Very well written obit written by Martin O'Toole on Trainorders 2/7/23. Sharing this with his permission. Dick was a great contributor to rail history preservation.

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Richard L. “Dick” Hillman, longtime employee of General Motors (AC-Delco, not EMD), died today following a stroke and pneumonia.

In the railfan world, Dick was known for his authorship of the definitive work on the Glover Locomotive Works of Marietta Georgia and his crucial role in creating the Blue Ridge Scenic Railroad and the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History of Kennesaw, Georgia.

After retiring from GM, Dick took a job with the Georgia Northeastern Railroad where he helped form the Blue Ridge Scenic Railroad.

I have to say that he was a visionary. I went with him to one of the first meetings with the business community in Blue Ridge, Georgia when the local businessmen met with Wilds Pierce, Dick and some others to discuss beginning the BRSR. I did not think that the Louisville & Nashville “Old Main Line” had sufficient population or scenic interest to support a tourist railroad. As anyone who has been in that neighborhood knows, even today highway connections are not the strongest. But Wilds and Dick had the vision and made it happen. After Wilds sold the GNRR/BRSR to Patriot Rail, the BRSR continues to this day - even to enjoying a repaint of two of the locomotives and a caboose just in the last 10 days or so. I had sent Dick a photograph taken in Tate of the repaints.

Kennesaw, Georgia had been the home of the Western & Atlantic’s legendary 4-4-0 the “General” since Civil War centennial outings over the L&N and other lines.. The locomotive was housed in an old cotton gin. The exhibition was less than impressive.

When the Glovers announced the closure of the Glover Machine Works in Marietta the huge mass of artifacts, photographs (glass plates!) and paperwork was imperiled. Dick undertook to create a Glover Museum having just recently published his magnum opus “Glover Steam Locomotives: The South’s Last Builder” printed by the Heimberger Press.

Again, Dick had the vision to merge the displayed General with the Glover artifacts. The repurposed museum now became the “Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History.” I could not see the commonality of purpose between the General and the Glover Locomotive Works, but Dick was instrumental in making it happen. The museum is well worth your visit if you happen to be in Kennesaw, Georgia.

Dick leaves an indelible mark on North Georgia railroading and railroad history. He is survived by his wife, Cynthia and three children.

Dick, Martin and I had some fine adventures in the distant past...... but had lost touch when life took us in different directions. He was one of the finest men I have ever known in many ways - uncompromising honesty without being a PITA about it, jumping in to provide assistance without being asked or fanfare, infinite generosity - and always having a good time about whatever we were doing no matter what happened and insisting on sharing his contagious joy. He left quite a legacy in preservation, quietly but effectively, and will be missed. A deacon in the Episcopal Church, he frequently passed along that wisdom that whenever 4 meet there will always be a fifth, so I'll raise a glass to his memory.