Andy Sperandeo has passed away

[dale8chevyss]

Neil B.

With a heavy heart, I’m sad to report that Andy Sperandeo, who has been a part of our lives at Model Railroader magazine for more than 30 years, has died.

As some of you know, Andy had been fighting cancer and other ailments, and the combination finally caught up with him earlier today.

Andy started work at Model Railroader in 1979, becoming editor in 1993. In time he became executive editor and upon retirement a few years ago became a contributing editor. Readers today are most familiar with Andy through his monthly The Operators column.

Information on services or memorials remains pending at this time.

Neil Besougloff
editor

 

 

I really like the article you did on Andy in MR.  I never new the man but it gave me a great picture of what he was like.  I always enjoyed his articles.  He will be missed.  Prayers for his family.

[archy]

He's not gon. He's just sandhouse chatting with John Allen and Gordy Odegard again.

[last mountain & eastern hogger]

I post this as a Tribute to Andy and his attraction for the ATSF and also for his time and work on the Washita and Santa Fe Railroad project of MR. many years ago. 

This is a real neat story (Factual written by the fellow who lived it.) His name is on the side bar.      ENJOY.

Johnboy............

A Gathering of Words

The Writings of Terry Beck

 

 

• Home
• Meet Terry Beck
• Order Terry's Books
• Press/Media
• Twitter??
• Speaking Engagements

 

 

 

 

 

Monday, July 1, 2013

The Secret Of The Washita And Me

 

The old Washita River and the Santa Fe Railroad up in Oklahoma on one of its calmer days.

          

Back in 1973 I was a twenty-five year old Gang Foreman working in Oklahoma for the once strong and proud Santa Fe Railroad. I was Foreman on a Steal Gang. A Steel gang was a high priority gang with some of the most talented and specialized personnel in the Engineering Department. I was honored to be given the opportunity especially at such a young age and with less than a year's experience as a Foreman.

          

We were working on the main line track between Davis and Dougherty, Oklahoma. This portion of track follows the Washita River as it cuts its way through the beautiful Arbuckle Mountains. The scenery was at times a distraction from the work at hand. About twenty to thirty feet from one side of the track were the steep walls of the Arbuckles and on the other side within only a few feet was the drop off into the Washita River. The river and track looked like a giant snake winding its way through the 350 foot granite walls that run for about fifteen miles through this area.

          

We were changing out the old rail that has a tendency to wear out as trains 5000 to 7500 feet long traversed around the curves. The old rail was replaced with new one-quarter of a mile long strands of rail which weighed 119 pounds every three feet. We would begin work every morning at 6 A.M. and shut down by 2 P.M. in a effort to avoid the heat of the day.

          

After several weeks, we were finishing up with the last strand of rail and had plans to let the gang go early in order to prepare for the move to the next work location. We had cleared the main track and were in the process of preparing the work equipment for moving when the first train passed us moving southbound. Within several minutes of passing us we heard the train transmit on the radio, "Emergency, emergency, emergency! Our train has derailed!"

          

The train had derailed several hundred feet prior to getting to the new rail that we had just finished laying but before the train came to a stop several hundred feet of the freshly laid rail had been damaged. There were several hopper cars loaded with corn derailed and leaning on their side against the steep granite wall. Two of the cars had been ripped open and corn was covering the ground and track. It was necessary to walk through corn up to your waste to inspect the damage. It was determined that the derailment was caused by one of the hopper cars that had leaked out most of the corn on one side of the car causing it to become unbalanced and as it entered the curve it leaned and its wheels left the rail derailing the car.

          

After several hours the train, the derailed cars and the corn were finally cleared so that we could begin making repairs to the track. It was terribly hot and humid as we worked well into the night repairing the track and once again relaying the damaged rail. After finishing the repairs and opening the track for trains the Roadmaster felt that it would be necessary for the track to be walked and inspected after each train through the remainder of the night. I volunteered for the job (it was a tuff job but the pay was good).

          

After everyone had left, I built a campfire not far from the track and waited for the first train. The first train rolled by slowly after which I walked the track. I returned to the campfire and tried to get comfortable because I knew from talking to the dispatcher earlier that it was going to be over an hour before the next train. As I sat there tired and miserably dirty, all I could think of was how great a cool refreshing shower would be. Then I became aware of the sounds of the river as it rolled by just fifty feet away. I began to think how nice it would be to wash a couple of layers of dirt and dried sweat off not to mention the fact that it would recharge me and make the remainder of the night more tolerable. After all, I did have my suitcase in the truck with a nice clean change of clothes.

          

That's when I decided to disrobe and take a needed bath in the cool waters of the Washita River. I think I have pointed this out to some of you previously but this is just another example of the fact that sometimes 'smart' and I don't get along. Anyway, I carefully climbed down the steep bank toward to rolling river. As I reached the water's edge, I sat my railroad lantern down on a nearby rock and looked into the water. I knew the water was moving with some force but figured I would just ease down into the water and hang onto the rocky bank.

          

As I eased down toward the water, the rock I was standing on dislodged and sent me tumbling into the river. Before I could react I had washed fifty feet or so down river. I finally got upright and could feel the bottom with my feet, but the force of the water was more than I could handle as I continued my trip down river. The only chance I had was to try and get close enough to the bank to grab hold of something. Finally, I was able to grab hold of an old log that had become lodged into the bank. For the first time I was able to look back and try to see my lantern--I couldn't see it. The bank was too steep for me to try to climb. I knew I didn't want to take a chance and go further down stream so I began to work my way back upstream by holding on to rocks, logs and briers.

          

After about thirty minutes I finally could see the lantern -- It looked like it was a mile away. I began to get extremely tired and would stop and find a location where I could wedge myself between boulders in order to rest my arms. Still the bank was too steep to climb up so I continued upstream. Finally, I reached the lantern but had to wait a few minutes because I was too weak to pull myself out of the water. Just as I pulled myself up on the bank, the next train slowly approached. I decided that my best bet was to lay between the rocks until the train passed. I didn't think I wanted to explain my nakedness to a bunch of talkative railroaders.

          

The train seemed to take forever to pass, but finally I was able to climb up to the track, walk a short distance to my truck, tend to the cuts and scrapes that I could reach, and at last put on a clean, dry set of clothes. I walked the track and made my inspection and returned to my smoldering campfire.

         

I sat down, leaned back and took a deep breath as I looked up to see the slight glow beginning to appear in the eastern sky behind the silhouette of the Arbuckle Mountains. Life felt good. This was an amazing night. I was a lucky man. As I sat there I made the decision that it would be a long time before anyone would know about the events of that night. 

 

Forty years is probably long enough.

 

The old Santa Fe Main Track follows the Washita River through portions of Oklahoma.

 

 

Labels: Arbuckle mountains, Oklahoma, Railroading in Oklahoma, Washita River

 

[Steven Otte]

Threads have been merged.

[BRVRR]

My thoughts and prayers go out for Andy and his family.  He will be missed by many.

[MORGAN S LONG]

just received the December MR issue and in it, the very sad news of the  passing of Andy Sperandeo. My personal condolences to Arlene and his family. Too soon for such a talented modeler! As a kid growing up on Model Railroader, (and as an adult) for the last several decades I can't recall an issue that wasn't touched by his hand. We've lost a consummate modeler, author, editor- who left us to join the ranks of John Allen and Linn Westcott.

[Heartland Division CB&Q]

jecorbett

 

 

MORGAN S LONG

just received the December MR issue and in it, the very sad news of the  passing of Andy Sperandeo. My personal condolences to Arlene and his family. Too soon for such a talented modeler! As a kid growing up on Model Railroader, (and as an adult) for the last several decades I can't recall an issue that wasn't touched by his hand. We've lost a consummate modeler, author, editor- who left us to join the ranks of John Allen and Linn Westcott.

 

 

 

 

While this was announced not too long ago in another thread, I certainly second the thoughts expressed above regarding Andy. He was a major contributor to the knowledge base of model railroading. I never got to meet Andy but based on everything I've read about him I am poorer for not having done so. The closest I came was several occasions when he replied to questions I had about prototype practices. His replies were always friendly, informative, to the point and not the least bit condescending. He will be missed.

On the last section of my layout that I am currently building, I plan to have things named for some of the pioneers of this hobby who have inspired me over the years including John Allen and Linn Westcott. Now I will be adding something named for Andy as well.

 

 

That is a good idea naming parts of the layout for some of the pioneers of this hobby. 

 

Also, Andy was a good guy, and it is fine with me if there is a second thread in his honor. 

 

So long 

[jecorbett]

MORGAN S LONG

just received the December MR issue and in it, the very sad news of the  passing of Andy Sperandeo. My personal condolences to Arlene and his family. Too soon for such a talented modeler! As a kid growing up on Model Railroader, (and as an adult) for the last several decades I can't recall an issue that wasn't touched by his hand. We've lost a consummate modeler, author, editor- who left us to join the ranks of John Allen and Linn Westcott.

 

While this was announced not too long ago in another thread, I certainly second the thoughts expressed above regarding Andy. He was a major contributor to the knowledge base of model railroading. I never got to meet Andy but based on everything I've read about him I am poorer for not having done so. The closest I came was several occasions when he replied to questions I had about prototype practices. His replies were always friendly, informative, to the point and not the least bit condescending. He will be missed.

On the last section of my layout that I am currently building, I plan to have things named for some of the pioneers of this hobby who have inspired me over the years including John Allen and Linn Westcott. Now I will be adding something named for Andy as well.

[Marc_Magnus]

Hi everybody,

<this is a very sad news, coming from Belgium it's mister Sperandeo who hooked me to operation and I never miss one of his articles from years in MR; I also learn a lot whith his few articles about model construction and fine tunning of them.

Anyway it's an enormous lost for all of us modelers and for MR.

My sincere condolences for his family from Belgium.

[Capt. Grimek]

Another major influence over my own lifetime, gone..... I was grateful to have met and spoken briefly with Andy at the 2011 NMRA Convention in Sacramento. He and Linn Wescott have been two of my biggest influences and inspirations in the hobby for decades.  My sincerest condolences to the family... 

[SBCA]

This is sad to hear.

I have always enjoyed reading Andy's material in the magazine and in more recent years (I guess this already qualifies as a couple decades! - the MR special issues).  Then, in the past couple years, I have really enjoyed videos in which Andy has appeared.

As I learn more about life over the years, I learn time and time again, "My wife always knows best".

When it comes to model railroading, seriously, I have developed the philosophy, "Andy knows best".  I particularly like finding articles from the 1980's, etc., where things he wrote are very well put together.  I find myself surprised at how he already knew stuff back then that I'm just figuring out today!

I wish I could have run into Andy at a convention, etc., as so many here were fortunate enough to do.

No joke: for about 6 months, I kept a screen snapshot of one of his turnouts as my cell phone background image because it was so inspiring to me as I continued my track-building journey.  (There was a great video he did for the 2009 or so special issue on Trackwork).  He seemed to be a master crafstman when it comes to so many of the things I find most fascinating about model railroading.

My thoughts and prayers are with Andy's family.  As Andy would say in any MR forum, etc. correspondence I had with him over the years..., "so long..."

[DavidH]

I had the pleasure of meeting Andy at an LDSIG weekend in Tulsa in 2009. Not surprisingly, his presentation was on freight yards! Two of his truly signature contributions to the hobby were the San Jacinto plan and the Washita & Santa Fe. Both were completely outside of the box for the time, and have influenced my thinking, and I suspect many others, ever since. He is missed.

[Mario1]

Very sad to hear the news. He will be missed in the hobby world.My prayers and thoughts go out to Andys family.

Mario

[yougottawanta]

I am very sorry to hear this news. I always enjoyed his articles. My prayers go out to his family and friends who are left behind.

YGW

[Medina1128]

Yes, Andy will be missed. He touched SO many lives with his shared love, model railroading. Peace be with his loved ones, and his former coworkers.

[fmilhaupt]

While I can't say that I knew Andy personally, I had the pleasure of operating on several layouts with him a few times over the years. I always looked forward to his being at these sessions, since he was so knowledgeable, and would freely share that knowledge, when needed, without seeming like he was talking down to you.

I was impressed by the way that I saw him deal with some of the less "socially-matured" members of our hobby, which struck me as especially kind and patient.

Andy was one of the genuine "good guys" in the hobby, and will be sorely missed.

My sympathies go out to Andy's family, friends and colleagues-- his passing leaves a hole that cannot be filled.

[blownout cylinder]

I also wish to give condolences to his family.

 

[tin can]

I was lucky enough to meet Andy at the Kalmbach booth at a Hobby Expo Show in Rosemont, IL in 1997.  Another good one gone far too soon.

[hdtvnut]

After seeing his articles for years, I met him at Prototype Rails on a number of occasions.   He was both one of the most knowledgable and friendly people I have met in the hobby, and I will miss him.

Hal

 

[Adelie]

Let me add my name to the long list of people expressing their condolences to Andy's family and those close to him. 

I only knew him through his writing.  I always read his column and felt like he had the rare ability to convey information in a way that I felt like I learned things, despite the fact my interest in operations is minimal.  He made you want to appreciate the subject.

I find myself re-reading his column in the last MRR more than usual.  He will be missed. 

[John Busby]

Hi

Have only just seen this

I never met Andy but feel he was part of my world through MRR and his articals

Which I had the pleasure of reading from 1979 onward they will be sorley missed

My sincere condolences to his famly and friends.

regards John

[rgengineoiler]

I'm so sorry to hear of Andy's passing.  Such an informative and valued writer for Model Railroader and his knowledge will be missed for sure.  My condolences too Andy's family and know that his work for our hobby through the magazine has been an inspiration through the years for me moving forward in this hobby.   Doug

[dexterdog]

Sad news indeed, Andy certainly was one of the greats in the hobby over the last 30 years. I remember being inspired by his Washita & Sante Fe series in MR back in the early 80's. His book on wiring has the most wear of any of the books in my model railroading reference library. My most sincere and heartfelt condolences go out to Andy's family and acquaintances.

[luvadj]

Very sad news inded...I've been reading Andys articles since the late '90's and especially "The Operators"...R.I.P. sir...

[SouthPenn]

What can I say that hasn't already been said?

I really enjoyed reading his articles in MR.

I wish I could have meet him in person.

South Penn

[MidlandPacific]

Neil, I hope when the time is right that you share the link with his family.  It's really something to have so many people who barely knew the man speak so highly of him.  I know he answered several of my emails to Kalmbach over the years (as did Jim Hediger, another mensch whom MR honored suitably in its most recent edition), always in the same friendly way, plainly wishing me well, even though we had never met.  I would like to think that somewhere, he and John Allen are getting a chance to see what the Port yard job was like with the last bridge in place.

[willy6]

Rest in Peace Andy, you were an awesome model railroading inspiration.

[JeremyB]

Very sad to read today of andys passing. The first mr I bought he had a article about cleaning track and still treasure that magazine today. my thoughts and prayers are with his friends and family

[kbaker329]

When I "found" Model Railroader in the mid '80's, I read and re-read the words of Gordon Odegard, Jim Hediger, and Andy Sperandeo (No disrespect intended to any of the other MR staff at the time).  I decided then that these guys were model railroading geniuses and my opinion hasn't changed.  With Gordon gone for 24 years (doesn't seem possible), Jim retiring, and now Andy's passing, it seems like my model railroading childhood is definitely over.