Re: Charles V. Mutschler

With great sadness I must report that long time friend and fellow railroad historian Charles V. Mutschler passed away in a tragic 3-car accident in Four Lakes, WA last night. Charlie was a Professor and Archivist at Eastern Washington University for many decades, and lately the interim Dean of Librarians. He was also a regular at our Saturday Night Dinners were we discussed railroad history, current events and politics. We had dinner this past Saturday and I visited with him briefly with the train show on Sunday. It was a joyous day meeting friends new and old, but a long one for most of us. I was beat by the time I got home late in the afternoon, and not long after noted the passing of several emergency vehicles. I checked online and saw a post about a bad vehicle accident in Four Lakes with one person deceased on arrival. I would not realize until this morning that it was our dear friend that had passed away.
Charlie will be missed in more ways than I could possibly count. His railroad books that he authored include; Spokane’s Street Railways: An Illustrated History; Wired for Success: The Butte Anaconda & Pacific Railway. Charlie also had a great affinity for the narrow gauge railways of Colorado where he grew up as well as the White Pass and Yukon Railway. He could go on in great detail about those railroads and was fascinating to listen to him described the history of those lines.
Charlie was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1956 and was 63 years old, just a few years short of retirement.

[en.wikipedia.org]

SMITTY GOIN' LOCO
LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEER, RETIRED
Last run July 24, 1992

Sometimes I sit and wonder how come I am not in a mental institution then I take a good look around at everyone else and realize, maybe I already am!!!