From the Glens Falls NY Post Star:

Ronald Edward Crowd

ARGYLE Ronald Edward Crowd, 57, of Harper Road, Argyle, was placed in the hands of the Lord on Sunday, March 30, 2008, after a long illness, with his family at his bedside. He was born on July 24, 1950, in Brooklyn, N.Y. He was predeceased by his parents, Walter and Bertha Crowd. He owned and ran the Batten Kill Railroad since 1983. He was the first African-American to own a railroad in the United States. He was aired on many television programs including Good Morning America and featured in several newspaper articles. He was one of the founders of the Greenwich Chamber of Commerce. He volunteered for the Greenwich Fire Department, and was a member of the New York State Operation LifeSaver (Train Safety). He was a member of the Fruitful Vine Christian Church. He loved working on building his model trains, was a wonderful artist, he could draft and even helped design a bridge. Despite Ron's limitations he lived life to the fullest. He was well known and made friends wherever he went. He traveled, cooked, and did many activities. Survivors include his wife, Sherri Crowd; his children, Christopher Crowd and wife, Melanie, Nicholle Rich and husband, Paul, Alicia Crowd, Lee Crowd, Diana Nevins, and Jacob Crowd; four grandchildren: Xavier, Arianna, and Trinity Crowd, and Lily Rich; and his first wife, Patricia Crowd. Friends may call from 5 to 7 p.m., on Wednesday, April 2, 2008, at Flynn Bros., Inc. Funeral Home, 80 Main St., Greenwich. A funeral service will follow at 7 p.m. Burial will be held later in the spring in the Greenwich Cemetery. Memorials can be made to the Argyle Rescue Squad, Attention Anna Bristol, 248 Pleasant Valley Road, Argyle, NY 12809. The family memorial Web site is www.roncrowd.org Online remembrances can also be made at www.flynnbrosinc.com

Published in the Post-Star on 4/1/2008.

I posted this on my blog today:

The railroad world lost a good friend with the passing of the Battenkill Railroad’s leader Ron Crowd last week. Mr. Crowd was many things to many people. To the African-American community, he was the first black railroad owner in the history of the United States. To his local community, he was a good friend and active citizen with a business that helped the local quality of life. To the railfan community, he was a train buff who achieved the ultimate dream of operating his own railroad. In short, he was a man who made cultural history while helping the people of his community retain jobs through reliable transportation services.

Mr. Crowd was also a railroad preservationist in the purest form.

No, he didn’t start a museum. He did not amass a personal collection of railroad equipment to store on his private property. Only for a short time did he have passenger trains for public excursions. He was not a preservationist when measured by these criteria.

What he preserved was an entire shortline railroad… a way of life and a business that is fast dissapearing. He fought for years to keep the Battenkill rolling intact. There was no mass-scrapping of out of service track and very little scrapping of equipment… no short-sighted moves to wring-out another penny today that would buy a dollar of regret tomorrow.

The entire right of way of the Battenkill is the major asset Mr. Crowd preserved, at a time when so many other light-traffic lines reverted to corn fields or snowmobile trails. Mr. Crowd saved a railroad.

He also did it in a style railfans admired. His two vintage ALCo RS-3 locomotives built 50+ years ago in nearby Schenectady continue to roll on. One was built for the Delaware & Hudson, the previous owner of part of the Battenkill route, while the other served the famous Lehigh & Hudson River line. Both of these engines are in operating condition thanks to Mr. Crowd’s dedication. No other freight railroad in the US has a roster made up entirely of operable RS-3s.

The cynic might say, “What now? What will the future hold?”

I don’t know the future, but I can comment on the present. There is a living, breathing shortline running through the hills of eastern New York State today because of Mr. Crowd. There are two vintage locomotives pulling these trains because of Mr. Crowd. This railroad exists today because of Mr. Crowd. If the L&HR or D&H ALCo’s end up in a museum at some point, they will be there because Mr. Crowd kept them busy during the decades that many of their brethren were cut up.

Whatever happens next, it will happen because Mr. Crowd kept the dream going all these years. The opportunity to discuss the future of the Battenkill is only possible today because it survived. The track, the locomotives and the facilities could all easily have been torched years ago, but Mr. Crowd persevered. He preserved an entire shortline. And he deserves an honored place in railroad history for that.

If there is any doubt that the Battenkill has preserved a way of life, see the results of my visit:

http://www.robertjohndavis.com/blog/?p=272

Rob