Western Railroad Discussion > RIP CCT's Dave Buccolo

I received word today that former (retired) General Manager of the Central California Traction, Dave Buccolo, passed away. Dave posted here as "cctgm" and was a treasure trove of knowledge, especially concerning short line railroading, as well as an all-around nice guy and 'friend to fans'. He was also a huge supporter of preservation efforts of CCT's historical equipment by the Western Pacific Railroad Museum in Portola. Dave will be missed.

Rest in Peace sir.

Damn,  the past six months have been brutal with all the friends we're losing.  The downside of living a long life I guess.  Dave was a great friend and helped me get all the CCT photos at the port of Stockton.  He had great curiousity about the railroads here in Chile and we kept a lively correspondence over the years.  RIP my friend.

I see that he last posted on TO 3 weeks ago.  He was a wealth of information and he shared it.  RIP.

mapboy

Oh gosh, this is so sad. He had retired to Altadena near Pasadena to to be closer to his family. He was still active in railroading consulting and he provided us with some helpful regulatory info for our Monterey track. About 10 years ago we sold a handcar for the OGRE project in Oakland and he setup for the handcar to be delivered on CCT and we got to perform a tune-up run before handing off the car. 

Todd Clark
Canyon Country, CA
Trainorders.com

Sad news, he was a great guy and really open about sharing information, real loss, condolences to all.,

Out 

Buc was a mentor and a dear friend, and will be greatly missed by the many friends he had in the industry.

Meet him one evening at Mormon yard, and exchanged greetings several times when dropping off cars at the port; a real good guy with some great RR stories.  Sorry to hear of his passing.

 I met Dave several years ago when we both worked for the Soo Line.We spent many hours talking about our "boomer" experiences and stayed in touch over the years.

One story I remember about Dave's Soo days in the field as a trainmaster/supt and one of the railroad's unique locomotive. Since we had both worked in Soo's power board and in the field we knew about #2381 Soo's only six wheel road switcher SD-7/9? purchased as the Ashland ore dock pusher. As he moved around the system gaining experience as train master and Asst.Supt. no matter where he was he always figured out a way to justify the use of the 2381 on his territory!

Yes he was a great friend and fine railroader.

My condolences and prayers for his wife Marie and family.

High green signals all the way to Heaven, Dave...we'll meet up again one day.

Exprail 

 

There does seem to be a ltoo many T.O. posters moving along recently. Always discouraging to us older fans! I've lost all of my local railfan friends, other than my sons, but hope I to keep fanning for another decade or so. I'd be 86, but at least that is not unrealistic! My Dad made it to 82 before an accident claimed him. Argh...
Gonut

exprail Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>  I met Dave several years ago when we both worked
> for the Soo Line.We spent many hours talking about
> our "boomer" experiences and stayed in touch over
> the years.
>
> One story I remember about Dave's Soo days in the
> field as a trainmaster/supt and one of the
> railroad's unique locomotive. Since we had both
> worked in Soo's power board and in the field we
> knew about #2381 Soo's only six wheel road
> switcher SD-7/9? purchased as the Ashland ore dock
> pusher. As he moved around the system gaining
> experience as train master and Asst.Supt. no
> matter where he was he always figured out a way to
> justify the use of the 2381 on his territory!
>
> Yes he was a great friend and fine railroader.
>
> My condolences and prayers for his wife Marie and
> family.
>
> High green signals all the way to Heaven,
> Dave...we'll meet up again one day.
>
> Exprail 
>
>  

SOO 2381 was a SD9.

Recieved the word today. I was fortunate to work with Dave for years, through his work with the ASLRRA Safety and Training Committee, always appreciated when he would host the meetings in Sacramento and he'd bring his smoker in to cook. Good man,

TRH

I knew Dave for about 20 years and worked with him on the preservation of CCT 24 at Portola and several other projects where he helped the museum.

Something few people know about, but I guess I can discuss now, is that at one point we were seriously talking with Woodbridge Mondavi Winery about a wine train operation out of Stockton on the CCT to the winery using WPRM equipment.  He connected me with the winery which was very enthusiastic about the project, but the funding just never came together.  He also helped the WPRM with guidance on other projects, including some that may still come to pass.

Dave was always enthusiastic about railroads and expanding their service.  See how the CCT sought out new traffic under his leadership.  A generous person who helped so much with our preservation projects.

He will be missed.

Z

I am really sorry to hear of his passing.We have lost another good guy.RIP.Bill Webb

I had the pleasure of knowing Dave and his passing is both unfortunate and too soon.   Condolences to his friends and family.   Dave was a great resource and had second-to-none dedication to our railroad industry in general and railroad safety in particular.    I hope someone starts a yearly railroad award in his memory.

Burt 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/02/23 13:39 by BurtNorton.