Gordon French

Gordon French was an avid live steamer. He was an early member of both the Golden Gate Live Steamers and the West Valley Live Steamers, focusing on 3.5 inch gauge models.

Gordon was also a pioneering home computer hobbyist. He hosted the first meeting of the Homebrew Computer Group at his house in Menlo Park, California.

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  Gordon French at the throttle of his 3.5 inch gauge propane-fired Maisie, July 2011.

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  Gordon French poses with his 3.5 inch gauge "Tich" at the Golden Gate Live Steamers track, 2015.

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  Gordon French relaxing with a friend at the Golden Gate Live Steamers track, 2015. Gordon's green Maisie is on the left, and his Tich is on the right.

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  Gordon French at the Golden Gate Live Steamers track 2015.

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  Gordon French, co-founder of the Homebrew Computer Club, photographed at the Living Computer Museum in 2013. He hosted the first meeting of the club in his garage, in March 1975.

High Line

From Chaski.org, 17 May 2015:

To the new folks who are maintaining the high track,

Many of the GGLS members consider the high track a nuisance that has to be stepped over to get to the REAL TRACK. It is anything but. The high track is fun, and as has been discussed elsewhere here you can get your loco out of the trunk of your car!

I first joined the GGLS in 1965 and the first order of business was the replacement of the picnic tables! The weather takes it toll and when we moved to Tilden at the top of the hill directly behind the Golden Gate, we got the full force of the San Francisco fog. The constant nightly dampness at Tilden creates a rain forest effect at the top of that hill that utterly destroys wood. Dr. Dick Thomas saw to replacing the picnic tables with steel overlayed with some kind of plastic that keeps the moisture at bay. But for many many years we kept trying to keep those rails supported by wood. Charlie Pickup and his son did their damndest to fasten the rails to something that just kept deteriorating. Finally Chris Leggo and Stan James came up with a track holding strap that when clamped to the foot of the rail, kept the rails in relation to each other without a brace of spikes. I myself drove over 3,000 screws to attach the plates to the structure done over several weeks. The wood that is up at Tilden will keep going bad until concrete stringers finally replace the wood. I and other GGLS high track folks have put 100's of hours into that wooden track over the years.

Gordon French

Roseburg, Oregon

From Chaski.org, 17 April 2015:

I have and (try to) operate 3 different 3.5 inch gauge engines.

I've been a member of the Golden Gate Live Steamers and have gone to the bay area to run. But despite being a member since 1965 and having held every office except Treasurer, I am now on a fixed income and can't afford their (Associate) member dues, so I dropped out at the end of 2013.

I've posted various places that the "high track" guys should stick together and build another track somewhere in the west. I see other posts where 4-3/4 inch gauge are thinking about Train Mountain. Meanwhile there are places where something COULD be built If enough guys were interested.

Gordon French

Roseburg, Oregon

Death

Gordon died on Saturday, October 26, 2019 in Roseburg, Oregon. He was born in 1935, making him 84 years old at the time of his passing.

See Also

• Live Steamers and PCs

External Links

• "Gordon French", Chaski.org
• "Gordon French", Wikipedia
• "Homebrew Computer Club", Wikipedia