Western Railroad Discussion > Rest in Paradise Fredo

I received word today that UP (Los Angeles) Conductor, all-around good guy, and one of the best story-tellers ever, Fred Ferrari, passed away this morning. I was hoping it was just an unfounded rumor, but several from our circle of "UP LA Sub" guys have confirmed it.

Fred posted here as "Fredo" and he had a gift for telling a story, and making everyday frustrations on the railroad into his own personal comedy shows. Fred had a memory for the tiniest details and every time I read one of his tales, I felt like I was there (and actually was on more than one occasion). He was a hoot to work with and made every trip pass by quickly. Nobody was immune to his hilarious take on everyday railroad life. You can find tons of stories from him here on TO. One of my favorite threads is this one titled, "15 Steps to the Penthouse. The Yermo Railroad Inn, or The Beanery"

https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?18,3929733

When I left UP in the 90s I saw Fred at social functions occasionally and he would always have me in stitches. Over the years we kept in touch online and in some of the threads here on TO. I'm going to miss him, he was one-of-a-kind.

Godspeed Fredo. May you have high greens all the way to the promised land.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/28/21 19:28 by trainjunkie.

I never knew the man but he sounds like he was a cut-in Brother.
Highball, Fredo.

Posted from iPhone

Oh man, I just found out about Fred's passing away today also. Thanks for letting me know, Duane. 
I last spoke with Fred about 2 months ago as he was recovering slowly from the Death grip of Covid. 
Excellent storyteller with an amazing memory, top notch Conductor and outstanding modeler too. 
He would say, "Hey Brian, remember that nighttime Yermo trip when ... and you saw ... and our .... with the on duty manager Mr. X....?"
I'd be like, "Fred, that was 25 years ago, I barely recall last week!"
    Fred liked to tell fellow rails the story I was the only guy he ever yelled at. 
Me: Fresh new Switchman working with Fred as my Foreman at 4:30 AM in the cold Winter rain. We were soaked and freezing. - last move was to put the switcher in the Crest Pocket in East LA. 
The entire switch was underwater. 
Me: "I can't line that switch, it's underwater, I'll get my feet wet."
Fred: "GET out there and LINE IT - we're wet, tired, cold and WE wanna go HOME!!!"

To borrow a saying from a fellow engineer, "Fred is good People."
 

Fred, whom I have known since the mid 1975 when he made dental parts in much the same way as brass parts are made.  Who was always willing to take a plastic part and cast it in gold (the only material he had access to) for his friends so that the part could be soldiered to a brass model.  Fred was an excellent modeller.  He was one of the Pomana group who hung out at Pomona station from 1975 to 1984 on Sunday nights.  We were there at times to the late hours of the night. We would watched the UP and SP trains go by, eat doughnuts, created and pass along rumors.  When he went to work for the UP he used to call one of us on his cell phone from the train to tell us if some interesting was coming our way.

All and all Fred was a great guy and even though I hadn't seen him in a few years I will miss Fred in the same way that I miss my friends from those days who are no longer with us.

Now there are there is one less of our group.  It makes me feel really old.

    

Thanks for passing along this sad news, Mike.

I had the good fortune to spend many days operating trains at the San Diego Model Railroad Museum with Fred. I alwsys enjoyed chatting with him, and frequently wished that i got to know him better.  He as a terrific modeler and a wonderful person.  He was hospitalized with Covid in late December and released to a rehab facility in March.  I thought he was on the mend.  Will send condolences to Julie.

Tim Costello

Sorry to hear. Many years ago I helped coach the neighbor kid's basebell team and Fred's son was on the team. Forgot how the railroad discussion started, but once we realized we had a mutual interest in trains, that's all we talked about at games.
 

Thanks for the post.I am saddened to hear of his passing.Even though I did not know Fredo I have always admired people with such great memories and story telling talent.I can barely remember what I had for lunch much less the details of years past.Bill Webb

So sorry to read this.  Even though I only met Fred a handful of times, we had several mutual friends - in the Southern California railroader and model railroad community, as well as a former neighbor of my family growing up later becoming a close neighbor to Fred.  My condolences and prayers go out to his family.

 



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/29/21 10:00 by PasadenaSub.

RIP Fredo. A good guy and a good railroader. He always made coming to work fun, in a place that wasn't always fun to come to work to. You could always count on Fredo to brighten your day. It was always funny to get the wet toilet paper crew pack rolls hitting the windshield when you passed him and then get to return the favor later on. 

CS

Thank you all for the kind messages about my Dad. We are heartbroken that it was his time to go, which feels like it's far too early. We are grateful he was able to spend most of July at home and be with family before his passing. If not for health reasons he would have worked until the very end. Given I've heard the work stories so many times, I feel like I know all of you very well. I was happy I got to share his last trip over the pass two years ago in a dome car behind 4014. There's a lot of people on the other side he missed very much and I'm sure he's having a blast telling stories as I write this.

Evan

RIP Fred. He was a regular on the Cajon Sub and a consummate railroader.

DRGW5502 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thank you all for the kind messages about my Dad.
> We are heartbroken that it was his time to go,
> which feels like it's far too early. We are
> grateful he was able to spend most of July at home
> and be with family before his passing. If not for
> health reasons he would have worked until the very
> end. Given I've heard the work stories so many
> times, I feel like I know all of you very well. I
> was happy I got to share his last trip over the
> pass two years ago in a dome car behind 4014.
> There's a lot of people on the other side he
> missed very much and I'm sure he's having a blast
> telling stories as I write this.
>
> Evan

Evan , your dad is one of the last true railroaders. We exchanged laughs a few times at the beanery in Yermo . His postings here are classics of what it was like . Such a great sense of humor .  He will be missed .

Tom