It is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of Jerry Joe Jacobson on September 13, 2017. He was 74.

A lifelong lover of steam locomotives, Jerry is best known for creating the 440-mile Ohio Central Railroad System, and for constructing the beautiful Age of Steam Roundhouse in Sugarcreek, Ohio.

Jerry's obituary has been posted onto the AoSRH website at: www.ageofsteamroundhouse.com

Whether or not you knew Jerry, all of us lost a friend.

John B. Corns
Age of Steam Roundhouse

Sorry to hear. 74 is too young. I've always admired his efforts in the steam locomotive preservation movement. My condolences to his family and friends.

Are there any plans for the future of the Age of Steam Roundhouse?

Thomas Dyrek

This is a very sad day for the railroad preservation community. While Jerry has moved on to the giant roundhouse in the sky, his dream will leave on through the Age of Steam Roundhouse.

Jerry was a great friend and a strong advocate of our preservation efforts. He will be missed.

G. Mark Ray
President, HeritageRail Alliance

A terribly sad day in our collective lives. Thanks, Jerry, for everything you've shared with the present and future. There have been few men like you.

God rest you.

Terrible and shocking news! Condolences to Mr. Jacobson's family and friends. We have lost a unique and special individual much to soon!

It has been repeatedly reported that Mr. Jacobson has arranged a substantial endowment to keep the museum going, and make it an independent non-profit concern, into the future, specifically to avoid the fiasco of what happened to Steamtown in Vermont after the passing of its benefactor. The illness has been long enough for him to make the appropriate arrangements, I'm certain.

The other question is whether or not there will be a means to open the roundhouse ("NOT A MUSEUM") to the public more often in the future (if I may be cynical, now that there isn't a nice big obvious target to litigate against if and when someone stubs a toe or breaks a fingernail).

Jerry was a devout Christian, devoted family man and a lifelong lover of steam railroading. I first met Jerry during the operation of the American Freedom Train ( 1975-76) and shared many steam adventures with him through the years since.

As a fellow steam lover I am especially grateful for all he did to keep the steam flame burning brightly with the creation of the magnificent Age of Steam Roundhouse in Sugarcreek, Ohio. Thanks to Jerry and Laura Jacobson's generosity AOS has been properly endowed so that it will be able to continue into the forseeable future educating all who visit about the important role steam played in the growth of America.

R.I.P. good friend. Ross Rowland

But......... if arrangements are not made to increase access save for a few scattered special dates a year....... it's kind of moot.

I'll give them a chance to announce changes in the future.

Well.... It is a working facility, not so much a museum. Group tours on request gives some access to the general public and allows them to contain the groups for their own safety. But, let's not digress and celebrate the fact that JJJ had the vision and means to do what he has done.

Mixed in among the many accolades that will pour forth over the next few days, there will be talk of his legacy... and I imagine most of it will be about AoSR. I'd like to highlight the human legacy he has left behind. So many of the most committed, talented preservationists in the country cut their teeth with the Ohio Central. Unlike more casual museum groups that might turn out skilled hobbyists, the OC turned out true railroaders whose experience now benefits preservation across the US. Providing those learning opportunities to a younger generation may be JJJ's greatest contribution to the world of steam.

Rob

A sad day for us all. Goodheart Productions produced an excellent DVD titled "STEAM DREAM-THE OHIO CENTRAL STORY". In it, Jerry told the story of his love affair with trains and the establishing of the Ohio Central along with plenty of steam action from his locomotive fleet. UPDATE: Just watched the DVD another time. Great overview of his life and dreams for his roundhouse. This program is broadcast about once a year on "Trains and Locomotives", a show on RFD TV, a cable/satellite channel geared toward rural America.

First off, my condolences to the Jacobson family on their sad loss.



No, they are two different issues. If the collection is locked away in a building where no one can see it for the next hundred years, it is still preserved for future generations.

Compare this to operations that run the heck out of their collections, replacing and repairing things in the most expedient matter, consuming their collection in the process. In a hundred years, there won't be anyone left alive that saw it run, and the collection will also have ceased to exist.

A balance is nice, but push comes to shove, I'd take the first option over the second.

Godspeed, may all your signals be high clear.

Repost of what I posted just now on Trainorders:

What heartbreaking news, and what a huge loss
to the entire steam preservation community. But
look at his legacy -- the AoS, and, as I learned
just now by reading these beautiful tributes to him,
he also successfully passed the torch of highly-
skilled work on his and our beloved steam locomotives
to the younger generation. That is and will be, as
has been well said above, his most important legacy.

I wish I had known him. He is one the many people
who made the world a better place, and in ways most
of the general public will never know.

RIP, JJJ. The flame you helped light will burn brightly
for a long, long time. Thank you.

My deep condolences to his wife and family and his many,
many friends and associates.

Jerry Jacobson was a man of many passions and interests and conversations with him always covered a wide range of topics, with the beloved 82nd Airborne Division never far from his thoughts. He was in the right place at the right time to make his mark on the short line railroad industry and he had a knack for finding talented people to help him achieve his visions, both with the Ohio Central Railroad and the Age of Steam Roundhouse. He was very kind to me and I have several pieces of equipment in my own collection as a direct result of his generosity. Jerry will be greatly missed and long remembered.

- Alan Maples