Club Vault: Remembering Founding Member Bob Drake

Periodically when updating the website I come across older web pages that are no longer published to the club's website. These pages from what I'll call the "Club Vault" they give a glimpse into past club events or moments over the club's now 19 years of existence. Here is one that is particularly meaningful for a lot of the longer tenured members of the club.

In the summer of 2002 Bob Drake one of the founding members of the club died from complication of a heart-attack. Bob was the driving force and guidefor all of us in the club in those early days. His fatherly wisdom, mastery of model railroading was an inspiration to all. Bob was the face of the club and his impact cannot be overstated in getting the club going. Working at Mizell’s Trains Bob personally recruited everyone into the club from his stool in the back of the store. His passing marked the end of the golden era of the club.

To honor Bob Drake passing, Warren Mizell retired the beloved stole from the back of the store and the club honoring his impact and dedicated service to the club to commissioned the first club business car using the HO scale Kato business car. Painted in silver wears the club livery and name it Robert Drake. Still today you can see the car in service on the layout at shows with a representation Bob in his pilot’s uniform on the back platform.

Below is how both stories appeared on the club website back in July of 2002.

Club mourns the passing of one of its founding members Robert L. Drake

The Colorado & Great Western family lost a valued colleague with the death Jul

y 13, 2002, of Robert L. Drake. Bob was actively involved in the hobby for 30 years with several Denver-area clubs

Among his many contributions to our club, Mr. Drake instrumental in the creation of the Colorado & Great Western and served one term as Club President in 1999 He played a major role in helping the club's growth into one of the premier clubs in the Rocky Mountain area. We will miss his leadership, wise counsel and friendship.

Robert L. Drake was born in Tishomingo, MS. in 1937. He graduated from the University of Tulsa in 1960 and entered the Air Force pilot training at Webb AFB, Texas. He served in Vietnam from 1966-1967 where he flew C-123 cargo planes with the 606 Commando Squadron, SOG Vietnam where he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

After the military he went onto fly 20 years for Frontier Airlines and 10 years for Continental Airlines. He was a member of the Frontier Airlines Retired Pilot Association and the National Model Railroading Association. Bob was buried at Fort Logan National Cemetery.

He is survived by his wife Sherry of Arvada. His mother Mozelle Hobbs of Denver and daughter Diana Martin of Tulsa, OK, and three grandchildren.

Club Announces The Commissioning of a Robert L. Drake Business Car

To commemoration Bob's contributions to the hobby the Colorado & Great Western has commissioned that a memorial business cars be created in his honor. The car will be decorated in the club livery and bear his name as a former Club President. It will be added to the club roster and periodically run at future shows in his honor.

The club selected to use the recently released Kato corrugated business car. We felt that this car represents the classic Zephyr streamliner style that Bob was so identified with in his modeling of the Rio Grande and Western Pacific.