Godfrey Humann sits at the controls with his South Shasta Lines model trains in preparation for a special opening for Christmas while at his home on Wednesday, December 19, 2007 in Gerber, CA. (Jason Halley/Chico Enterprise-Record)I took a day to head out to Gerber, a small town between Chico and Red Bluff. I arrive to meet a man that I will always remember. He took several hours to show me around his miniature train set, and several hours it took. There was so much detail in all the buildings, trains, towns, people, and animals throughout the basement. Humann would show his train set every year to the many that came to see it for themselves.
The South Shasta Lines model trains zooms full electric ahead in preparation for a special opening for Christmas while at his home on Wednesday, December 19, 2007 in Gerber, CA. (Jason Halley/Chico Enterprise-Record)
While talking with him, I began to see him as a man who lived a full life. He had many stories to tell about the history of the land and his trains. He was very entertaining. I listened and I tried to capture his story. There was so much to capture too. From working on a farm to all the replicated town on the mini railroad, Humann had all the time in the world to tell you about the one he built. He played with the train set as I captured video and I became entranced by the sounds of the whistle too.
Godfrey Humann sets up his South Shasta Lines model trains in preparation for a special opening for Christmas while at his home on Wednesday, December 19, 2007 in Gerber, CA. (Jason Halley/Chico Enterprise-Record)
I remembered when I was a young boy playing with trains myself. My grandfather worked on the Pacific Union railroad to build a life for our family. I have always had a connection with trains as far as I can remember. I played with my train set as a kid watching the locomotive spin round and round the tracks for hours. I found myself doing the same when I met Humann.
The train passes through Dunsmuir as Godfrey Humann sets up his South Shasta Lines model trains in preparation for a special opening for Christmas while at his home on Wednesday, December 19, 2007 in Gerber, CA. (Jason Halley/Chico Enterprise-Record)
I could watch his miniature display and never grow tired of all the detail that he had put into it. It was also his warm personality that kept me happy. He was not for profit or for lecture, he was to show people the trains to have them be like kids again. In Humann's time, trains were seen as great engineering achievements with such stability and strength that any kid always was amazed by the power of the locomotive. This love with the train was what he was hoping to bring to anybody who stepped into a world of amazement in his basement.
I was saddened to hear that he is gone. I am glad I was able to see the train set. When reflecting back I realized this was a story that the pictures gave just one aspect to the atmosphere of who he was. We have so many senses that vision can not always be superior. Sometimes we have to hear for ourselves what makes a person so great. So I leave the video I made of Godrey Humann (1912-2009).
The train passes through Dunsmuir as Godfrey Humann sets up his South Shasta Lines model trains in preparation for a special opening for Christmas while at his home on Wednesday, December 19, 2007 in Gerber, CA. (Jason Halley/Chico Enterprise-Record)I could watch his miniature display and never grow tired of all the detail that he had put into it. It was also his warm personality that kept me happy. He was not for profit or for lecture, he was to show people the trains to have them be like kids again. In Humann's time, trains were seen as great engineering achievements with such stability and strength that any kid always was amazed by the power of the locomotive. This love with the train was what he was hoping to bring to anybody who stepped into a world of amazement in his basement.
I was saddened to hear that he is gone. I am glad I was able to see the train set. When reflecting back I realized this was a story that the pictures gave just one aspect to the atmosphere of who he was. We have so many senses that vision can not always be superior. Sometimes we have to hear for ourselves what makes a person so great. So I leave the video I made of Godrey Humann (1912-2009).
Godfrey was my father's first cousin. My father was Frederick Albert Humann and he passed away at 92 in Novato, California, at age 92. I grew up travelling to Red Bluff from our home in San Francisco every summer to view and play with the trains and ride on thrashing machines. Although I haven't visited Godfrey in the last few years, I will always remember the fun times on his ranch with Freya, Paul and my brother and their wonderful mother, Betty! Shirley (Humann) Shanahan
ReplyDeleteWhat a great blog post you have made! Thank you for sharing this memory of the South Shasta Lines.
ReplyDeleteI was fortunate to see the South Shasta over a thirty year period. In 1978, we stopped at the ranch to see the layout on the way home from a Giants game. Although the public shows had been cancelled because Mrs. Humann was ill, Godfrey saw the Oregon license plates on our car and very graciously ran a couple of trains for us. My father and I got a very unique show in an empty basement.
I managed to return to the South Shasta in 1980 and 1998. When it was announced that the 2004 public shows would be the last, I made the trek to Gerber with my then three-year-old son so he could see the layout, the narrow gauge train and the steam farm equipment. We went back in 2008, and I am really glad we got one last chance to see the railroad in operation.
I think the reason I so enjoyed the South Shasta was that Godfrey Humann truly created a time machine. Each time I went down the stairs into his basement, it felt like going back to the 1950s. Thank you for the memories, Mr. Humann, and rest in peace.
Greg Brown
Washougal, WA