Re: Lynn Nystrom - Union Pacific Steam

Lynn started his career on the Rock Island where he was a Special Agent. I met him in 1978 when I hired on with UP. He had a raucous sense of humor and he earned the nickname "Nasty", and I know that he enjoyed that monicker. You'd yell "Hey Nasty" and he'd answer in a tone that was only his "Whaat?

Lynn was much more instrumental to the 3985's resurrection than most people know. It was in his basement that a bunch of us UP employees, having (more than just a few) beers, decided to take an articulated locomotive out of a parking lot and restore it to operation.

Lynn was part of the original restoration team on the 3985 and the last member of that original team to be with the Steam Program on a full time basis.

Lynn ate, breathed and slept trains. He was a darned good photographer and a slide session at Lynn's was always good for several hours of slides from all the places that he'd been and he'd worked. He had a Rock Island photo collection that was excellent.

Lynn also had an HO layout in his basement which he ran trains on when he wasn't working on his slides or at the Roundhouse. In later years as his vision got worse, Lynn moved up to O Scale, but he never lost his love of modeling. He also helped Mary, his wife, in her pursuits when she was President of the Laramie County Historical Society and General Manager of the UP Historical Society.

When someone was needed to man the Concession Car, Steve Lee chose Mary and you could find Lynn helping her out when he wasn't either firing or running.

Lynn and Mary were always available to give Steam Shop and Roundhouse tours when they weren't out with the train and I would imagine that there are many school age kids who remember that big Railroad fella who told them about the big black locomotives.

Lynn was a really great guy just to pal around with, a good friend and his loss is, in my opinion, inestimable to the Steam Crew and the Railfan community at large.

All who knew him will miss him. I know that I certainly will.

Rick Steele