Steam & Excursion > Lynn, best friend and colleague

Last night in the latter evening my best friend and former colleague, Lynn Nystrom, of the steam crew, passed away of a massive coronary at home. Having met Lynn in 1972 as I joined the ranks of railroaders on the Rock Island, we became very good friends. Over the years Lynn and Mary have become a huge portion of my life. They have been there for me through thick and thin. He and I were among the few who were a part of the 3985 restoration committee and at that point became involved with the steam program to an extent. Eventually Steve Lee selected Lynn and I to be his firemen on the trips and finally full time steam crew.

Lynn and I model railroaded together from N scale to HO to Lionel O27 to 1:1. Mary has been a close part of my life also and she has been an integral part of the steam crew manning the concessions car trip after trip.

Living with Mary in Cheyenne is her mother, Fran. Lynn is also survived by two sons, Todd and Scott and their families. May our thoughts and prayers be with them in this time of need.

It is never easy to say goodbye in cases like this but for me it is hard to have lost a best friend and I will hold him and his cheering humor in my heart forever.

As final arrangements become available later today I will pass them along.

Lynn is in a better place now and may we join him one day.

As Lynn would say, "Let's get a beer!"

Bob Krieger

Bob Krieger
Cheyenne, WY

Bob Krieger
Cheyenne, WY

Truly a tragedy.

I met Lynn when the 3985 came to Portland back in 2005, I remember him as one of the most outgoing and friendly people I've ever had the pleasure of talking with.

My condolences to the crew and his family.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/06/10 06:43 by Daylight4449fan.

He was a true character and I thoroughly enjoyed him on the couple trips that I made with the crew. I considered Nasty a friend even though we didn't see each other that often. I will miss him and our prayers and thoughts go out to his family, and the rest of the crew, who I am sure are devastated.

Bob, I'm glad the wife and I went down and did some work yesterday in the roundhouse helping restock the sales car. Lynn was in a great mood and being his normal self picking on the wife and trying to get me in trouble with her. Before I left yesterday afternoon he asked if I was allowed to have a kitchen pass tonight so I could go have a beer with him and the rest of the fellas which I planned. Blows me away. It stinks!!! Many great memories, the loss is just mind numbing.

V/R
Bob Miner

Our loss with Lynn’s passing is beyond words.

I’ve known Lynn (and Mary) for 21 years and considered them the best of friends. They have been the heart and soul of the U.P. Steam Crew for a long time. This is a major loss to me personally, and to the Steam Crew. My condolences go out to all of them.

It is also a huge loss to the Union Pacific steam program as Lynn was involved in many, many aspects of its smooth and professional operation.

In spite of Lynn’s faux-gruff exterior, he was the sweetest, kindest and most caring man I’ve known.

I’m devastated.

Larry Hodson

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Bob,

Thanks for the information. I know it has to be difficult for you to have to be the one to keep us in the loop. I've always had a high regard for you guys. Take care.

Ken Britton
Bedford, TX

Unbelievable!

I have lost another close friend. Don't know what else to say.

Bob. As I said in an earlier post, I'm sorry to hear about Lynn's passing. Being a widower myself after losing my darling, young wife a few years ago, Please stand by his wife and be there for her. Losing your mate is sometimes very difficult. I know,... I'm there right now.

Bob,

Thank you for posting this very sad news. Lynn was definitely one of a kind, and I can't count how many times he and Mary spent a few minutes talking with me about many Things Railroading, and other topics as well.

My condolences to Mary and the rest of the family, and to all who were fortunate to know him, especially those who knew him as well as you.

-Jim

I knew Lynn well from Pacific Limited days. What a loss. My best to Mary.

Hal Lewis

When I was a young man, and a volunteer with Pacific Limited, Lynn was one of the people that always treated me like an adult. We had some great conversations during the 1992 NRHS convention trips and a few years later, aboard the Oregon Trail Special between Portland and Salt Lake City. I also got to ride in the cab of 3985 with him once between Pocatello, Idaho and Brigham City, Utah (thanks to Hal Lewis). The engineer was Bob Krieger; Lynn was firing. I can't think of a more perfect crew to take a ride with.

Jeff Terry

Weve lost a great ambassador to the public. I can't imagine the crew without him. He and Mary have made thousands of friends for Union Pacific. Someone told me once Lynn was a special agent on the Rock. Anyone know more about that?
JEB

Another legend travels on the 'Indian Valley Line'...

High Greens and Lined Up, Lynn... You own the road...


SV

I've been in shock since the phone call last night. Lynn was a great friend, I learned alot about steam locomotives, and railroading from Lynn. Lynn was always the person who could put something in perspective when you just didn't know what to think. Lynn was a special agent for the Rock Island in Chicago, there are some great stories that he told about that. I guess words cannot say the loss this is for those of us who were his friend, and had the Thursday night beer with him. It is just unbelievable........

I met Lynn in 1990 when the 844 was in town for the NRHS Convention. Steve was kind enough to let me ride along and get over opening night jitters on their trip to Illinois.
I rode with Lynn and got to know him. He was a lot of fun, good sense of humor and enjoyed being part of the crew. Got my first taste of UP cab humor with "Right turn Clyde" on the bridge approach. Taught me some things about firing on the way. A couple days later I got my Baptism of fire on the 1522 as engineer eastbound out of Newburg. My first time running her on the main line and the celebration at Union Station with the UP crew afterwards was memorable. I enjoyed other trips with them and getting some fireman's seat time on both engines to Kansas City and from Salt Lake City to Cheyenne on the Railfair doubleheader going home. When I arrived, there was an impressive ceremony in the Doubletree bar where I was presented with a body condom and a "I am Mr. Booster" pin. The rest of them had pins that said "I'm NOT Mr. Booster". Inside joke.
First shot is of the 1990 trip leaving St. Louis ahead of a storm. Inset is our buddy.

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There are two kinds of people in the world :
-- those people who give , and
-- those people who take.
My friend Lynn Nystrom knew how to give what it takes.

Lynn did this for his family , he did this for UP steam crew,and he did this for his many friends.

I was honored to be his friend !!! Only two weeks ago he and Mary invited me to have supper with them in Coffeyville, KS. We all had a great time together, and I recall Lynn's opening remarks about the restaurant he chose ... " My two favorite signs in a window :
Open and ... Beer !!"
Lynn was a big man with a big heart. He loved his family and friends ... and he loved running "the 800" at maximum authorized speed.I shall never forget the cab ride he gave me from North Platte to Sidney,NE !! That ride gave a new meaning to the word awesome, but then Lynn Nystrom was an AWESOME MAN.
My sympathy to Mary and his family and to the UP steam crew.
May his soul rest in peace. He was a good man and he has gone to his reward.

Kelly R. Martin

What a shock. My condolences to Mary and family. Photo from crew meeting at Fife Yard, 2007.

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What sad news. A great loss to the steam crew.
A true gentleman who would answer all your questions and showed that working on the railroad could be great fun.
I will always remember him and the few beers we had together.Thanks.
My condolences to Mary.

Graham from Down Under.

While I didn't get to officially meet him, he did take the time to pitch me some crap as I was "explaining" steam propulsion to a friend of mine while 844/4449 were in Fife...Great sense of humor...Thoughts and Prayers to his wife and children, and to his extended family at Union Pacific.

Dave Thon

I'm still at a loss for words, so pictures will have to do the job.

Nathan Beauheim

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