspiration and teacher from the first day I talked with him at Davis' Shop years ago.

God Bless and rest in peace good friend.

Jim visits Colorado and the Burns Central Railroad.

Rest in peace Jim we will miss you.

Very Sorry to hear of Jim's passing.  It is a shock.  Jim helped me out a couple times.  I enjoyed his articles.  Jim will be missed.

Very sad news, indeed.  Jim Barrett shared a prodigious amount of useful expertise, with great kindness and clarity.  

Our sympathy and our thanks for sharing him with us go out to his family.

So sorry to read of Jim's passing, lots of fun memories from York and other train gatherings.

Rest in Peace

My deepest condolences to his family and friends.  He will be missed more than you can imagine. 

I was thinking about Jim during windshield time earlier today and I remembered signing up and paying for the L.O.T.S. layout tour set for this year.  There I was to meet Jim Barrett, "as  promised" in the Switcher mag, at Bill Bramlage's home of the amazing layout.  That combination, Jim and Bill (I know them both from OGRR videos) hooked me immediately and, man, I was really looking forward to it.  When Covid cancelled it, like it has so many other things this year, I was relieved that it was rescheduled for 2022.   I will be there, God willing, but with no Jim, Covid hits even deeper and I'm sure Paula and all of the  the great folks at L.O.T.S. will deeply miss him.

My sincere sympathy goes to all his friends and family.

Like many of you, I am beyond saddened by this loss. Jim and I spoke just a few days ago and got laughing about some silly thing or another.

I have know Jim for a long time. When I first became an MTH dealer, I wanted to ask them to make a Premier Monon Passenger train for me, and called the OGR folks for some advice. Jim called me back, and I learned that he grew up in Indiana, not sure where - maybe Jasper, anyway, when he was a boy he would ride the Monon to Chicago and back, all by himself. He shared with me a photo of very young Jim, in his finest, with a straw hat. The Monon train he recalled riding was "The Thoroughbred", so that was the train we had MTH make, drumhead and all. 

Jim, I will recall fondly our conversations - and particularly about your Monon Memories.

So sorry for all of our loss - and I will look you up on the other side!

This is a great response in memory of one of the nicest and friendliest model train folks known to many in the hobby. You might even call him professor Jim Barrett. If you ever watched O Gauge Railroading, The Video #5, Jim Barrett gave one of the very best verbal descriptions of Louis Ertz’s two rail scale layouts I’ve ever viewed, and listened to. I recommend everyone get a copy of that video to see Jim at his best. Being a Tennessee resident, I was able to visit Louis Ertz many times over the years, he passed away several years ago, after the OGR video. Yes, Jim will be missed, but we can sit back and watch his videos and still keep his spirit alive in our lives, he was a great ambassador of this great Hobby, Model Railroading.

@MrMuffin'sTrains posted:

Like many of you, I am beyond saddened by this loss. Jim and I spoke just a few days ago and got laughing about some silly thing or another.

I have know Jim for a long time. When I first became an MTH dealer, I wanted to ask them to make a Premier Monon Passenger train for me, and called the OGR folks for some advice. Jim called me back, and I learned that he grew up in Indiana, not sure where - maybe Jasper, anyway, when he was a boy he would ride the Monon to Chicago and back, all by himself. He shared with me a photo of very young Jim, in his finest, with a straw hat. The Monon train he recalled riding was "The Thoroughbred", so that was the train we had MTH make, drumhead and all.

Jim, I will recall fondly our conversations - and particularly about your Monon Memories.

So sorry for all of our loss - and I will look you up on the other side!

Lee French sent me this photo

Jim Barrett was a true treasure to this hobby and OGR. I will be glad when this horrible year is over. Don

Very sorry to hear of Jim's passing.

While I certainly did not know him personally as well as many here with the personal stories, I am sure I chatted with him a little in the group setting of the York Meet or the OGR Weaver and MTH Tours.

I remember during those tours, he wandered around the bus (I'm sure the other partners did too) to chat with all participants a bit as we made our way from the Fairgrounds to the tour location.

Also loved his Backshop Videos/DVDs (and of course all the Magazine columns of same name).  As a new O Gauge participant in the late 90's, I was definitely loving those.  Every York Meet I would make sure to stop by the OGR booth in the Yellow Hall (or Orange, in more recent years of course) and ask if there were any new Backshop videos.  His ability to explain things in a way that made most tasks seem do-able for anyone with even moderate mechanical/electrical skills was outstanding.

-Dave

A picture with Jim from a long time ago......

Peter

My condolences and prayers are with Jim and his family.

Many years ago, when I first got back into trains, I contacted Jim at Davis Trains and he repaired my 2035 from when I was a boy. We had many conversations about not only trains, but also what they mean between a father and his sons and between brothers. My 2035 was the first loco my young daughters ever ran on a circle of 027 on the bedroom floor. Thank you Jim.

I'm shocked and saddened to hear of Jim's passing. As a long-time member of this forum (though not a frequent poster nowadays), I've had many opportunities over the years to chat with him. He had a wealth of knowledge and hands-on experience and was always willing to share it with anyone and everyone. I have all his backshop videos, both the early ones on VHS and the more-recent ones on DVD. He was truly a gift to the hobby. I was glad my wife and I went on some of the OGR bus trips and got to spend some time with him at some of the world-class layouts we visited on those trips.

My sincerest condolences to Jim's family and friends. May he rest in peace.

Chris

Sorry to hear of his passing. We talked several times over the years at York. My condolences to his family.

As a 25 year subscriber of OGR, I am so very sorry to hear this.  Sincere condolences to Jim's family and friends.

Ed, Rich, Alan, and Allan,

My sincere condolences on the loss of your friend and associate.  It was a pleasure to get to know Jim when I was working with you on the OGR Digital Archives.  Seeing him twice a year at York was always a treat!

As a fellow hobbyist, he certainly had a part when I was building my layout.  My initial motivation for developing the archives was a faster way to find those great old “Barrett in the Backshop” articles on wiring, soldering, etc.!  You knew he loved the hobby and those involved with it.

I'm so sad to read that Jim has passed,he will be missed by many.

I wish to give my sincere condolences to his family and friends.

Doug

My sincerest condolences.

I'm so sorry to hear this. Jim helped me several times over the years. A wonderful guy; in many ways he was the warm, welcoming face of the three-rail hobby. My sincere condolences to Jim's family. We'll all miss him and we'll all certainly remember him.

RM

Clear block to Heaven Jim; R.I.P.

D.

So sad to hear of Jim's passing, While I did not know him very well, I found Jim to be a real gentleman and one of the most knowledgeable individuals in our hobby. Our thoughts and prayers are with Jim and his family.

Pat

@scott.smith posted:

Lee French sent me this photo

Thank you, Scott....