RIP Michael Hilliard

I don't know what happened but another one of our own has passed away. Michael was a very faithful participant here at Z Central Station. He was also too young. Many knew him as a very good modeler, happy to give expert advice, and loved Z scale so much he even got his father into modeling it.

Goodbye Michael. You will be missed.

Michael, you will be missed very much my friend. RIP

Micheal is always a good guy. He help me with some of z scale projects. He will be missed.

OMG so sad.......I will miss you Mike. RIP

Michael was a frequent chatterer and joined in on the contests and even had mini auctions and some very nice prizes. I do have one of his State of Maine box cars that will have greater significance. Micheal- you are missed.
Fred

I've met Michael and have one of his lighting kits for the first AZL Sd40s. He was an interesting personality and I will miss him.

R.I.P.

Wow, that's a shock! Michael was always so full of energy in his projects, and I have a sizable collection of them. He used to call late at night after spending all day making something unique and cool, and give all the details of how he did it, and what could be done to solve any remaining issues.

I can't believe he's gone. He will be missed by many!

-Robert

Karin and I both had many a conversation with Michael, sometimes late into the nights.

Let Michael's passing remind us all to more deeply appreciate one another while we are yet on this earth. Each soul is precious in God's sight.

The tracks are clear ahead Michael......roll on.

Truly a loss for everyone. We had a lot of conversations. He was a great modeler and person.

Zac

Got this update:

...I am a member of the Tri-State z scale group, and we have met for some years at Michael's home in Connecticut. We were supposed to meet yesterday, but I noticed Michael was not signed in on zCentral, a highly unusual absence. I was on the verge of calling him Friday when I received a call from Cliff Travis, telling me of Michael's passing...

As you probably know, he had serious long-term health problems. When I saw him last month, he had lost a lot of weight and was having even more trouble eating. His landlord found Michael's body on Easter Sunday. An autopsy is pending as the cause of death is uncertain....

We will all miss Michael. Not only was he a genius with a wealth of talent and knowledge about how to build, paint and repair trains, but he was also modest and helpful. At a typical meeting, while we were running trains, he was tuning up our locos. I can't tell you how many items I saw him repair, and he explained what he was doing while he was doing it.

Please pass this on to Karin and anyone else you deem appropriate.

Best regards,

John

Well, this is sad news. Michael helped me out a couple of times in my beginning days. I never met him, but always respected his work. Jim

Wow!!! Hard to believe and difficult to accept. I too was one of those Z scalers who got late night calls from Michael to talk about all things "Z"!

Michael was a Z innovator! He'd push the bar to make his creations realistic looking while most people were settling for below average Norm products. Most don't know this but he was the first to create and print decals for the early 20' and 40' shipping containers. He also created a working flashing rear end device "FRED" way back around 2003/2004 for Z scale. I can tell you that it is freakin small. His working RXR crossing arms were awesome. All of his projects were top of the line. He is one Z scaler who had the knowledge but lacked the resources to have done so much more than he was allowed.

You will be missed!!!! Rest in Peace!

Tim