by Chris Dees
It’s August 1, 2022, and the email from Jim Pearson regarding the passing of long-time chapter member Chuck Hinrichs arrived in the early afternoon as I was returning from lunch. Today marked the start of another year with my current employer in the Milwaukee area, and Jim’s email brought back many comforting and happy memories of chapter meetings, train trips, and railfan adventures with Chuck that made me smile as the tears welled up inside. Bill Thomas has been requesting “how did you get into the hobby” stories for future newsletters, so I thought I would pass along a few remembrances of how Chuck got me interested in a wonderful aspect of the hobby – diesel locomotives.
My first introduction to Chuck occurred 10 years before I actually had a chance to meet him. Growing up in the far western part of Kentucky, Paducah was about the only true place I had ever “railfanned” by the time the February 1983 issue of Trains rolled onto the shelves of the local Readmore bookstore. Inside was the story of three Kentucky railfans – Jerry Mart, Timothy Baggett, and Chuck Hinrichs – detailing their July 29, 1982 visit to the Illinois Central Gulf in far southwest Kentucky during what was termed a “Slow Day in the Fulton Triangle”.
This article, documenting “when 27 trains ran and 22 didn’t”, was like opening pandora’s box for a then 12-year old railfan like myself. Fulton was only 52 miles away at the other end of the Jackson Purchase Parkway, and I begged Mom and Dad to drive down one Sunday after church to see the Illinois Central Gulf put on a show. It wouldn’t be the last time I went to Fulton, having spent many days just off Murray Street instead of studying at Murray State from 1989 to 1992. Chuck got the final frame of the 1983 article’s photo spread – a shot of northbound Birmingham-Chicago train BC-4 with ICG SD40 6000, GP35 2504, and GP30 2267 departing Fulton after making a set-out.
I discovered more of Chuck’s photography skills and his amazing knowledge of diesel locomotives through another magical place, The Hobby Shop in Hopkinsville. The Hobby Shop carried several railfan magazines that the local shop in Paducah did not: Pacific Rail News, CTC Board, and Extra 2200 South (aka “The Locomotive Newsmagazine”). Long before e-mail, Facebook and cell phone technology, Extra 2200 was THE magazine for learning about new locomotive orders, sales of locomotives to the plethora of new startup short line railroads, and just about anything diesel locomotive related (frame numbers, serial numbers, etc.). Chuck was a regular contributor to Extra 2200 South, and his knack for finding the rare, obscure, and one-of-a-kind locomotives was exceptionally detailed in several reports and photographs. A November 1989 photo at Princeton documented the brief time that former ICG GP38 9526 was patched up for up-and-coming locomotive rebuilder VMV Enterprises of Paducah.
In 1993, I finally met Chuck at the Thursday evening sessions at Don Clayton’s, and the monthly NRHS chapter meetings at the Madisonville depot. I remember Chuck being a very motivated and contributing member to the chapter, always ready to lend a hand, taking over editing of the monthly newsletter for a period of time, and representing the chapter during many director meetings on the national level. His knowledge of locomotives and the ongoing sales, swaps and new locomotive rebuilding was simply amazing in the pre-Internet era. Two railfan adventures with Chuck, one in the Centralia, Illinois area and one in the Lafayette, Indiana were epic adventures to say the least – a perusal of the chapter newsletter archives will forever be a testament to Chuck’s love of his fellow railfans and chapter members.
As I wrap up this tribute to Chuck, I have the chapter’s DVD “P&L – the first year” ready to go in the DVD for a walk down memory lane – it is narrated by Mr. Hinrichs himself, in that voice and demeanor only Chuck had. Even though it might have been a “Slow Day in the Fulton Triangle”, any time railfanning with friends sure makes for a great day of cherished memories. Rest in Peace.
