Zack "Busdude" Willhoite

[M. Parsons]

Given the recent passing of Zack, I figure it might be a good idea to have a specific thread to remember him in. It would be unfortunate if all of the wonderful posts in the King County Metro thread about Zack eventually became lost in over 200 pages of KCM posts.

Feel free to suggest a change to the topic if anyone thinks of something perhaps a bit more fitting or creative.

In the mean time, below is a modified and updated version of what I had in the KCM thread.

I can't remember when I first communicated with Zack, however, it was probably 2002 or earlier. Even before I met him, I had certainly seen his website.

Zack's original "Busdude's Page O' Buses", along with TMX, were among the strongest inspirations for me to learn HTML and build my own website. Unfortunately, I can't find the original website, but, one of the newer version can still be accessed via archive.org: https://web.archive.org/web/20041120220448/http://busdude.tripod.com:80/

Yes, that was along time ago. I would chat with Zack through AOL's AIM, Zack created the GMFishbowl group on egroups.com, later a part of Yahoo Groups. This was in a time before Facebook existed.

Facebook has meant a shift in how we communicate on the internet, and myself, I've never really embraced Facebook so and as a result we did drift apart over the years.

Never the less, I had the pleasure of meeting Zack twice in the US when Peter and myself (2002) and Peter, Ashton and myself (2009) visited Seattle and area.

It was in 2002 that I took the below photo of Zack. I can't believe that was over 15 years ago. 

My condolences to Zack and JIm's family and friends.

RIP Zack

- Martin Parsons

[captaintrolley]

Wow, this is just so sad. Two men from our Transit Enthusiast Community perished in the Amtrak 501 derailment yesterday. Hope turned into fear which became panic then dread as hours wore on and calls and texts remain unanswered.

That these men gave their lives doing something they loved is but a small consolation. My heart goes out to their friends and family, and to the entire transit fanning community as we all reel in grief trying to comprehend all of this.

We've all done it. Got up early with eager anticipation of riding a new vehicle or checking out a new route. Perhaps that is why their deaths are so profound, because we realize that this could have been any one of us.

Rest in peace, Zack and Jim.

[SMS]

Very sorry to learn of this. Zack was quiet on the charters I've been to with him, but definitely passionate and knowledgeable. He was kind enough to show a couple of guys and I his bus in Tacoma back in June. We also met his wife in Seattle. A lot of the guys who met him for the BHA convention are very distraught by this news. I can't say that I knew Jim, but I am sure that he was a stand up fellow as well.

[pnwelevator]

I only knew Zack personally for a year, but he became a good friend as I got more & more involved with MEHVA and got to know him better, he was a good friend, passionate, and was a fun guy to be around with his great sense of humor at times. Just letting everyone know that on Saturday 11AM PST I will be doing a live commemoration/sending of thoughts on my YouTube Channel for those who are able to join, he was a class act of a person and I feel this is owed to him & his family.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3Oe3iiSKuRoMSjQJ79EFFA

[Doppelkupplung]

Very saddening story.

I cannot say that I knew Zack, neither through the board, nor personally. However, I've learned that he was an all round good person; someone of very personable character. I'd like to thank him for his contributions to the community, and making us all more knowledgeable as a whole. Its also a strong reminder, that this could have been any of us, as fans of this industry.

My thoughts are with him and his family. I also pray that his family and friends receive the best possible support during this difficult time. 

Rest in Peace. 

[tomsbuspage]

Like @M. Parsons, Busdude's Page O' Buses was one of the inspirations for Tom's Bus Page, along with TMX, GTBP and The Bus Spot.  While I never met Zack in person, to the best of my knowledge, I did get to know him through the board and through Busdude.com, and I appreciated how much he was able to contribute to the transit enthusiast community.  My wife and I are offering our prayers for Zack and Jim, and for their families in this difficult time, especially as Christmas is just around the corner.

May they truly rest in peace.

[The XDE60]

Thanks for the memories, as a Valley Metro user, I feel deeply sad.

I even made a YouTube video as a token of their success.

 

May their dreams be dreamed.

[Chris H]

As I wrote in the KCM thread, I am stunned that this happened, especially since we have heard of busdude and seen his posts of his own bus and his transit trips on his website. Any idea if anyone will be preserving his beloved Orion I?

I hope Pierce Transit or any transit heritage group will preserve and dedicate that Orion for Zack.

I send my condolences to Zack & Jim's family & friends.

[XN40]

One guy who owns Pierce Transit 374 (painted in CTA livery) is hosting a special event in LA and there is even an event in Nor Cal the weekend before that. January 14 at 9 am at LA Union Station (Patsaouras Transit Plaza).

[roamer]

On 12/24/2017 at 10:54 PM, XN40 said:

One guy who owns Pierce Transit 374 (painted in CTA livery) is hosting a special event in LA and there is even an event in Nor Cal the weekend before that. January 14 at 9 am at LA Union Station (Patsaouras Transit Plaza).

Yeah, the guy I believe is Kevin Cartwright, owner of 374.

 

 

Thank you Martin for this thread.  I hope it's okay to post some articles here.  If not or if you feel I'm posting anything inappropriate, let me know.   

We all know there were numbers of articles from last week about Zack and Jim.  One in particular that I liked was from Neal McNamara of the Lakewood Patch that had Kevin describing Zack as "an angel."   A photo a Zack sitting in the driver's seat of what appears to be Kevin's GM fishbowl 374 is included.   

Washington Amtrak Derailment Victim Remembered As 'An Angel'

 

For those who may be interested and not aware, there is a GoFundMe account started by Zacks brother-in-law, Bret (brother of Taylor, Zack's widow) that appeared to be legitimate to me so I anonymously donated last week but will donate more later as I'm now pretty much assured that this is a legitimate gofundme page:

For the Family of Zack Willhoite

I was so revolted and felt so badly for Taylor as she frantically searched all day for her husband Zack and his friend on that fateful Monday as described in this article:

Love of trains put these victims on Amtrak 501

I can't imagine the anguish she was experiencing that day and sheer horror she felt when she finally found out what happened to her husband and Jim.   May God comfort Taylor and all of the members of both families during these difficult days.

[XN40]

2 hours ago, roamer said:

Yeah, the guy I believe is Kevin Cartwright, owner of 374.

 

 

Thank you Martin for this thread.  I hope it's okay to post some articles here.  If not or if you feel I'm posting anything inappropriate, let me know.   

We all know there were numbers of articles from last week about Zack and Jim.  One in particular that I liked was from Neal McNamara of the Lakewood Patch that had Kevin describing Zack as "an angel."   A photo a Zack sitting in the driver's seat of what appears to be Kevin's GM fishbowl 374 is included.   

Washington Amtrak Derailment Victim Remembered As 'An Angel'

 

For those who may be interested and not aware, there is a GoFundMe account started by Zacks brother-in-law, Bret (brother of Taylor, Zack's widow) that appeared to be legitimate to me so I anonymously donated last week but will donate more later as I'm now pretty much assured that this is a legitimate gofundme page:

For the Family of Zack Willhoite

I was so revolted and felt so badly for Taylor as she frantically searched all day for her husband Zack and his friend on that fateful Monday as described in this article:

Love of trains put these victims on Amtrak 501

I can't imagine the anguish she was experiencing that day and sheer horror she felt when she finally found out what happened to her husband and Jim.   May God comfort Taylor and all of the members of both families during these difficult days.

Correct on Kevin Cartwright. Forgot to mention that. He wants people to find photos of Zack. 

[northwesterner]

I haven't really said much about the loss of Zack last week publicly. I've had some private back and forth messages and some discussions with friends, but haven't posted anything in the online communities. 

Everyone processes loss differently - for me, I'm usually pretty okay (though shaken up) at the time of someone's passing. It's not until a week or a month later when I see something that makes me think of them, and I reach to for my phone to send a text and realize there is no one to send it to that it really sinks in. 

I met Zack a little more than 20 years ago on a bus excursion. He's about a year and a half older than I am, so we easily became friends, despite our many differences. Our friendship transcended the many different forms of "the internet" over the last 20 years, from late nights chatting about buses on AIM and ICQ, responding to emails on Yahoo Groups, and finally making posts here on cptdb and some of the newer Facebook bus groups, we've been constantly reading and writing about our hobby for two decades. 

Over the years my interest has waned a bit. After film photography faded much of my interest in photography faded as well. I spent 8 or 9 years working on and off in the charter and tour bus industry, the last couple literally putting a struggling company on my back and cleaning it up, one day at a time. Other than a perusal of the message boards before bed, I didn't want to see a bus, ride a bus, or photograph a bus. 

But Zack's passion never slipped. Digital photography meant he could take a gazillion photos, and he, against all odds, kept his Orion I running for 12 years after purchasing it at auction. He went to so many out of town excursions, regularly read more bus discussion boards than I could keep up with, and had time for other side projects like All Aboard Washington and other non-transportation related organizations.

One of the more amusing things as we grew older was our role in places like cptdb. When we were kids, we'd ask questions, and lap up all the info we could get from the old timers that posted on m.t.u-t. Sometimes, we'd get answers that were dripping with annoyed hostility ... from old dudes who'd been around forever who couldn't understand how we didn't know enough to know not to ask that question. Every once in a while over the last few years, one us would answer a question here and find we were writing with the same annoyed hostility we received two decades earlier. Now we were the old dudes who'd been around forever. 

I was just blown away by the coverage Zack and Jim (who I'd known for probably 15 years) received in the national media. While I was trying to soldier through my day at work last Tuesday, I found myself in an overly long meeting. I got bored and tried to read the headlines on the Wall Street Journal on laptop. And there, among the earnings reports, was a link to a profile of them. It wasn't just picked up from the AP wire, but was actually written by a Wall Street Journal reporter. The New York Times, Washington Post, and LA Times, among others, had great, well reported obituaries. 

Obviously my thoughts are with both of their families at this time. No one expects to get up one day and go out to do something as part of their hobby and not come back. But I'm heartened by the sheer number of people who have posted on the internet that knew them as friends ... their influence went far further than I knew.

[XN40]

An official memorial is on February 4 at the Pullayup Fair with buses there to honor his legacy. No need to wear formal funeral wear as his wife insists you wear clothes as he would remember you by. This is in addition to the January 14 memorial at LA Union Station. No word on what time it will start and what not but if you can make it then this is another option if you cannot make it to LA Union station. 

[roamer]

For those not in the area, the NTSB released its official findings today  ---from The News Tribune, Tacoma WA:

Human error, safety oversights caused 2017 Amtrak derailment that killed 3 near DuPont

 

KIRO TV evening newscast segment:  NTSB presents findings on cause of fatal Amtrak derailment in DuPont

 

[roamer]

On June 24th, the NTSB released its "Final Report" in its entirety for anybody interested:

Amtrak Passenger Train 501 Derailment DuPont, Washington December 18, 2017 - NTSB

[captaintrolley]

Hardly seems like this was two years ago already.

[ptglf_10118]

On 12/22/2017 at 8:23 PM, Chris H said:

As I wrote in the KCM thread, I am stunned that this happened, especially since we have heard of busdude and seen his posts of his own bus and his transit trips on his website. Any idea if anyone will be preserving his beloved Orion I?

I hope Pierce Transit or any transit heritage group will preserve and dedicate that Orion for Zack.

I send my condolences to Zack & Jim's family & friends.

Did the Orion get saved?

[Glennwood Road Ent.]

Today marks 5 years since Zach died in train accident in 2017. Time flies guys. I was watching the piece of the train accident on Seattle news station at my home that same day when I got home from work when I was 17 years old during my final year of high school Christmas break. Did someone took good care of Zach's and restored Orion I bus in good shape and well maintained after his death?