"Delta Lines"

[trainman129]

Does anyone know where you can find a reasonably scale drawing of Frank Ellison's "Delta Lines" railroad? [:)] As prolific a writer as he was there must be a drawing somewhere. I'd like to study it for ideas for my own layout.

[IRONROOSTER]

The trackplan of Delta Lines has appeared in Model Railroader in the past. Do a search on Ellison using the Index of Magazines link above.
Enjoy
Paul

[Anonymous]

trainman;
One of the best articles about the Delta Lines was in the November, 1955 Model Railroader. In that article, there's a reasonable scale depiction of the roughly 45'x 45' layout.
And if you care to delve deeper, the October, 1943 issue of Model Builder magazine has a stroy entitled, "A Journey on The Delta Lines". Written by Ellison, it has a bit more detail (as it covers half a dozen pages) of the layout, and Ellison takes you through the run.

Ellison was a master in understanding and communicating the art of model railroading. As an ardent fan, I'd love to start an "Ellison Fan Club" to share ideas and stories and info about this most famous of all O scale pikes.

If you need any additional info, please let me know.

[Anonymous]

Whoops!
Also check into OGR run #108 (Dec. '89). The "Model Builder" article was reprinted, and Frank Miller, who paid tribute to Ellison with his own layout, is featured in the issue.
Great color photos.

[Anonymous]

Ellison may be great, but there was a lot of other pioneering action going on in those days that are now totally forgotten. there was a group out in California that really tantalizes me from the few pictures I've seen and the one long article I read in a long forgotten Model railroader issue, the Centinela Valley. These guys were the first truly HiRailers. Ellison was basically a scale guy who used outside third rail, but the Centinela guys used inside third rail and much modified Lionel and AF equipment operated on a fully sceniced scale appearing pike. If we're going to dig around in the past, let's really unearth as many nuggets as we can. Odd-d

[trainman129]

Thanks for the ideas on Delta Lines. I'll check them out. And yes I know it was more scale than 3 rail. He did have interesting ideas on how to plan and opperate a layout. Especially considering the time frame.

[Anonymous]

I think Ellison's appeal came from the fact that he was willing and able to share, in an informative yet lighthearted way (note in his articles how often he uses the word 'whimsy'), his experience. No other modeler of the time wrote over 100 articles and contributed to the hobby the way Ellison did. True, modelers like Minton Cronkhite offered tips and techniques and John Armstrong (a giant in his own right) showed us the 'hows and whys' of designing track plans, but the proliferation of information coming out of New Orleans is, IMHO, what set Ellison apart.
Even in John Allen's era, outstanding scratchbuilders such as Jim Findley and E.L. Moore tended to get less publicity ~ was it the scope of Allen's track plan? What about Ellison's? Or was it that Allen and Ellison wrote more and were therefore more recognized?
You could also add to the mix that both Ellison's and Allen's layouts were home layouts, not club layouts. And that both men were, in fact, pioneering thinkers in the hobby.
And, as years pass, will Malcolm Furlow, John Olsen, and George Sellios garner the same attention and/or reverence?
Or, as in any walk of life, was it all merely politics within the hobby?
Either way, while we recognize that these men were not the *only* ones who had detailed layouts, we must agree that they were inspirational to thousands (and generations) of modelers.
I choose to recognize Frank Ellison and his Delta Lines.
Your mileage may vary.

[purplepapa]

I'm proud to say I'm one of those thousands of Frank Ellison followers.I first read his Model railroading book at 10 yrs old and I still refer to it to enjoy reading the stories of the Delta Lines.
I will check this thread often .
Leon

[Anonymous]

I saw a Lionel Railroading paperback book that my grandfather once had that had stuff like buildings and stations that was built by a Frank Ellison. Is that the same guy? I wish I had that book now ( my grandfather is dead) because the buildings looked real cool and they were built from scratch. I would like to try some of that someday soon. Can you still buy that book? Is it still being printed? Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Ellison/ Delta Lines fans ~
Please join us at

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/deltalinefriend

We're a small but enthusiastic bunch!

[Dave Farquhar]

I just had a thought: I wonder if the copyright has expired on any of his articles? That would make them free to pass around.

[Anonymous]

Pease;

You might find a copy of that book at a train show.
I have seen a few here and there. Usually for only
a couple of bucks or so. I have a 1950 copy of the
book. It's proper title is "Model Railroading" and is
prepared by the editorial staff of the Lionel Corp.
The publisher is Bantam Books. I have seen a few
older and newer printings of this book.

Extremely good info about how to completely build
a very good model train layout. The info still holds
up well even today.

And yes...The buildings are definitely "cool" when you
look at how things were done over 50 years ago.
Good luck on your search. Maybe some others here
can help.

[Anonymous]

IMO Frank Ellsion was the all time greatest O guage layout builder. His eye for proportion, depth, lighting, illusion, and skill in scenic design is without equla to this day. His Delta LInes railroad looked and operated just like a real railroad. Just check out some of the color pictures that remain. The best source for info on Delta Lines are the 80 issues of Model Builder magazine that Ellsions articles appeared in from the late 30's through 1949 when publication stopped. I understand that Model Railroader purchased everything when LIonel stop publishing this magazine. There was a later magaine that Lionel published called Toy Trains but this only lasted a few more years. Ellisons articles were run in that magazine as well. .
Frank also wrote a book "Frank Ellsion on Model Railroading" published in the 50's which is somewhat hard to find and di write some articles for Model Railroader in the 50's.
Frank Ellison went home to be with the Lord in the late 60's but through his many writings the spirit of this master model railroad builder lives on. Although I never met the man of saw his work, his writings have taught me how to model. I am working towards a near exact reproduction of parts of the Delta Lines layout and have competed six structures at Raymondale so far.

[Anonymous]

dlagrua,

I' ve read issues of Toy Trains and never saw Lionel listed as the Publisher. I could be mistaken but I' m thinking it was published by the company that still publishes Railroad Model Craftsman.

Dennis

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Dennis B

dlagrua,

I' ve read issues of Toy Trains and never saw Lionel listed as the Publisher. I could be mistaken but I' m thinking it was published by the company that still publishes Railroad Model Craftsman.

Dennis

Thanks for pointing this out. I believe that you are correct that Toy Trians was not put out by Lionel. I'll look inside an issue next time I come across one and see who published it. There were some Ellison articles in that magazine though. I'm pretty certain about that.

[Anonymous]

dlagrua,

You're absolutely right, there were several articles by Ellison. That's how I first learned of him. During the late fifties, I found a stack of old Toy Train Magazines in a used book store. After I read about Forest Oaks, who was a little nutty, and who owned the Hap Hazard Packing Company--I was hooked.

Dennis Brennan

[Anonymous]

Sorry -- duplicate post

[Anonymous]

Come be part of the "Friends of the Delta Lines" group~

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/deltalinefriend

[Anonymous]

Just wanted to run it to the top again:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/deltalinefriend

Looking for all the info we can get! [:)]

[Anonymous]

The real sad part of the story of the Delta Lines layout is that it was lost. Several Raymondale buildings, the Chapelle Station,a few of the structures at Donaldson, most of the backdrop paints, some rolling stock and a few odd pieces remain in the hands of private collectors but all of the scenery, hand made trackwork and about 50% of the structures were destroyed.
. If and when this layout is ever recreated faithfully; only then will model railroaders appareciate how excellent Ellisons work really was. ALL of the photos in Ellisons articles were done in black and white. When you see the few color photos of Ellisons work that were published in some old issues of a competitive magazine (OGR), one can appreciate how unbelieveably real his structures looked.
If you look at the color photo of the stone arch bridge over little river on the OGR video , the shading of the stones were so three dimensional they looked exactly like stone. Yet the bridge was built using flat pieces of illustration board.
When Frank Miller recreated this bridge, he had to carve the stones from pieces of lineoleum to get the same look. I will try the Ellison technique and see how it comes out when I take on that project this winter.

[Anonymous]

Chapelle station is for sale!
Ebay # 5914926321

[Anonymous]

Come see why I'm an Ellison junkie......

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/deltalinefriend

You can be an Ellison junkie, too!

[3railguy]

QUOTE: The real sad part of the story of the Delta Lines layout is that it was lost. Several Raymondale buildings, the Chapelle Station,a few of the structures at Donaldson, most of the backdrop paints, some rolling stock and a few odd pieces remain in the hands of private collectors but all of the scenery, hand made trackwork and about 50% of the structures were destroyed.

That is sad. A similar fate happened to John Allen's layout.