On January 24, 2021, Richard Conrad Kamm, M.D. Ph. D, 73, passed away in Shreveport, Louisiana after a brief illness. 

Visitation for the public will be on Thursday January 28,2021 from 4:00 until 6:00 pm at Centuries Memorial Funeral Home. Funeral service will be Friday, January 29, 2021 at 2:00 pm. Due to COVID19, appropriately placed seating will be made and wearing masks is required. 

For those interested in virtual attendance visit http://sueline.kamm.us for details.

Dr Kamm, a lifelong model railroader, is preceded in death by his parents Roger “Joe” Kamm and Mary Kamm. Left to treasure his memory are his beloved wife, Martha Sue Kamm as well as one brother, Robert Thomas Kamm (wife Kimberly). Three daughters: Kathryn Kamm, Angie Hall (husband Scott), and Amy Sebald (husband Adam). Two sons: Dr. Richard C. Kamm, Jr. and Joseph Kamm (wife Rebecca). The light of his life were his nine grandchildren Alayna Sebald, Ainsley Sebald, Sarah Rhiannon Kamm, Lillie Kate Chapman, Christopher Luke Wilson, Owen Chapman, Parker Chapman, Lillian Kamm, and Joseph Ryan Kamm. 

Growing up, Richard enjoyed playing and watching all kinds of sports. However, his first love was model railroading which he inherited from his paternal grandfather, Albert Gustav Kamm. Over the years, he continued building various sized railroad layouts and finally created the Sue Line Railroad. Always pushing the boundary of what could be done on a layout, his open door meant that anyone who wanted to come try model railroading could. Due to this innovation, the Sue Line is known the world over. Numerous articles have been written by Richard and about Richard including Model Railroader Magazine. 

Dr Kamm was raised in Northeast Arkansas in the small town of Earle. He attended Earle High School, Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, Arkansas Polytechnic College in Russellville, Memphis State University in Memphis Tennessee and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Chemistry. He received his Ph.D. in Experimental Pathology from The University of Tennessee Medical Units, Department of Pathology in Memphis Tennessee in 1970. He gained his Doctor of Medicine degree from Louisiana State University in Shreveport Louisiana in 1973. Dr. Kamm attended the National Institute of Health – Division of Computer Research and Technology in Bethesda Maryland in 1973. He also completed a degree in Medical Technology at Louisiana State University in Shreveport Louisiana in 1976. 

Coming to Shreveport LA from Memphis TN, at the request of Dr. Albert G. Smith, Richard became an Instructor in Pathology and later an Associate Clinical Professor at Louisiana State University School of Medicine.  He was also a member of the inaugural graduating class of the Shreveport campus of the LSU School of Medicine. 

Dr Kamm received Specialty Certification in the following areas : Medical Technology from the American Society of Clinical Pathologists in 1976; Anatomic and Clinical Pathology from the American Board of Pathology in 1976; Forensic Examiner from the American Board of Forensic Examiners in 1995; Forensic Medicine from the American Board of Forensic Medicine in 1996; and Disability Analystfrom the American Board of Disability Analysts in2000.  

He served as a clinical Pathologist at LSU Medical Center, Physicians and Surgeons Hospital, Doctors Hospital, Bossier Medical Center, A. J. Mullen Memorial Hospital, Willis Knighton Medical Center, and Christus Schumpert Medical Center.  He also later became certified as a Forensic Pathologist and served as a consultant in many avenues in that role.

He was a member of Alpha Omega Alpha, National Honor Medical Society, member since 1973; American Board of Disability Analysts, diplomate since 2000; American Academy of Forensic Sciences, member since 1975; American Board of Forensic Examiners, member since 1994, diplomate since 1995; American Board of Forensic Medicine, diplomate since 1996, Advisory Board since 1999; American Association of Blood Banks, member since 1988; American College of Clinical Pathologists, Junior member, 1974-1976, Fellow since 1976; American Professional Practice Association, member since 1976; American Society of Clinical Pathology, member since 1976; American Society of Cytology, member since 1975; American Society of Law, Medicine and Ethics, member since 1996; College of American Pathologists, junior member 1975-1976, fellow since 1976, member since 1976; Louisiana State Medical Society, member since 1976; National Association of Medical Examiners, member since 1976; National Association of Interns and Residents, member since 1974; Shreveport Medical Society, member since 1973, media representative for Pathology, 1990-1994, alternate delegate to Louisiana State Medical Society 1984; and Sigma Xi:The Scientific Research Society, member since 1976. 

Pall Bearers are Dr. Richard Kamm, Jr, Joseph Kamm, Scott Chapman, Robert Kamm, Trevor Keith, Dr. David Colvin. Alternate pall bearers: Brandon Kamm,Dillon Stokes, Mose Crews, Lloyd Ziegenbein .

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Shriner’s Hospital for Children.

Make no mistake about it.  The Sue Line is about operations.  It is the glue that helps bring together a disparate group of people together each Thursday night.  Over the past several months, I’ve had the honor and pleasure of bringing to your attention a group of people who have influenced me and my enjoyment of the hobby especially in regards to operations.  I’m now going to switch tracks (pun intended) and share some thoughts on the evolution of different aspects of the layout.

When I first started, like many modelers, I had no backdrop

(Malcolm Vordenbaum's layout in Wichita Falls, Texas).  

It was just whatever was on the wall of the room I had my layout in.  The basic white wall was the usual result. However, after reading the writings of Frank Ellison, Bill McClanahan, John Armstrong, John Allen, and others I discovered that there are many types of effective backgrounds.  If your layout is to be the stage on which your trains are the actors, then I felt I must begin at the back of the scene and work forward. Just as in at the theater there is a backdrop to “set the place”. I felt a backdrop was necessary.

For my first backdrop, I just painted the wall a pleasing shade of blue. Later, with the help of my mother, an artist, I started to use three shades of blue, the lightest shade at the horizon, the middle shade in the middle and the darkest shade at the top. This was done to reflect the natural gradations of light we have here in Louisiana.  Later, I discovered coving.  This was using rounded luan plywood or Masonite at the top of my wall to gently bring the wall and ceiling together. I constructed a special box for the corners. It was at this point that I began to appreciate the depth a backdrop added to a scene.

My first hand-painted backdrop 

(By my wife)

(By a friend, Daggi Wallace) 

began to add more detail to the horizon. If you want hand-painted there are numerous well-done videos available on how to paint backdrops from simple clouds to complex industrial locations.  Some have turned to hiring someone to paint what you want.

As the years went by, I began to use commercial lithographs 

(From Walther’s).

 The effect was impressive and added a great deal to the backdrop. However, they were still less than what I wanted. Next, I found and used commercial photographs 

which added even more detail to the backdrop. I then noticed the field of vision that the backdrop added to the scene. My eye did not just stop at the back edge of the layout. I became aware that I could now focus on a part of the scene and not try to see everything at once.  This effect became most noticeable when photographs were taken of the layout. There are numerous sources for commercial photographic backdrops.

Backdrops are not the solution for every situation. Sometimes, I let the rest of the railroad be the backdrop, especially when I have a center island or peninsula. There are areas when they add immensely to the effect of distance in the overall effect. Other areas are best suited for letting the railroad extend onto itself 

(View from Leming with Sue City in background).

While not an absolute necessity for operations, backdrops do help to “set the scene”, they do help to reinforce where the railroad is located. They give an atmosphere to the railroad.  Mountains, plains, swamps, or cities- they all help give the railroad a stage to operate on. I model in Louisiana and our highest “mountain” is just over 500 feet above sea level, so no Rocky Mountains for me. Flat is the rule of the day!  Naturally, you should choose the backdrop that best suits the story that you are trying to tell with your railroad.  Time to bring the backdrop to the forefront of your planning and efforts.

Addendum: Commercial sources Backdrop Warehouse (Backdropwarehouse.com), Trackside scenery (tracksidescenery.com), Backdrop Junction (backdropjunction.com), and Railroad Backdrops (Railroadbackdrops.com).

This “giant” is once again a local giant and a member of the Sue Line Crew. This giant is a soft spoken, jovial, hard worker who is equally at home dispatching seven trains over the Sue Line, plumbing the bathroom toilet or carrying out the trash.   He would never consider himself to be included in the class of the other 15 mentioned.  But what he doesn’t always appreciate is how much of a push he can be to keep myself inspired to add to my own skills and conquer steep grades of learning as new techniques and ideas come along.

Photo 1- David Colvin at the Sue Line Dispatcher's Panel.

David Colvin has had a lifelong affinity for trains.  He started with a 4 x 8-foot layout built by another person and TYCO equipment. After a many year stint in N Scale, he returned to HO.

This giant has been in such projects as synchronizing digital fast clocks with room lighting, designing and implementing operations on the Sue Line using RailOp, installing LED lighting in structures and towns, a scenery person extraordinaire as well as an extremely good model builder.

He is almost always the first one here on Thursday and generally one of the last to leave. I can truly say that the Sue Line would not be what it is today without the help of this giant, my friend and my mentor, David Colvin.

David Colvin is the kind of person who will teach you how to do something rather than just do it for you. I have seen him work endlessly to help myself or other Sue Line crew members solve a problem which he could probably have solved in mere minutes. He is non-judgmental and appreciates the effort of the individual facing a challenge as well as the outcome.

He has worked tirelessly on multiple scenery projects for the Sue Line. From dirt to grass to shrubs, to trees and from water scenes to docks and ships, he has completed numerous mini-scenes and inspired other members to complete other mini-scenes.

The room lighting has been another of David Colvin’s contributions to the Sue Line. He has installed LED replacement lighting for fluorescent light fixtures as well as red/green/blue/white LED light strips which he has under remote control and is working on having them synchronized to a digital fast clock. He has spent countless hours on this project and has supplied almost all of the equipment needs for the project.

Photo 2- LED lighting in Brandon on the Sue Line

For the last two years, he has been methodically and tirelessly adding LED lights to the towns, the structures, and the signs on the Sue Line. This has added tremendously to the effect of each mini-scene on the Sue Line.

Photo 3- David Colvin at work in Shreveport on the Sue Line

His real forte is in operations.  He has utilized a commercial program (RailOp) to do so much more than it was originally designed for.  He currently has trains from the Sue Line operating alongside trains from various North Louisiana Connecting Railroad Association (NoLaCRA) member trains in a seamless and entertaining manor that allows for crew variations like I have never seen.  On average, about every 2 years, he will revise the operating scheme of the Sue Line to help keep things fresh for the weekly sessions and push the limits on contemporary thinking of what an operating session should be.  He has broken a lot of conventional “rules” on how to operate a model railroad over the years.  As one example, we operated over 4 years with just 2 six foot long staging tracks that handled over 40 trains per 24 hours and it ran smooth as silk.  The only reason we stopped was to freshen the scheme and introduce new challenges for the operators.  He has traveled the country operating on different layouts and has an analytical approach to both the good, the bad, and even the ugly that he has seen, but always can find a kind word to say about each session.  You can always learn from someone else no matter where they are in the hobby.  He, along with Mose Crews from the last edition of this column, can analyze an operating scheme and suggest improvements in ways many of us never see.

His starting point always asks the same question:  “What is the story you are trying to tell”?  We’ve now had multiple editions of the Sue Line operating scheme over the years thanks to this giant.  Just when you think the story couldn’t get any better, along comes the latest installment.

He can be a patient listener which is becoming unfortunately increasingly rare in this hobby.  Just recently, I had worked for several hours on two projects which did not work. I discussed the projects with David Colvin and demonstrated what I had done and what did not work. After several minutes of consideration, he offered the helpful suggestion “Perhaps you should connect the battery.” Lo and behold after connecting the battery both projects worked just fine.

After working as part of the regular Sue Line crew for over 25 years now, he reports “I enjoy the many opportunities that the Sue Line has provided to interact with like-minded individuals on a regular basis.  A railroad this size with an aggressive operating paradigm requires a group to not only be committed but also be talented operators.  We come from a diverse set of backgrounds.  I love the fact that social status and cultures are left at the front door and for a few hours each week we become railroaders on the same team.  The Sue Line has also afforded me an opportunity to really work on several skill sets from electrical to scenery to operations that I will carry with me.”

In short, almost every railroad the size of the Sue Line has an integral friend in the background helping to keep things running. He is certainly one of those special friends for me.

I am extremely fortunate to have him as one of my “giants” but is also one of the reasons this hobby brings us all so much pleasure.  It is the people that we meet and get to know personally that follow us down the tracks we lay.  We all can get to a point where we need a helper pushing us up the grade.

Up until now, you have read of people that have influenced that have made their way into regional or national press and could be considered easy pickings.  However, this “giant” is a local one and a member of the Sue Line Crew. It has been said that a prophet is never respected in his own land, but this man is well respected in the Sue Line Crew. I have known Mose Crews for about 45 years. 

We first met when attending an open house in 1971 to help UNICEF at a model railroad in Bossier City. We both kept coming back and became great friends. Mose Crews has a keen mind for operations and is very insightful on what it takes to make a railroad like the Sue Line work. Mose Crews once told me “I could operate with wooden blocks and tracks drawn on plywood. Operation was and is everything to Mose Crews. Some years back, Mose Crews built a car routing program using a Commodore 64 computer. It took six or seven different programs to complete the function of producing the final lists, but we used it for years on the Sue Line.  Mose Crews led the way for us to escape the limitations of car cards many years ago.

He has retired after more than 40 years as an auto body and paint technician and shop manager for an auto dealership. Mose Crews is a steady and loyal friend, the kind who will tell you to your face when you are wrong, but still like you.

Like any good operator, another of Mose Crews’ passions is railfanning and he has more knowledge of short line railroads than any other person I have ever met in this area.  Mose Crews interest started by watching local trains of the Kansas City Southern (KCS), Illinois Central (IC) and local short lines in and around his hometown of Minden, LA.  At one time, I believe Mose Crews knew the name of every short line railroad employee, most of their wife’s names and many of their children’s name in northwest Louisiana. Mose, with his very understanding, patient and lovely wife Sherry and their children in the early years, have traveled to and photographed trains in 37 states

Mose Crews drives about 35 miles one way each week for our operating session and I believe he has attended more sessions on the Sue Line than I have.  Near his home was a siding with a sand company and rock company.  He took photos of the buildings and measurements and then built scale models of these structures for inclusion on the Sue Line as the town of Crews Siding.  He also added a butane distributor for more operation potential on the spur.

 Mose Crews had a model railroad- the Dorcheat & Lake Bistineau Railroad that is based on the Sibley, Lake Bistineau & Southern Railroad that was abandoned in 1942.   It operated from a connection with that Louisiana & Arkansas (L&A) and Illinois Central (IC) at Sibley, Louisiana to the town of Hall Summit and was originally built as a logging road. Mose put a tremendous amount of trackage into a relatively small room and used names such a Door Jam, and Over Yard to describe the towns

Over the years, he has dug trenches for drainage, built a roof over the expansion, stayed up all hours of the night, invested blood and sweat in the Sue Line.  He is generally way too modest in regard to his contributions, but the Sue Line would have been dead in the water many times had it not been for his help and sacrifice.  Recently, he took several hundred Kodachrome slides that had been shoved back in a drawer in the work room and scanned them into JPEG files.  Many of these photos are of the history of the construction of the railroad and the people who did the work. Again, hours spent dedicated to a project that is bigger than any one of us.  That’s what giants do.  That is just the kind of man that Mose Crews is.

 Mose Crews will tackle the toughest operating positions on the Sue Line. He will analyze them and then make suggestions to improve them so that other can enjoy doing them. He will then move on to another operating position.  He is always analyzing for ways to make operation more fun for all.  There are many core operating principals of the Sue Line that have been stalwarts for 25 plus years that are due to his input and keen insight.  Through all of that time and now, though, it is always about the railroad and not one particular position.

 Mose Crews has been a major factor in the history of The Sue Line Railroad and Mose Crews has seen that growth and development from the very beginning.  Mose Crews says “Over the years there have been many great times and some hard times, but with the friendships from operating on The Sue Line Railroad it has brought together many great people and friends to keep the railroad running. “ Mose Crews  also reports “One of the things about this great hobby is the friendships that develop.”

Mose Crews was around for the early testing of command control systems and has a prototype or two that probably belong in a museum.  Operations on more than one railroad have been heavily influenced by him.  He can look at any track diagram or visit a layout and design an incredibly sophisticated but realistic operating scheme quickly.  The list goes on and on.  To this day, he takes our often pie-in-the-sky discussions back to down to earth by bringing our focus back to the core principles of operation and why the Sue Line has done so weekly for over 3 decades.

So, you may not have ever heard of Mose Crews before now, but I can tell you that he is the giant on whose shoulders I have stood on the longest to reach my highest goals with the Sue Line all the while keeping me grounded. 

Some people see obstacles as opportunities.  This article, the “giant” I would like to tell you about is a long-term friend and mentor of 40 years.  He is Gil Freitag who lives in Houston, Texas with his wife Virginia. They own the wonderful Stoney Creek and Western (SC&W).

The SC&W is a freelance railroad across Colorado and Utah connecting with the AT&SF at Middletown, Colorado (staging) and runs westward to Salt Lake City (staging). The D&RGW has trackage rights from Toluca to Pagosa Jct. The D&RGW narrow gauge runs from Stony Creek westward to Sierra Vista and into Grand Junction (staging). The mainline of the SC&W is 485ft and the D&RGW narrow gauge has a mainline of 157 ft. The railroad is mostly mountainous terrain. The scenery includes numerous scratch built structures and is about 95% complete.

The railroad consists of two main yards and eight towns and five additional towns on branch lines. The main business on the railroad is sweepers and way freights with two-unit coal trains serving five mines. They also have a good passenger business…running seven passenger trains, most of which do switching along the way.

The railroad has been in the April, 1975 Model Railroad Craftsman, the July 1982, the July 1995 and the April 2003 issues of Model Railroader, the March 1987 NMRA Bulletin and the 1994 Great Model Railroads as well as Volume 13 of Alan Keller’s series Great Model Railroads.

 I had the great fortune of first meeting Gil when I was attending a clinic at a Lone Star Region Convention.  Gil Freitag gave a clinic In “Sudden Sand Scenery”.  By the next week, the Sue Line was covered in sand. It was a tremendous inspiration to me then and remains so through today. Gil stayed active in the Lone Star Region for many many years and served in different capacities because it was always in his heart to give back to the model railroading community.

Gil Freitag is not only active in HO scale model railroading, but he has a fantastic G-scale railroad in his back yard which is housed in a depot which he built. Gil Freitag is also active in the Houston Area Live Steamers group in the Houston Area and has some beautiful life steam equipment.

Later I had the privilege of attending the 50^th Anniversary of Gil and Virginia Freitag. It was beautiful and very moving experience. It was a valuable insight into the family life which exists outside the model railroad life and an example for all of us. There is much more to him than just model railroading. Gil is also active in his community and several groups which help and inspire children.

Gil is a soft spoken, easy going man who loves to help others. As some of you may know, Gil was slowed several years ago by a stroke as he was getting ready to go out one evening. He was rushed down the street to the local hospital and treatment was started immediately followed by a l-o-n-g rehabilitation which continues today. The stroke may have slowed Gil down, but it did not stop him. He and Virginia have hosted may Lone Star Region events since the stroke. He has even has even added a stair chair to allow him continued access to his beloved model railroad.

Gil Freitag excels not only in scenery on the SC&W, but also in electronics and operation. Some of my fondest memories are operating with Gill Freitag on the SC&W. Gil runs both passenger and freight trains on the SC&W using a schedule, a dispatcher’s panel which he built, and signal system with he also designed and built. If Gil Freitag had one drawback, it was that he was born too long ago. He only rather lately got the hang of integrated circuits. If you have seen his wiring, you know that Ma Bell was envious of his complex next of copper strands underneath the layout!  I have also have had the pleasure of several interesting conversations with Virginia Freitag about her embroidery and its utilization on the T&CW.

When I look at Gil Freitag, I see the drive and determination that made him the man and friend he is today.  Over the last few years, the sands of time have worn on me and could have easily eroded my interest in the hobby.  But I look to Gil to be inspired that even when our lives seem to get a little out of gauge, our bodies don’t seem to be on track like they used to be, and every step feels like the Rock Island in the final days, model railroading is still fun.

The obstacles that life has presented me lately have become opportunities to share with the next generation.  Thanks Gil for reminding us that we always have something to contribute.