Steam & Excursion > The Passing of a legend on the 50th anniversary year of the AFT.

https://myemail.constantcontact.com/Remembering-Ed-Immel--A-Legacy-of-Passion.html?soid=1127632756880&aid=ipIEtqvvISQ

I received a text Laurie McCormak who Doyle was devastated by the passing of Ed Immel and Ed was Doyles fire connecion in 1974. She goes on to say that without Ed's knowledge on where to get parts and supplies for 4449 and the entire crew that the AFT would not have gone as smoothly as it did.  He was the Trainmaster and advance man that sure of the display sites and trip routes.

Mike Pechner photo. 

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This is very sad news.  Ed was a gentleman and a man who worked tirelessly behind the scenes, never caring if he got credit for events big or small.  I got to know him through his desire to have our SILVER SPLENDOR be a part of the 4449 steam excursions out of Portland in the last decade or so.  You folks up there lost a real fine guy.  Rest in peace.

-John

Oh my!  So sorry to read this. I got to be acquainted with Ed through his sister Dorothy. He was a great practical fellow looking out for the rail industry and it's workers/customers for the state of Oregon. Especially assisting to preserve services in rural areas. He will be missed be all.

Edward "Ed" Eugene Immel
March 7th, 1943 - February 17th, 2026

We traveled together.
Ed was born and raised in Portland Oregon, went to Sacred Heart grade school, Central Catholic high school, and attended Portland State College, and, eventually, University. He graduated with a degree in geography. He married Rachel Train on November 28, 1969, seven years to the day after their first date. From then on his, and her life, was a journey. He always wanted to travel, to see new things, new places and his travels most often took him by train; only a coincidence that that was his wife’s maiden name

After getting his teaching certificate in Portland, he found his first job in Madras, Oregon.  After two years, he was accepted as a teacher for the American high school in Wiesbaden Germany. He had been a sergeant in the US Army in Vietnam, and so, two years after his return home, he was again with the Department of Defense, only this time with the civilian rank of a major. Nice step up. He and Rachel spent the over two years that they were in Germany traveling to see other countries. Long weekends, holidays, summer vacations, they never stayed home. From the northern-most part of Norway to southern Italy, the trains of Europe took them all over. After three years, they came back to Portland to get his advanced masters degree.  They now had to find other ways and times to see more of the world. Ed taught school as a substitute teacher a couple of years, then found himself helping to lead the American Freedom Train throughout the United States for the American Bicentennial in 1976. His job was working with the cities and railroads that the train was to go through, to make arrangements for the long display train to be sited and viewed.

After almost 2 years on the road, he returned to Portland to get ready for the next adventure of helping to lead a tourism-centered train for the British Columbia government. He helped lead the Royal Hudson steam train from British Columbia, to Portland and onto Los Angeles and back, setting up displays at major cities along the route to promote Tourism, British Columbia.

After that chore was done, he was hired by the Oregon Department of Transportation, rail division. From then on all of his travels were taken on holidays and two and three week vacation periods.  He and Rachel traveled to every continent on our earth except for Antarctica. No trains have been built on Antarctica so that left that continent unexplored by the Immels.  They traveled by train across China on several trips, they traveled by train from Beijing to Moscow in the very very cold winter, saw the Gobi desert under snow. They traveled across Australia, where, on leave in 1968 from Vietnam, he was a passenger on the Southern Aurora when it crashed into a freight train.  Ed escaped both that train wreck and Vietnam, unscathed. The later trips to Australia were made safely and with much enjoyment of both the travel and the very close friends that he met and knew in Australia.

In the 1980’s, he and his wife traveled across the Andes by double headed steam train.  They also made several trips across Canada by the Canadian Railway system, Via Rail, being an excellent way in seeing the Canadian countryside and the Rocky Mountains. Many trips across parts of the United States were done by train.  The biggest effort for a train trip that he actually had to work on, was helping to run a train staffed by volunteers, run by volunteers, except for professional engineers, in 1984.  This train carried passengers from Portland, Oregon to New Orleans, Louisiana for the world fair. It was a massive effort on the part of the volunteers that ran the train staff: they sold thousands of tickets, they provided lunch service from catered companies along the way, stocked bar car and cleaned and watered the train daily.  Ed and others helped passengers, and set up everything that a professional railroad crew would do for a 54-day trip across the United States and back. No group has ever managed to duplicate that effort.

After that massive effort of travel, they did most of their traveling to Europe, Asia, South America, and Morocco. Traveling by train through all these areas gave both of them a real look at how the rest of our world exists. Ed was always interested in the mechanics of the train and foreign railroads, but saw and enjoyed some of the more notable sites of each country. From seeing the midnight sun in Narvik, Norway, to traveling to the Greek islands to visit a former exchange high school student in Athens, to traveling from London, to Scotland on British Rail. If a passenger train would get them there, the Immel’s would take it. 

After their retirement in 2005, the Immel’s traveled on longer trips to Europe and Asia. They went back to Germany on several occasions and traveled to China a few times more.

Until Ed’s diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease in 2020, travel was always their big interest in their lives. Even then a couple trips to Canada and to Chicago and back, by train, of course, were managed.

Everywhere they traveled, the people that they met found Ed to be a kind, friendly, open, and good person to enjoy and be interested in whatever was offered and of interest.  Making enemies was not something that Ed was ever capable of doing. From his volunteer organizations, to his church, to his friends and family, he was someone to be appreciated and now missed.

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I have enclosed a PHOTO, which to me shows the spirit of Ed; Taken at the Oregon Rail Heritage Center (ORHC) in 2015, Ed is standing in front of a FRA display, having worked for Oregon Dept. of Transportation. In the lower left is a model of the Brooklyn Roundhouse and its associated locomotives which were moved to ORHC. He was instrumental in that effort and planning trips for those locomotives. He is holding in his hand a National Railway Historical Society (NRHS) anniversary pin and certificate, honoring his long tenure with that organization. He was editor of the local NRHS chapter's (PNWC-NRHS) newsletter for many years. He was President of that local chapter for two years. He will be greatly missed.



Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 02/22/26 12:43 by TTStetz3.

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That is one heck of an obit. He sounds like a great guy, and good person to work with

Posted from Android

 Everyone who rode behind the 4449 owes a HUGE debt of Graditude to Ed Emmel. Rest in Peace Friend...

Aprefugee Wrote:
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>  Everyone who rode behind the 4449 owes a HUGE
> debt of Graditude to Ed Emmel. Rest in Peace
> Friend...

Fully agree. I worked with Ed many, MANY years. He will always be a great friend and co-worker. 

 The many new friends I made riding on the World's Fair Daylight returning from Phoenix to LAUPT in 1984 -- are a direct result of Ed's efforts behind the scenes. There can be no Greater Epitaph -- thanks Ed...
  

Several years ago I posted my AFT stories in a year long series. The series included lots of dates, routes, mileage, maps, and other details. I had several people, including former AFT crew members themselves, ask me how the hell did I remember all that stuff 40yrs later?!!
Easy.
I collected all of Ed’s trip notes for each AFT move- a document issued to various department heads. I have apx 75% of all Ed’s Trip Synopsis’.

At some point Ed called me, amazed- he hadn’t thought to save a single one, and asked if I could maybe send him one as a souvenir…

I last saw Ed in Portland last May when they fired up the ‘49 for “Train Day”. He was as bright and fun to talk to as always!
The AFT family will miss him dearly.
SR

Never had the chance to meet Ed Immel, but it’s clear from all this that he was instrumental in 4449’s restoration and most of its operations.

Thank you for everything you did, Ed, and rest in peace.

Posted from iPhone



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/23/26 11:34 by DRGWMark.

It didn't come any better than Ed Immel.  Being on the 4449 crew on the AFT Ed would show up occasionally after scouting out a future site and visit the engine crew. He usually couldn't stay long as he would have to take off and look at future sights that we would display at. Ed worked behind the scenes in so many endevors and was so important to the museum in Portland, Oregon! After getting a group text from Laurie McCormack about Ed's passing I reflected on how much I would miss him. The AFT family lost a great member of our family.

As I attended Ed's funeral and reception earlier today, I noticed the wide variety of folks who were present. And also thought of those folks who have previously passed away.

I thought to myself that I would have never met or worked with these folks in attendance if it were not for Ed. I am richer in my relationships for knowing Ed.

RIP.