The end of an era

摘要

Since October 1989, this space has been occupied by the thoughts, criticisms, attaboys and—as the title of the column put it—point of view of Gu's Welty. His final column appeared last month; Welty died March 25 at his home in Clarendon Hills, Ill., after a lengthy illness. He is survived by his wife, Wanda Brown Welty, who is managing editor of RT&S. Welty was this magazine's editorial director and senior editor of its sister publication, Railway Age. Throughout the railroad industry, Welty's tireless dedication to the stories that make up the business was recognized and appreciated, and will be sorely missed. "Gus Welty never wanted for himself, but for the railroad industry he wanted the very very best," is the way Jake Jacobson, vice president and general manager of the Copper Basin Railway Inc., put it? "When I hear the moan of the distant night train whistle I get a warm feeling and think of the fine folks that gave so much of themselves to make the tough job of railroading a little better," Jacobson observed, "and the name Gus Welty will forever add a special magic to that night train whistle."