Ron Holander

[thesiding]

that he died recently?

[Flintlock76]

Sad news and unfortunately true.

Here's his obituary.

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/newsday/name/ron-hollander-obituary?id=34020967

I've got his book "All Aboard! (The Story Of Joshua Lionel Cowan And His Lionel Train Company)."  Enjoyed it tremendously and also his insights as to what those toy trains meant to us all. 

Ride easy on the "Night Train" Ron.  Thanks for what you've done. 

For those unfamiliar with the book, here it is:

https://www.biblio.com/book/all-aboard-story-joshua-lionel-cowen/d/753539095

[stuartmit]

His book really brought the flavor of the "life and times" of the Lionel Corporation to many train enthusiasts. We were kids in the 40's and glorious early 50's and by then Lionel had a long history of selling happiness.  But most of us didn't know the details of the development of the whistle or the Hudson or smoke (!) or the milk car until Ron Hollander's book. Pictures of the boy King of Siam, Brooklyn  Dodgers catcher Roy Campanella, boxer Gene Tunney, Yul Brynner--all with Lionels.  It was just a grrrrrreeeeatt book! 

[pennytrains]

I bought his book on a school trip to Frankenmuth in 1987(?) and read most of it on the bus ride back to Cleveland.  I still dog ear the pages at least once a year.  I really should retire that first edition copy and invest in the updated version.

[stuartmit]

I remembered an article by Hollander that was in December 1981 issue of Model Railroader. The amazing cover photo of the Squaw Creek bridge and lead article were 9a retrospective of John Allen's  Gorre and Daphetid Lines.  But included in that issue on page 118 is an article by Ron Hollander about Lionel and the Santa Fe F3 diesel they produced starting in the late 1940s. The article is not merely an excerpt from the wonderful book; I believe That it contains additional material. And in some ways, I think it is superior to the book itself in terms of it's discussion. If you have this issue, you should pull it out and read it,  and if you don't have it, I would say it's worth looking for at a train show or on eBay. Really excellent!