Gil Freitag, builder of the HO scale Stoney Creek & Western, died May 22 in Houston, Texas. He was 86 years old. Gil’s wife, Virginia, passed away on April 19, 2022.
Gil’s layout was featured many times in the hobby press, including the July 1982, August 1995, and April 2003 issues of Model Railroader, as well as Great Model Railroads 1994. An accomplished model builder, Gil earned many awards at regional and national contests in the 1960s and ’70s. Gil became National Model Railroad Association (NMRA) Master Model Railroader no. 91 on May 10, 1981.
Peers recognized Gil for his dedication to the hobby. In the Lone Star Region, he was recipient of the Loeffker Service Award (1981) and President’s Award (2015). The NMRA presented Gil with the President’s Award for general promotion of model railroading (2003) and the inaugural Fellow Award (2007). Gil was a 50-year member of the NMRA.
Sad to hear this. He was a Model RR icon in Houston as well as the whole Model RR community. I had the opportunity to operate once as a member of HSME (Houston Society of Model Engineers) back in the early 90s. My condolences and prayers to his family.
Had the distinct pleasure of operating on Gil’s layout more than a few times, while living in Houston. A wonderful and giving host who was ready to place a controller in the hands of virtually any interested guest. On one occasion that included our daughter who was probably 13 or 14 at the time. She got to run two different trains before the afternoon was over. Setting out and picking up cars turned out to be an excellent mental and logistical exercise for her. As we walked to car at the end of the day, she said: “Dad … I had no idea!!”
Thank you Gil … and Thank you Freitag Family.
rip really liked your modeling