Thickens, Dudley, 1913-1993

Historical or Biographical Note

Dudley Wold Thickens (1913-1993) was a life-long resident of the San Ramon Valley and avid photographer of railroads and vessels in the San Francisco Bay area. His vessel photographs are an important documentary record of the activities in the San Francisco Bay, much like the ship traffic records kept by the Marine Exchange of the San Francisco Bay Region.

Dudley Wold Thickens was born on November 10, 1913. After his father passed away in 1917, he came to the Saranap, California area with his mother Emma Wold Thickens and younger sister Virginia E Thickens. Thickens went to the Saranap Elementary School for about five years, completing first through fourth grade and transferred to Walnut Creek school midway through his fifth grade year. He then attended high school at San Ramon High in Danville around 1927 or 1929. From 1932 to 1933, Thickens took a post-graduate course in "commercial subjects" in Concord. While in school, Thickens worked for Mrs. Jennie Bickerstaff Dewing, later known as Mrs. Rosenberg, making $3.00 for a half-day's work doing yard work. Thickens married Louise Odell and they lived in Lafayette where they had three children: Elizabeth (born 1954), John (born 1956), and Richard (born 1958).

Thickens was fascinated by railroads in his youth, particularly the Sacramento Northern Railway. He began photographing railroads in 1932. In 1935 he started working for the Sacramento Northern and he took this opportunity to travel and document the Sacramento Northern operations. In 1940 he transferred to the Western Pacific Railroad Company where he worked in the Freight Traffic Department until his retirement.

Thickens was a founding member of the Bay Area Electric Railroad Association and served in many official positions, including as President in 1950-1951. In June 1950, he co-wrote an article with Ira L. Swett, Arthur L. Lloyd, Vernon J. Sappers, and Addison H. Laflin Jr. titled "Sacramento Northern," in the special issue for the Electric Railway Association of Southern California. In the 1940s Thickens became interested in Pacific Coast shipping and started taking photographs of vessels in the San Francisco Bay and in other locations where he traveled. In 1961, Thickens started a correspondence and friendship with Charles Marshall Loring and they sent each other photographs and information about various vessels until Loring's death in 1973. He was a member of the local chapter of the World Ship Society and wrote many articles for their newsletter INTERCOM and he was also involved in Toastmasters. Dudley Thickens was a life-long resident of the San Ramon Valley and died on May 18, 1993.

Sources: "Dudley Thickens: A Talk on the 1920's in Saranap and Lafayette Areas and the Vast Influence of the Railroad." Lafayette Historical Society. Accessed on August 10, 2011, from http://www.lafayettehistory.org/oral%20pdf/Dudley%20Thickens.pdf

Email correspondence with Chuck Vercelli, Librarian, Bay Area Electric Railroad Assn./Western Railway Museum, August 10, 2011

Note: In addition, Dudley Thickens is referenced in Train Life, December 1983, as a rail traveling companion of the author Albert C. Phelps. Dudley Thickens has photo credits in East Bay Hills Project and The Western Railway Museum.

• 1913 Nov 10: Dudley Wold Thickens was born.
• 1932: Began photographing railroads.
• 1935: Started working for the Sacramento Northern Railway.
• 1940: Transferred to the Western Pacific Railroad Company where he worked in the Freight Traffic Department until his retirement.
• 1950 - 1951 : Served as president of the Bay Area Electric Railroad Association.
• 1954: Daughter Elizabeth born.
• 1956: Son John born.
• 1958: Son Richard born.
• 1961: Thickens started a correspondence and friendship with Charles Marshall Loring.
• 1993 May 18: Dudley Thickens died.

From the guide to the Dudley Thickens photographs, 1916-1977, 1940-1965, (San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, Historic Documents Department)