Model railroad industry pioneer Keith Edwards dies at 91
July 28, 2012 / Updated August 29, 2012
Model Railroading
Keith Edwards, who co-founded Kadee Quality Products Co., passed away Thursday at a Medford, OR hospital of natural causes. He was 91.
In 1940, Edwards co-founded Kadee Quality Products Co., best-known for its HO-scale coupling devices, with his twin brother, Dale.
By the early 1960s, the brothers began to manufacture their Magne-Matic® coupler system in N scale. Gradually, the company added wheels, trucks and under frames to their product line.
In 1972, Keith Edwards led the company’s efforts in N and Z scales to form Micro-Trains Line Co., a separate division that at first specialized in N scale trains, Magne-Matic® couplers and accessories. Eventually added to the product line, were cars and couplers in Nn3 scale, and Z scale were eventually added.
In 1996, Edwards joined his brother as a member of the Hobby Manufacturers Association Hall of Fame. Four years later, Keith Edwards retired.
“Keith inspired all of us at Micro-Trains, with his selfless passion for the hobby and business,” Micro-Trains CEO/President Eric D. Smith said. “Micro-Trains employees, and his family
Keith Edwards, who co-founded Kadee Quality Products and later guided Micro-Trains Line Co., died of natural causes.
will miss him so very much.”
Keith Brewer’s HO Wichita Falls Division, Fort Worth & Denver Rwy. is not just the culmination of years of research of his hometown railroad but the backstory after he took up model railroading. It wasn’t until several years after leaving Bowie, TX, that he understood the importance of the FW&D beyond its everyday whistles. Today Brewer's point-to-point 14x20 layout, a scaled down version of a much larger pike in another home, pays homage to the freight business. Short main line trains haul cattle, grain, gravel and agricultural products along the route from Fort Worth, Decatur, Bowie, Henrietta and Wichita Falls, TX. The action is heavy but eases when the crew breaks midway through an operating session. A tasty cobbler, cake or banana pudding is just the right recipe for fun.
With a variety of options, N-scale modular model railroading is enjoying growth.This summer in Chattanooga, TN, NRail, which embraces all forms of N scale, will head the hobby’s quest to build the world’s largest modular layout at the NMRA National Convention. It’s all but assured that the previous record will fall to a connected layout that will occupy 10,000 square feet of the city’s convention center.
A fierce winter storm brought out model railroad and rail enthusiasts by the thousands for the opening day of January's annual Railroad Hobby Show in Springfield, MA. A single-day record of 18,432 filled the aisles at the Eastern States Exposition before some 18 inches of snow blanketed New England. U-series General Electric locomotives topped new product announcements.
Coordinated run-throughs that connect two or more Class I railroads is a proven solution for moving freight from coast to coast; one of Micro-Trains last N-scale releases, the Greenville Railgon is worth its weight in hauling heavy loads; the elegance and food of the dining car experience spoiled hungry riders during the heyday of passenger rail transportation; Union Pacific inks a record deal to upgrade its locomotives. And more!
