Nice tribute Gordon.
My ties to Bob go back to my father. Warren, my father moved from the east to Ohio in 1947 and bought a stamp business, moving it to Sidney, Ohio, the home of Linns Stamp News. Linns is still "THE" major publication for philately. My dad met Bob Richardson there in Sidney, then later my dad moved to the Cincinnati area where I was born.
Naturally when my dad made his first trip to NG country in 1954 he stayed at Bob's Motel in Alamosa, and in 1956 our whole family went out, and stayed at the Motel with Bob. As a 5 year old I remember my dad talking to Bob and the floor boards creeking inside the depot there at the motel. I used to climb around on the engines outside.
When the D&RGW was trying to get rid of the operation, we were kept up to date by Bob's Narrow Gauge News in the mail, and made trips out there in 1960,1966,1967,and 1968 when the freight operations ended.
My last encounter with Bob Richardson was at Cumbres, in 1991 when we were standing there watching the Rotary OY plow to the summit. I recognized him, and said hello and asked if he remembered my father. He not only remembered him, but said he had enjoyed many of my videos as well. I stated that this must be old hat for him and he replied he had never seen a rotary run during the D&RGW days cause the highway pass was always closed. He saw trains returning to Alamosa with lots of snow on them and that was it.
Bob touched our family, and kept our interest in the Colorado Narrow Gauge alive. He touched thousands of others like myself who partially owe their interest to him in some way. Here's hoping he is enjoying the great roundhouse in the sky and everyday is steam-filled with sunshine and great sound effects!
Greg Scholl