David Armstrong Snyder

David was born April 27, 1943, in Hartford, CT,, the son of George Russell Snyder and Grace Grant Snyder, three minutes before his twin brother, Roger Wolcott Snyder. David was raised in West Hartford, while his father served in the Navy during World War II. In 1945, the family moved to Copake, NY, and then to Chimney Hill Farm in Ancramdale, NY, where they later had Snyder Road named after the family. David graduated from Pine Plains High School in 1961, having traveled 14 miles to the same building for grades K-12. David graduated from Cornell University in 1965 with a bachelor of arts degree.

After college, he followed his lifelong passion for railroads into the industry, which took him across the Northeast and beyond. He started as an Operations Management Trainee for the New York Central Railroad that brought him to seven locations: Indianapolis, IN; Cincinnati, OH; Syracuse, NY; New York Mills, NY; New Hartford, NY; Lewiston, NY, and Freedom, PA.

He married Joan Osborn in 1967, raised two daughters and continued his career, working for eight different freight and passenger railroads in various capacities, ranging from Assistant Trainmaster to General Superintendent, across nine more locations: Duluth, MN; Menomonee Falls, WI; East Moline, IL; Morrisville, VT; Scarborough, ME; Londonderry, NH; North Canton, OH; Danville, IN; and Manassas, VA.

In 1968, David joined the US Army Reserve and served at Ft. Eustis, VA. He served part-time in the Vermont State Police, and was a volunteer firefighter for Morrisville Fire Department, both from 1978-1981. He was an avid railfan, “chasing trains” around the country and around the world in search of rails, and often contributed articles/memoirs and photographs to hobby publications. He bought and renovated the Mance Post Office along the tracks in Mance, PA, as a “rail camp” and enjoyed meeting railfans from all over the country.

David married Suzanne Plaza on June 21, 2008, in Kennebunk, ME. Upon retirement from Virginia Railway Express in Northern Virginia, he served as a consultant, expert witness and operated freight trains for the Finger Lakes Railway in Central New York and Farmrail in Oklahoma.

David is survived by his wife Suzanne; his two daughters, Robin and her husband Michael Dailey of Delmar, NY, and Laura and her husband Lindsay Smith of Kennebunk; two step-daughters, Morgen Plaza of Haymarket, VA, and Sarah Plaza of Portsmouth, VA; a twin brother Roger and his wife Cyndy Snyder of Manassas; a younger sister Anne and her husband Thomas Mondelci of Lyme, CT; five grandchildren, Sophie and Charlie Smith of Kennebunk, Patrick and James Dailey of Delmar, and Avery Greene of Portsmouth; and several nieces and nephews and their families. He was predeceased by his parents as well as his older brother George Snyder of Broad Brook, CT, who died on Oct. 10, 2024.

His memorial service will be private.