Railroaders' Nostalgia > CR 'Ray' Sugg (SP LA engineer)

I'm sad to report that my father, Council Raymond Sugg III passed away yesterday, 10/18 after complications from Lung Cancer.  He had been diagnosed in May and had entered hospice care at his home in Glendora, CA this past week when he had a fall and never regained consciousness.

Having moved from Virginia to Southern California in the late 1950s, it was his dream to work for one of the railroads as an engineer.  With starting and raising a family in the 1960s, he kept that dream at a distance as he worked a few desk jobs until the late 70s.  A downturn in business and a layoff from a paper supply company in 1979 gave him the opportunity to get a foot in the door with Southern Pacific, first as a clerk at the LA (Shops) yard and then entering training for engine service later that year as a fireman.  After another layoff from SP during the recession of 1980-81, he finally became a locomotive engineer, staying with the SP (and then UP after 1996) until the year 2000.  He mainly worked between Los Angeles and West Colton, but also did stints working to Yuma, El Centro and the Palmdale Cutoff in his career.

He enjoyed almost 20 years of retirement with my mother and spent time with his O guage model trains in the garage as well as going to music concerts and festivals for Dixieland Jazz music, his other passion besides trains.

His handle was CR3 here on Trainorders, and he enjoyed the stories on this board as well as the Steam and Nostalgia forums.  He is survived by his 2 sons, myself (Richard) and my brother Gary - both lifelong railfans because of him.

Funeral services will be on Friday, November 8 at 10:30am at St. Dorothy Catholic Church in Glendora, followed by burial around noon at Oakdale Cemetery also in Glendora.  There will be a viewing/vigil at White's Funeral Home in Azusa the night before (11/7) at 7pm.

https://www.whitesfuneralhome.com/tributes/Council-SuggIII

Rich



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 11/06/19 10:15 by PasadenaSub.

Oh man, sorry for your loss Rich. 

My condolences, Rich, to you and your family.
Gary

So sorry. I knew Ray well. Took my son to see his O-Scale trains. Always remember Ray's F unit Blackwidow. Here is Ray on the right, Paul McGuffin in the middle and Cliff Gossage on the left.

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So sorry for your loss Rich, deepest sympathies.

Bob

Sorry Rich... I knew your father for years he was a great guy. We would pass of trains at Taylor Yard. I received a PM from him last month. telling me of his diganosis. Talk about three characters in the photo..Cliff Gossage there is a name from the past.He was always a character bigger than life.
RIP Ray...maybe you always have green signals! You were always had SP blood in your veins!

Posted from Android



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/19/19 19:08 by SanJoaquinEngr.

Rich, so sorry to hear about your dad. My condolences to you and your family. Did your dad  was actually based out of LA or West Colton. Did he ever worked the Amtrak Sunset Limited  between LA and Yuma in the early 1980's.. My aunt and uncle on my late dad's side lived on N Vermont Avenue, at the north end of that street in Glendora, CA from October, 1954 to July 15, 1965.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/20/19 04:56 by RodneyZona.

Sorry to hear of your loss.Our prayers are with you.Thanks for posting the picture.I knew Cliff when he was a machinist then later in engine service when he was with ATSF,but have since lost touch..Bill Webb

So sorry for the loss of your dad, Rich. I met your dad several times at West Colton. My condolences to you and your family.-BMT

Sounds like your Dad was a pretty awesome guy. I wish you and your family peace in your difficult time.

My condolences to you and your family. I never got to meet your, dad but remember seeing him at many southland RR events. My wife did meet him though through his neighbors Jerry and Lorrrainne. She enjoyed seeing his O gauge layout that he once showed to her along with Jerry. 

Don



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/20/19 11:15 by trackplanner.

Sorry to learn of your father's passing. Although I never met Ray, (I was leaving the SP 'family' in 1979 as he was joining),
it is good that he was able to live his dream. So many go through life without being able to go where their dreams lead. 
My condolences go out to the Sugg family.

Highball the switch, Ray; we'll line behind.

Charles Wherry

 

Thanks for the kind words and condolences everyone.  Rodney, to answer your question - yes, he did work the Amtrak Sunset Limited (as a fireman) a few times off the extra board in the early 80s before Amtrak got their own crews.  I recall him saying they had a crew change in West Colton in those days, and he worked from there to Yuma with a long layover before catching the westbound Sunset #1 to come home. 

I recall him talking about one of his first trips on Amtrak around 1979 or '80 on the westbound #1 from Yuma.  The units up front were SDP40Fs, along with another unit (P30?) and he was surprised to see that there was also an E8 or E9, which were rare on Amtrak out west by that late date.  Maybe it was added for extra power in New Orleans or somewhere else.

Here's another couple of recent pictures, both taken in November of 2017.  First is at the annual retired SoCal railroaders dinner in Fontana with his good friend and fireman's classmate Eric 'EW' Ellis, who was an RFE for a while out of West Colton but now works for a shortline near Austin, TX.  I believe the gentleman on the right is Mark Sylvester.

The next is my Dad with his train layout.  Along with western roads, he had trains representing his childhood roads of N&W, Southern, Atlantic Coast Line, Seaboard, and the original Norfolk Southern based in Virginia and North Carolina.

RodneyZona Wrote:
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> Rich, so sorry to hear about your dad. My
> condolences to you and your family. Did your dad 
> was actually based out of LA or West Colton. Did
> he ever worked the Amtrak Sunset Limited  between
> LA and Yuma in the early 1980's.. My aunt and
> uncle on my late dad's side lived on N Vermont
> Avenue, at the north end of that street in
> Glendora, CA from October, 1954 to July 15, 1965.



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 10/21/19 18:23 by PasadenaSub.

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Eric Ellis his nickname was Sid Vicious.. Because he resembles the singer. Am surprised he moved to Texas.

Posted from Android

Sorry for your loss Rich. I knew him and every one pictured while working fo the SP. 

Rich and Gary,

That image of your dad in his train room is fantastic! He looks so happy in that image. That is the way I will always remember him. He sure enjoyed that wonderful collection of trains. Your dad was a loyal and hard working member of the SP family. He will be missed by many, including myself. Like Charlie Wherry so aptly stated, highball Ray, we'll line behind!

I'm grateful that I got to see your dad a couple of times during the past few weeks. Lynne and I send our most sincere condolences to both of you guys and your families.

Tim & Lynne

P.S. Concerning the post about your dad "firing" on Amtrak No.1 and No. 2, the Sunset . . . . .

Before Amtrak got their own crews, the Sunset ran between LAUPT and Yuma, with those long layovers that were mentioned. I fired the job "regular" every chance I got. It was fun and I remember that your dad liked firing on Amtrak as well. The train was (and still is) tri-weekly. The regular crew worked Friday night on No. 2 eastbound and returned westbound on No. 1 on Sunday morning. Then they doubled back out on Sunday night on No. 2 and had that "oh sooo long" layover in Yuma until returning on No. 1 on Wednesday morning. So that left the Tuesday night (eastbound No. 2) and Friday morning (westbound No. 1) slots for the extraboards. However, on the extraboard nights they did not run through from LA to Yuma/Yuma to LA. They changed crews in West Colton both directions. It is likely that your dad was working the Fireman's Extra Board at West Colton at that time. The Fireman's extra board covered vacancies on the Helpers (Beaumont Helpers, that generally ran between Loma Linda and Indio). But the Fireman's Extra Board (and the Engineer's Extra Board) also covered Amtrak No. 2 on Tuesday night. The fireman was then held in Yuma for No. 1 on Friday morning (yet another very long layover in Yuma). I can't remember for sure about the engineer. I seem to recall that No. 2 's extra board engineer on Tuesday night, after proper rest in Yuma, was called to work home to Colton on a "made-up" Pool Freight turn. Then on Friday morning, whatever Pool Engineer was first out (passenger qualified) ended up being called to work No. 1 back to Colton from Yuma with the Tuesday night fireman returning to West Colton with him (and returning the East Pool engineer rotation back to normal until the following Tuesday night). Out of Los Angeles on Tuesday night, the Engineer's Extra Board covered the Engineer's vacancy on No. 2. but I can't seem to remember what they did about the Fireman's vacancy??? Corrections welcome . . . . .

Rich and Gary,
I'm sorry for your loss.  I worked Amtrak with your Dad between LA, WC,  and Yuma through the early eighties as the traveling electrician, and it was always a pleasure.  In the nineties, we worked together in freight many many times.

I will be one of the many standing there ready to line back!
George

Rich & Gary so sorry to hear about your Dad passing our prayers to both of you and your Family's.

Dave & Serena Dodds

Dave Dodds
San Dimas, CA



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/26/19 21:10 by WP805A.

Thanks again for all the condolences and kindness.  Here are a couple of pictures I recently scanned for a CD of images to be shown at my Dad's viewing on November 7.  I believe both panorama pictures were taken by a fellow rail around the time he retired, either 1999 or 2000.  UP 9710 is one of the few (40) original C44-9W that UP didn't inherit from SP or CNW, purchased new in 1994.  Looks like maybe the 10 freeway near West Colton out the window of the cab shot while my Dad eats lunch.

Also another shot in an SP cab sometime in the 1980s.  Anyone recognize the fellow on the left?

Rich

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I believe that is brakeman/conductor Larry Philibert with your dad. In that image, it looks like Larry was the brakeman and your dad was firing . . . . .

Tim Dickinson