We received the following email from Cheri Neil, wife of Pat Neil, of Collectible Trains & Toys in Forney, Texas, reporting on the passing of her husband. The staff of CTT extends its condolences to Cheri and the Neil family.
Carl
JAMES PATRICK “PAT” NEIL
12/06/47 – 6/15/13
The owner and founder of Collectible Trains & Toys, Inc., Pat Neil, passed away on Saturday, June 15, 2013, from a very short but brave battle with pancreatic cancer.
Pat loved trains and cars from a very early age, beginning with his first Marx train set at age 7, graduating to a Lionel Santa Fe a few years later, then on to an N scale layout he set up in his room at the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity house at East Texas State University. He put a 773 Hudson on layaway at Bobbye Hall’s Hobby House in Dallas, then proceeded to write a hot check to get it out because he just couldn’t stand leaving it there every time he made a payment! His wife Cheri worked at the bank, thank goodness, and was able to cover the overdraft, and decided it was time for Pat to have his own “Train Account”, begun with $75 and checks with a little train on them.
Thus began an adult life of collecting, buying, selling, admiring, and educating any and all things trains…model or real-life. Pat joined the TCA in 1973, followed by membership in the LCCA, TTOS, LOTS, and others. He was Secretary, Vice-President, and President of the North Texas Chapter and the Lone Star Division of the TCA, and on the Board of the Division for many years. Pat was Chairman of the TTOS National Convention in Dallas in 1989, and Co-Chairman of the 1996 TCA National Convention. He was instrumental in reviving and guiding the North Texas Chapter several years ago to the vibrant group it is today.
In 1981, Pat decided to live the dream of all train collectors, and opened his own train store. He and Cheri sold trains out of their dining room, until Cheri said the