Western Railroad Discussion > Charles V. Mutschler 1956-2019

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 that 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.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Mutschler

Ted Curphey
Ontario, OR



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/11/19 11:50 by funnelfan.

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So sorry for your loss Ted.

MILW86A

So sorry to read this, Ted.  My thoughts and prayers for your friend and his family.

Rich

Very sad. I'm sure you will miss him. Condolences to his family and may he rest in peace.

Sorry to hear of your loss and that of the railfan community.Thank you for posting.Bill Webb

You just never know, do you!

Sad story...,may he rest in peace.

L.R. Keith in town just told me of his passing. Very sorry to hear such bad news. May God be with him on his new journey.

Larry

I'm sorry for your loss, Ted.

After a 2003 visit to Butte, MT, I wanted to know more about the Butte, Anaconda & Pacific.  Mutschler's book, Wired for Success is a wonderful historical account of this railroad.

May he rest in peace.

Charlie visited the Midwest several times with a little group we have before Durand show.  Spent a day driving with him, great time.  Also on his mailing list for news.

Sorry to hear Ted.

Bob Jordan

 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/11/19 20:21 by robj.

Rail Camp Michigan is devastated this morning over the loss of Charlie.   Railcamp happened the 3rd or 4th week in March ending in Durand, Michigan.  We still doing it this year, but without our good friend Charlie.

Rick Burn
Holland, Michigan

All,

Funeral arrangements are as follows for Charles v. Mutschler:

Memorial service for Charlie Mutschler will be held at Emmanuel Lutheran Church, 639 Elm Street, in Cheney, 1 p.m. Friday, March 15th. A reception and light refreshments to follow.

RIP Charlie..  High greens to heaven!!


SP8100

Ted, I just saw your post of March 13th and then found this. I spoke with Charlie at the Spokane show and finally had the opportunity to introduce him to my wife. He was such a dapper gentleman with a true passion for railroads. I still can't wrap my mind around the fact that he is gone. He will be missed very much by those who knew him. God bless his loved ones in their time of sorrow. Our rail community is much diminished with his loss.

Dan Stinson
Helena