|
Dale
Roberts
passed
away
in
Spartanburg
April
29,
2004
after
a
protracted
battle
with
a
list
of
ailments
that
would
have
killed
three
ordinary
men.
He
was
62
years
old.
He
leaves
behind
his
wife,
Carolyn,
his
daughter,
Hannah,
his
mother,
and
his
sister
–
and
a
legion
of
friends
and
fellow
Southern
Railway
fans
including
members
of
the
SRHA.
Dale
was
an
extraordinarily
talented
man;
he
had
taught
music
theory
and
oboe
at
Spartanburg’s
Converse
College
until
early
retirement
for
health
reasons.
For
many
years
he
played
first
oboe
in
the
Greater
Spartanburg
Philharmonic
Orchestra.
Born
and
raised
near
the
tracks
in
Asheville,
Dale
became
interested
in
the
Southern
Railway
before
he
was
in
grammar
school;
the
steam
locomotives
made
impressions
on
him
that
became
stronger
over
the
years
even
as
the
railway
progressed
into
its
diesel-powered
modernity.
He
studied
the
steam
locomotives
as
assiduously
as
he
studied
the
music
from
which
he
was
going
to
make
his
living.
In
1994,
then-editor
Bill
Schafer
of
TIES
suggested
that
Dale
do
a
survey
of
the
Southern’s
“Harrison”
(the
first
green)
Ps-4
Pacifics,
and
this
was
accomplished
to
an
unprecedented
level
of
detail
–
data
was
thus
placed
in
print
about
this
most
charismatic
class
of
locomotives
that
needed,
badly,
to
become
part
of
the
historical
record.
It
was
then
suggested
that
each
type
and
class
of
Southern
steam
locomotive
be
examined
in
the
same
man-
ner,
and
Editor
Schafer
suggested
that
I
become
involved.
Although
I
stated
many
times
that
Dale
didn’t
need
my
help,
he
insisted.
We
were
examining
the
class
K
2-8-0s
when
Bill
Schafer
resigned
the
editorship
due
to
business
reasons,
and
I
became
editor.
Over
time,
the
steam
series
covered
the
aforementioned
class
K,
the
Mountains,
both
classes
of
USRA
Mikados,
the
2-10-2s
and
the
light
Pacifics.
Dale
had
completed
and
TIES
had
printed
three
out
of
a
projected
four
episodes
covering
the
Ms
Mikados
(4501’s
class)
when
his
illnesses
caught
up
with
him.
After
finishing
the
Ms
class,
he
had
planned
to
do
a
100-year
anniversary
piece
on
preserved
Consolidations
630
and
722,
and
then
cover
Southern’s
0-8-0
switchers
and
the
Mallets.
But,
alas,
it
was
not
to
be.
A
more
congenial
collaborator
never
drew
breath.
His
vast
knowledge
of
the
subject,
gained
by
years
of
examination
of
hundreds
of
locomotive
photos
and
study
of
the
history
of
their
service,
produced
a
body
of
work
of
historical
significance
unequalled
anywhere.
The
Southern
indulged
in
some
strange
maintenance
practices
in
the
days
of
steam,
and
its
locomotives
couldn’t
be
covered
in
the
same
manner
as
other
railroads.
But
Dale
was
up
to
the
task,
compiling
the
detailing
quirks
of
the
various
shops
and
the
effect
of
those
quirks
on
the
engines
passing
into
and
out
of
each
area.
He
could
look
at
a
1950
picture
of
a
45-year
old
K
and
tell
you
which
shops
maintained
it
and
the
order
in
which
it
visited
each
shop.
The
staff
of
TIES
and
the
entire
SRHA
extend
deepest
sympathy
to
his
family.
He
is
missed.
-
Ed
King
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