2 friends shared love of railroads
Zack Willhoite and James Hamre were close friends and rail enthusiasts who were traveling together on the inaugural journey of Amtrak No. 501 when it derailed Monday near Tacoma, Washington. friend. “They had wanted to be on that very, very first run.”
Willhoite and Hamre were two of the three people killed in the derailment; the name of the other deceased passenger had not been released.
Flem, the executive director of All Aboard Washington, a rail advocacy group, said Tuesday that he had seen both men just a few days before. They were their usual happy selves, he said, eager to board the train early Monday.
Both Willhoite and Hamre were passionate about rail transportation and the
“It was just a given that they would be there,” said Lloyd Flem, a colleague and
possibilities it offered the Pacific Northwest.
For Hamre, 61, trains were a century-long family legacy, said his brother, Michael Hamre, of Tacoma.
Their grandfather worked for the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad, which no longer operates. Their parents met in the early 1950s as employees for a railroad in Montana.
“We have always had trains in our blood,” Michael Hamre said, recalling a childhood in which model train layouts were always under construction in their home.
James Hamre never
married or had children, his brother said, and helped care for their mother, Carolyn, who is 89.
He worked as a civil engineer for the Washington State Department of Transportation before retiring several years ago, and he spent much of his time since indulging his passion for travel and for trains.
“He’s been all over Europe and Africa, Australia,” Michael Hamre said. “He chases trains. He’s got a radio that connects to theirs. He’ll take trains to Montana. He’s got quite a collection of photographs of them.”
James Hamre formed a fast friendship with Willhoite, 35; both of them were volunteers for All Aboard
Washington. Willhoite worked as an information technology specialist for Pierce Transit in Lakewood, Washington.
Willhoite had worked for the agency since 2008 and was “deeply appreciated and admired by his colleagues,” a statement said.
He was married, an avid comic book reader and a “Star Wars” fan, according to Flem.
“He got a kick out of old buses,” Flem said. “He owned an old transit bus. His nickname was Bus Dude.”
Flem said he was too stunned to completely absorb the deaths of his friends. “They’re two of the hardest of the hard core, dependable people,” he said.