Bob Brown, Editor of Narrow Gauge & Short Line Gazette, passed away on Feb. 1, 2026. He was 93 years old.
Bob traced his interest in the hobby to the October 1944 issue of Model Railroader magazine, which he spotted on a newsstand. During his formative years he had an O gauge American Flyer train set and modeled in HO, HOn3, and O gauge.
Bob married his wife, Irene, in 1955 and was drafted by the United States Navy shortly thereafter. Following his military service, Bob began a 35-year career as an elementary school teacher in the Palo Alto (Calif.) Unified School District.
In 1964, Bob launched Finelines, a publication devoted to what is known today as Proto:48. Eleven years later the magazine merged with Slim Gauge News, rebranding as Narrow Gauge & Short Line Gazette. Bob, a National Model Railroad Association Master Model Railroader, served as Editor of the Gazette for more than 50 years.
Bob’s modeling work was also featured in the pages of Model Railroader and its special issues. His article “Finer than fine scale” appeared in August 1969. The six-page article featured Bob’s On2 Wiscasset wharf scene. In January 1970, his freelanced Shay built to 1/4AARn3 standards, received MR’s Model of the Month Award. Bob’s portable On3 logging layout, Tuolumne Forks Lumber Co., was published in the August 1975 MR. The second version of the railroad appeared in Great Model Railroads 1995.
Share this article
