Now I've seen it all.....

[Big_Boy_4005]

Turn to page 35 of the new (Nov 2004) CTT. At the bottom of the page there is a photo of the new Hallmark Christmas orniments. The Hiawatha locomotive and matching beaver tail observation look very nice, but what is that at the far right? Mr TCA himself, the late Lou Redman. I'm not sure I want him on my tree, but he might be a valuable collector item.[swg]

[Anonymous]

sorry,but i'm new ti this.who's lou redman????

[3railguy]

Lou Redman also known as Mr TCA is one of the founding members of the TCA. He was a great promoter of the TCA. He and his wife printed the TCA quarterly for years. For a long time he had a Lionel and American Flyer prewar collection. He eventually sold off the Lionel and kept the Flyer. He was very knowledgeble on prewar Flyer.

[Big_Boy_4005]

Sorry Easter, and thanks John. Lou was definately a character and one of a kind. I had seen him a few times over the years when I attended TCA national conventions. I had also heard stories from friends who had buisness dealings with him.

If I'm not mistaken, his "trademark" suit was made from material that had trains printed on it. The figurine appears to be an excellent likeness of Lou, dressed and ready for action.

The question is, what is the figurine doing in that picture? The caption doesn't say. Is Lou available seperately, or free with a minimum purchase? Perhaps the CTT staff has a new game along the lines of where's Waldo. Find Lou!!

Neil? Bob? Kelly? Anyone?[:)]

[Anonymous]

We've used Lou's figure for a little while as a size reference, so you can get a sense of the size of a pictured item went compared to a standard O gauge figure. We're returning to our old figure now, a 1:48 man reading a newspaper.

Neil Besougloff
editor, Classic Toy Trains

[Big_Boy_4005]

Thanks Neil, actually that is sort of a cute and clever tribute to a great man of our hobby. It's funny that I never noticed that before. Now I'll have to look back and see if I can find Lou in other issues. As good an excuse as any to drag out a binder and browse.

Personally, I say stick with Lou, now that we know what he's up to. If the guy with the newspaper doesn't feel like coming out of retirement, George Washington will gladly work for a quarter.[swg]

[3railguy]

QUOTE: If I'm not mistaken, his "trademark" suit was made from material that had trains printed on it. The figurine appears to be an excellent likeness of Lou, dressed and ready for action.

Yes, Lou wore a suit covered with trains. Quite the fanatic. Sometime during the mid 90's, a local TV station did a stint on the musuem. Lou was the show sponsor dressed in that suit. His grin was ear to ear (This was covered in the TCAQ)

[Anonymous]

hey guys! thanks for all your imput. regards easter