The news about Harold’s passing can be found on the NYCSHS web site by clicking the link above. No matter which railroad you may model, it is truly sad news as an era and another conduit to railroading past has once again been lost to us.
I only met Harold Crouch one time. It was on an all-day Friday bus tour excursion to Astabula, Jefferson, and Conneaut, OH and Northeast, PA during the NYCSHS convention here in Cleveland, in 2006.
My vivid memory of Harold is seeing him pointing towards items on that enormous NKP Berkshire parked outside the Conneaut Historical Railroad Museum (a NYC depot) and telling (actually reliving) story after story of his experiences working on those beasts. As I watched and listened with fascination to Harold’s accounts of his earlier days as a hands-on mechanic, I kept looking around and hoping that someone was audio taping it; knowing that these wonderful stories that had captured my imagination and senses weren’t going to be around forever.
My heart goes out to the Crouch family during this time. I’m hoping that a wonderful and apt tribute to Harold will be included in an upcoming Central Headlight issue (NYCSHS magazine) at some point; one that I am truly looking forward to reading.
More info and pictures about Herold Crouch and his contributions to railroading can be found at the following links: