The West has lost another giant. A family member informs me that Doug Harrop passed away last night. The ultimate railfan/railroader, Doug earned pay on SP and later UP, most famously on the paired track of northern Nevada, before finally enjoying retirement in the hills outside Ogden, Utah. He could tell true tales of the rails better than most, and back it all up with stellar photos taken both lineside and from the cab. Not too many others who actually shot out the front window capturing waves crashing across the Great Salt Lake causeway. His last published work is a fabulous look at Homestake Pass in the current issue of Classic Trains, highly recommended. This news comes on what would have been my own dad's birthday; he passed away three years ago last month. My son and I started today with a first-light shot of an eastbound BNSF stack train slithering through the S-curves on Trinidad Hill east of Wenatchee, a location I first saw in print as a Doug Harrop photo in CTC Board sometime back in the 1980s. Doug was a humble and private guy who would would hardly expect any fuss or attention directed his way. But anyone who read and enjoyed his work over the past several decades would know, Doug earned a hearty highball from all of us.