Richard L. Dorman, 1922-2010 | Richard L. Dorman, 1922-2010 |
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| Written by Curt Bianchi | |||
| Saturday, 01 May 2010 00:00 | |||
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Richard L. Dorman, best known to railroad enthusiasts for the thirteen books that he authored about narrow gauge railroads, passed away on Saturday, April 3. He was 87 years old. In addition to his interests in railroading, Dorman was a B-24 bomber pilot in World War II, flying 35 missions over the Pacific. He was a highly regarded architect--first in Los Angeles, and later in Santa Fe--winning many awards for achievements in architecture and design. He was once featured on the cover of Life magazine, and was named one of America’s top architects by The American Institute of Architects. He was a Deacon of The First Baptist Church of Santa Fe. After a ride on the Silverton train in 1973, Dorman became fascinated with the narrow gauge railroads of Colorado and New Mexico. He began collecting photographs, eventually amassing the largest extant narrow gauge photograph collection in the world, consisting of some 16,000 black-and-white images and 5,000 color slides. He dated the start of his collection to that 1973 trip, when he happened upon a 20-page tourism guide that had a photograph of Rio Grande Southern locomotive no. 25 on the cover. Smitten by the image, he inquired as to where it came from. That led to the widow of Walter Virden, a former RGS locomotive engineer who started on the railroad early in the twentieth century. He and his fellow trainmen took photographs of each other at work, and Mrs. Virden allowed Dorman to make copy negatives of 300-400 of Mr. Virden’s photographs. Upon a return trip to Durango, Mrs. Virden informed Dorman that she had more, and ultimately offered to sell her entire set of prints and negatives to him. That led to other contacts, including the widow of former RGS engineer Winfred Laube, who had another 250 pictures. “That’s how I got started,” Dorman once recalled. “I was continually looking for pictures. One person led to another.” In 2006, the Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad entered into a purchase/gift agreement with Dorman to acquire the collection over a two-year period, establishing a permanent home for the Richard L. Dorman Narrow Gauge Photograph Collection. Since then, Friends volunteers have digitally scanned, identified and filled in the details of all the black-and-white images, and are well along on the slides. Dorman’s obituary in the Santa Fe New Mexican reads in part: “Richard was a true gentleman, as he was a gentle, humble man, who valued truth and responsibility in business and life. He was much loved by many people and will be greatly missed. American history is filled with everyday Americans who rise up and do extraordinary things, one of which is Richard Lee Dorman.” A Memorial Service took place at The First Baptist Church on Old Santa Fe Trail, at 11:00 am, on Saturday, April 10, 2010. Arrangements are under the direction of Berardinelli Family Funeral Service 1399 Luisa Street, Santa Fe, NM 87505 (505)984-8600.
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