Don Ross has passed away on Tuesday, January 8th. His Obituary is attached. For more details, please contact the undersigned.


Don Ross, of Don's Depot of Railroad Photos, expired on Tuesday, January 18th in his home. Don was born in 1931 and was raised in the Milwaukee area. Don had several medical issues over the past several years. He died still loving to record more photos that he claimed had kept his interest during the time before his death.

Don was a graduate of Marquette High School and Marquette College with a Masters Degree in Religious studies. Later in life, Don was ordained a Perpetual Deacon in the Catholic Church He served in this capacity to several churches in North Texas. A photographer all his life, Don had given of himself to helping others, including supplying photographs to many writers, and his photos are parts of many books. In one of his last moments with a friend, Don was awaiting the receipt of a new book, which will feature Don's Collection of Korean War photos, taken when he served in Korea as a train dispatcher.
Don was active with many early museums and groups. Don was an early supporter of IRM and was implemental in finding the present site for IRM. For a bio of Don, please see the home page of Don's Depot and look for "The Autobiography's Editor (http://www.donsdepot.donrossgroup.net/dr077.htm) " in the Table of Contents for more information.

The funeral will be on Tuesday, February 8th at ten o'clock at the Holy Family Nazareth Catholic Church, 2323 Cheyenne St, Dallas, TX., with the burial at the Calvary Hill Cemetery, 3235 Lombardy, Dallas, TX. A time and date for the Wake will be announced shortly. Don has been a member of the R&LHS for many years. Don has donated his railroad collection to the DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University, which will continue the Don's Depot feature for use by the public for access.



Harry Nicholls
Dallas, TX
Harrynicholls38@Gmail.com

Don was a pleasure to visit with and to share information with. All of his vast knowledge was at your fingertips, as all that you had to do was ask. I am glad that his collection has found a good home but I will miss the him and the privilege of being able to interact with him personally. A high green aspect and rights over all trains, Don. You will be missed.

I am so sorry to hear this. I have often consulted Don's Depot's photos to check out steam loco information. I believe he and I have even been in contact via the Internet in the past. I hope someone will keep his site going.

This has been reported elsewhere....

"Don has donated his railroad collection to the DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University, which will continue the Don's Depot feature for use by the public for access."

That was reported in this very thread, in the original post.

Yep, but people were still posting that they hoped someone would keep the site going, so I repeated the statement.

I noticed today that the website is down. Along with the typical "related searches" (for acoustic guitars, consulting, churches, bible study, etc.) of an expired website:

"Network Solutions®
"This Page Is Under Construction - Coming Soon!
"donrossgroup.net expired on 04/20/2022 and is pending renewal or deletion."

This shouldn't be any cause for alarm, though, should it?

The collection of Don Ross is under heavy updating at the DeGolyer Library in Dallas. I understand the IRM has copied , or has built, a similar web site as Don was an early member. Check with them.

Don had suffered for a few years before his death. He tried to keep up the Depot, but things began to slip. Thus, the whole collection is being updated and adding many photos and slides that he just could not finish. It is a very large project and the labor on the collection has been going on for over a year. The estimate is late 2023, or later, before the DeGloyer starts to make the collection available a piece at a time. The procedure, included proofing, digitization, and all that has to be worked in the Library's process with other collections. Expect changes to the Depot.

I can offer limited access to the photos, the slides are still in research and the recording process, but if you want any photos or slides, I can not now help in processing requests. Authors may contact me for estimates of when the DeGolyer may assist on access.

Harry Nicholls
P O Box 224288
Dallas TX 75222

If anyone connected to the effort is reading this, spinning up a site similar to https://archive.nkphts.org/ and https://archives.thecrhs.org/ can be quick and easy.

Let me know if you want to talk about it.