It is with a sad heart that I write this month’s edition of From The Desk. Following a typical fabulous dinner for FUNTRAK’s annual anniversary gala, club member Jim Domser departed to take his lady friend home and deliver a meal to club member Clayt Farrall who was unable to attend the dinner. After delivering the meals to Clayt, Jim was taken ill and discovered at a local firehouse. He was attended to and taken to the hospital where he later died. It wasn’t until nearly a week later that any information as to what happened to Jim was forthcoming. There were no calling hours and the funeral was a family affair. Jim was an avid model railroader and a staunch supporter of FUNTRAK. Any time there was need for something, Jim was the first one to volunteer to help. He was especially helpful in arranging transportation for fellow club members who had difficulties in getting to meetings or shows. If there was a supporting detail that needed attending, Jim was the man to take care of it. He never complained and was always reliable in his efforts to support the club and club members. Jim was an innovator in his own right, also. He was one of the first
to bring along a train mounted camera in a Lionel engine that allowed the public to get an engineers view of the layout at FUNTRAK’s shows. He opened his home to many meetings where he always had something new and exciting going on, whether it be with Lionel, HO, or N scale. He tried all the newest gadgets and shared his experience with the rest of the model railroad world. Although Jim was rarely in the best of health, he never complained or let this slow him down. One thing Jim always did that impressed everyone was to keep people informed about his ability to participate. If Jim couldn’t make it for any reason, he was the first to let you know and why he was unable to help. This trait made Jim a most respected member because everyone else could plan accordingly without having to worry if Jim was going to be there. Jim has now gone to the great model railroad kingdom in the beyond and we wish him peace and great model railroading. He will be
joining another great model railroader who passed away this month also, Jim Fitzgerald. This Jim was known as “Mr. N-Trak”. He was the founding father of N-Trak in the early 1970’s. Jim’s influence on the model
railroad hobby is immeasurable and he will be sorely missed. Meanwhile, the rest of us will carry on the
great traditions of model railroading and continue with the legacies that our friends and predecessors have left for us.