Randol Catri Obituary

Randy you were an amazing guy and we had a blast for three summers working for you. You made us laugh, cry, learn so much, and we´re always there matter what we needed. You have changed the lives of thousands of us that worked at Cedar Point. We will miss you dearly. With love always Stephen and Nora (Knapp)Jones. 1983-1986. Because of you Stephen and I met and are still married 36 plus years later.

I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Randy Catri just once, when I was visiting Cedar Point for the first time. Now that I think about it, that was about twenty five years ago now. Time flies!

I was standing next to the C.P. & L.E. R.R. engine house very early in the morning, way before Cedar Point was open for the day. It was raining hard and I was outside of the park's outer fence. I was standing out there in the cold, pouring rain and taking photos of the crew firing up one of the steam locomotives. Recognizing that I was probably a steam locomotive buff since I was the only one crazy enough to be standing out there all alone in the rain and snapping pictures of the cold, early morning action, Mr. Catri came over to the fence and asked if I was into steam locomotives and where I was from. We made small talk and I was amazed that they actually burned coal on the C.P. & L.E. R.R. since, being from California, I had never seen that on any tourist railroad that was open to the public. It was fascinating seeing the fireman shoveling coal into the firebox of one locomotive.

Mr. Catri then was so gracious to open the side gate and let me into the engine house. I made sure to ask if it was OK with his superiors since I did not want to get him into any trouble. He laughed and said, "Don't worry because I am the superior around here!" He gave me a personal guided tour of the facility, which included an up close tour of the then legendary 2-4-4T Davenport Forney locomotive that was formerly known as the Ward Kimball at Walt Disney World. I was so shocked to see it there in Sandusky, so far from Orlando, and he was surprised that I knew all about its history of being on display at Epcot for a short time and how it was acquired by Disney in a trade with a train enthusiast for the Disneyland Railroad Retlaw 1 passenger coaches. He then went into detail about how Cedar Point acquired it in a trade with Disney for the Baldwin 2-4-4T Forney locomotive that was named Maud L and, many years later, became Engine 5 of the Disneyland Railroad.

Now, at this time all of that is pretty well known amongst Disney theme park train fans but please keep in mind that this all happened way back in about 2000. All of this was not very well known stuff back then!

Mr, Catri made sure to show me his office upstairs in the C.P. & L.E. R.R. engine house where he had a treasure trove of information about the Maude L. locomotive, including some beautiful photos of it in operation at Cedar Point. I remember vividly that he proudly said, "We didn't send all of that locomotive to Disney" as he pulled a dusty box off of one of his office shelves. Inside of it was the Maude L.'s original whistle that it used at Cedar Point. I do not know what whistle the Disneyland Rail Road engine 5 has on it today but it is definitely not the exact same one that it used on the C.P. & L.E. R.R.

I will never ever forget that special behind the scenes tour of the C.P. & L.E. R.R. and I made sure to thank Mr. Catri for his generosity before I headed into the park. I am sure that he had a million things to do that morning and giving a guided tour to some goofy guy from California probably was not originally part of his plans. Despite that, he was so welcoming and spent so much time with me and I will never forget that.

It's funny how when fellow roller coaster enthusiasts think about Cedar Point, they think about all of the fantastic roller coasters and other rides in the park. When I think of Cedar Point however, I think of Mr. Randy Catri and how kind he was to give some random goofy guy a personal tour of the C.P. & L.E. R.R. on that cold rainy morning. I will always be grateful for that.

Thank you Mr. Catri!

So very sorry to hear of Moose's passing. He was one of the first I met when my family moved to Huron back in 1965 and remained a friend since. I thoroughly enjoyed our conversations when we would bump into each other around town. We always had a laugh discussing whatever topic would present itself. I truly miss those encounters. He was a man of the highest caliber. My deepest condolences to Dee and entire family.

You gave me a chance to live my dreams that nobody else could. For that I'm forever grateful. You were a good man who will be heavily missed.

I was one of hundreds of twenty-somethings who walked into the engine house one Spring over the last 40 years to start a summer job on the CP & LE. Randy Catri was the chief reason those summers were transformative to so many of us. He watched after all of would be engineers and firemen making sure we knew that although there was lots of fun to be had, there was plenty of responsibility too. He would impart life lessons, always with the right mix of humor and common sense to make his point stick. One of the best. He will be missed.

Worked with Randy for many years dropping off scrap lumber from Maintenance at Cedar Point. Conversation was always included in my trip around Perimeter Rd. He was always thankful for whatever I could bring and always...always helped me in and out on that dangerous curve. My thoughts and prayers are with his family.

He was one of the great ones - and every time I ran into him the last few years, he was on the way to help someone else. You could always count on him for a laugh. Dee - I will keep you in my prayers. I am so sorry for your loss.

You were a great neighbor and friend. You will be missed.

I´m sorry for your loss of Moose. You are in my prayers.

I have known Randy for many years and always had a good chat with him. I never saw that man without a great bug smile on his face. He will be missed by many.
My prayers to his family.

Will love and miss you always, Uncle Moose

Randy was very dedicated to preservation and operations of steam locomotives his entire life. I am honored to have known him for many years and enjoyed visiting him at the Point engine house as well when he came to our roundhouse. we always had a good time discussing steam. I will miss not having you to continue our conversations of the iron horse. God Speed Randy!

I worked with Randy from 1977 to 1980. In later years I would stop at the Engine House to visit him.

Moose was one of my favorite 1st cousins twice removed! I would go to his house after school at Shawnee, and even though his sister and I were classmates, he was the older cousin who made me feel important when he paid attention to me. He was a man of God and shared his faith. I will always remember his huge hugs...a bear hug, for sure. I know his mom and dad, great Uncle Tony and great aunt Jeanette and my parents are welcoming him to Heaven! You are now a Saint, Randy. You´ve waited a long time to get to your Heavenly home. RIP!

I worked with him in 2017 on the Cedar Point & Lake Erie Railroad when I took a summer job there as a locomotive fireman. He was a guy you could look up to, and we will all miss him terribly. R.I.P. Randy, you were one of the great ones!!!

Randy,

You will be missed by so many. Thank you for all you did for your Engine House gang

Randy, we will miss your smile at Mass on Sundays. Now our class of `67 has l lost one more.

Randy rest in peace my friend you'll be dearly missed .

What a Great Man. A Wonderful boss. R.I.P my friend.
Ed Mitchell