Robert Bowers

[NW Mailing List]

It is with great sadness that I learned of Bob Bowers passing.

Bob was born in Westminster, Maryland. Bob served with the Navy in 
Vietnam transporting infantry up and down the delta rivers. He followed 
that working for the CIA installing diesel generators at embassies 
around the world.

His interest in the N&W grew in the 70's when he lived in Portsmouth. 
Virginia watching the diesels push coal through the loaders at Lamberts 
Point. Bob began recording the numbers of every N&W diesel locomotive he 
would see. He soon had a contingent of other railfans sending him 
sightings of N&W diesel locomotives elsewhere on the system.

When personal computers arrived he had a coworker write a program for 
him to catalog all his sightings. Bob then went on to tracking cabooses 
and maintenance of way equipment. Bob's catalogs containing over 400,000 
records are now on the NWHS web site at https://www.nwhs.org/data/

With Jim Brewer, Bob coauthored the first N&WHS publication "Cabooses of 
the Norfolk & Western" in 1994. Bob also co-authored a number of books 
on N&W Diesels.

Bob owned Ken's Trains, a hobby shop on Orange Avenue in east Roanoke. 
Bob operated the society sales program for over 20 years and maintained 
the society's financial records. He was a board member from the 90's 
into 2015. He held every position in the society, including a one-day 
stint as president during one turbulent directors meeting.

Bob had an extensive slide collection which he donated to the Archives. 
His donation contained over 38,000 slides which can be seen at 
https://www.nwhs.org/archivesdb/listdocs/select.php?AccessionNum=2014.015

Few people dedicated as much of their time or their wealth to the NWHS 
as Bob Bowers.

I will miss him.

Ron Davis