JOHN ARMSTRONG RIP

[grantha]

A truly great model railroader.

Mr. Armstrong's influence has been immense upon our great hobby and he will be missed.

His innovations and ideas will live on forever.

[:(]

[Anonymous]

John Armstrong will sorely be missed.

However alot of well known modelers of advancing years have been passing as of late. I can[t help wonder who will be next? Allen McClelland? Peri***he thought.

James

[locomutt]

QUOTE: Originally posted by tomwatkins

He will be missed greatly. Any article by him was worth reading and re-reading. He was one of the true innovators of the hobby. His articles and particularly "Track Planning for Realistic Operation" are full of useful ideas, good solid recommendations, and a lot of wit and humor.

We have lost one of the great ones,
Tom Watkins

He will be greatly missed,and we have lost one of the"great one's"
I grew up reading his work,and have several of his books.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by bcammack

I do anticipate that MR is planning a cracking good testimonial to Mr. Armstrong in some forthcoming issue. Right?? [:)]

I believe a tribute comparable to what MR did in April 1973 to mark the passing of John Allen would be entirely appropriate.

[Anonymous]

I just caught wind of this this morning, as I was catching up on emails on another forum. A reference to "the late John Armstrong" posted there was what had caught my eye, but I had to come here to confirm. So sad.

John had a tremendous impact upon me when I was a teen; my first layout built when I was 13 included a reverted loop that led to stub-ended staging. Now that I am much, much older and dreaming of building what I really want to build, I had thought of including an interchange with his Canandaigua Southern. It would seem natural to do so, since the western terminus of my passion (PRR's Elmira Branch) was at Canandaigua, NY. Do you think he would've minded that, even though it would have been in teeny-tiny HO scale?

I'm going home tonight to review my copy of his layout video tour.

Regards,

[bcammack]

I do anticipate that MR is planning a cracking good testimonial to Mr. Armstrong in some forthcoming issue. Right?? [:)]

[gjwilliams]

QUOTE: Originally posted by SPandS-fan

QUOTE: Originally posted by gjwilliams

QUOTE: Originally posted by dknelson

If you find it at a swap meet, get Armstrong's Kalmbach pamphlet on prototype signals. It was a reprint from some Trains magazine articles of around 1960. It is well worth reading and remains a prime source of good information on signal practice.
Dave Nelson

IIRC, the signal article was done by another John Armstrong, not the one whose loss we are mourning.

Dave is correct: the recently late John Armstrong authored "All About Signals."

Thanks for setting me straight - [:)]

[coalminer3]

I was real sorry to hear about John Armstrong's passing. As twhite said, he's up there with John Allen - I also have a feeling that Frank Ellison is nearby, too.

work safe

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by gjwilliams

QUOTE: Originally posted by dknelson

If you find it at a swap meet, get Armstrong's Kalmbach pamphlet on prototype signals. It was a reprint from some Trains magazine articles of around 1960. It is well worth reading and remains a prime source of good information on signal practice.
Dave Nelson

IIRC, the signal article was done by another John Armstrong, not the one whose loss we are mourning.

Dave is correct: the recently late John Armstrong authored "All About Signals."

[twhite]

I have a feeling that he's Up There helping the other great John (Allen) redesign the Gorre & Daphetid, and God's scratching his head and wondering, "What will those two come up with NEXT?" He was a great man, I owe part of my track plan to his innovative designs. We'll all miss him.

[gjwilliams]

QUOTE: Originally posted by dknelson

If you find it at a swap meet, get Armstrong's Kalmbach pamphlet on prototype signals. It was a reprint from some Trains magazine articles of around 1960. It is well worth reading and remains a prime source of good information on signal practice.
Dave Nelson

IIRC, the signal article was done by another John Armstrong, not the one whose loss we are mourning.

[Anonymous]

This is a sad day for the hobby!

[Anonymous]

John was a great inovator (sp?) in this hobby of ours. I will miss him and his sense of humor. Who else would have come up with a "Super Allegeny, 4-6-6-6"? I have several of his books including both a new and older copy of "Track Planning for Realistic Operation". I cannot live without this book. Rest in peace, John-you touched us all.

[Anonymous]

A brilliant man.
A unique innovator.
A truly outstanding communicator.
A legend in our hobby.

The hobby grew richer in many ways, thanks to John Armstrong's contributions, and one can only hope that, in the future, his memory is not sullied by the new breed of 'hobbyists', who only have criticism for the people and practises of the past.
Mike

[Anonymous]

I met John at the 2000 NMRA Convention in San Jose. His clinic was excellent and filled with his wit and humor. My current layout has incorporated many thoughts that he presented in his clinic. He will be missed.

[Anonymous]

John was a mechanical engineer for the U.S. Navy 1943-1978.
I would guess he was 82/83 years old.

Al

[randybc2003]

Whistle for the end of track
[angel]

[Anonymous]

Does anyone know his age ? He did the trackplans in several Atlas track books in the early 70's so he must have been around a good while

[Anonymous]

Good bye, John. I never met you, but you enriched my life immeasurably.

[Anonymous]

If there is a Model Railoaders Hall of Fame, I nominate Mr. John Armstrong.

[Anonymous]

Next to John Allen, no one had more influence on my enjoyment of this great hobby than did John Armstrong. As one of the hobby's greatest thinkers and creative minds, John Armstrong's impact on model railroading has been felt for nearly two generations, and will be felt for many, many years to come.

We will miss you, John.

[jfugate]

I corresponded with John, and later spoke with him in person about the genesis of the mushroom configuration for my mushroom article in the Jan/Feb 1997 MR.

I wanted to get straight who really invented the mushroom. I began drawing mushroom designs on my own in the early 1980s, and then John published a mushroom design in the October 1987 Model Railroader. I didn't call it the mushroom when I was drawing it, I just called it "opposing deck", since that's essentially what it is. It was John who gave it the name "mushroom".

The conversation with John was most enlightening, since he was quick to give Richard Benjamin the credit for inventing the concept. Richard not only designed mushrooms in the 1970s, but he built one! That makes him the first.

John could have taken the credit and I don't think anyone would have ever questioned it. Yet, he was careful to make sure Richard got the credit. Goes to show you what a truly great guy John was.

[bcammack]

I acquired a new copy of his text "The Railroad: What It Is, What It Does" about three months ago. Not cheap for a paperback at $35, but worth the money. I feel fortunate to have a hobby shared by such generous, intelligent men.

I have been enriched by his knowledge and I am saddened by his passing. Godspeed, Mr. Armstrong.

[dknelson]

If you find it at a swap meet, get Armstrong's Kalmbach pamphlet on prototype signals. It was a reprint from some Trains magazine articles of around 1960. It is well worth reading and remains a prime source of good information on signal practice.
Dave Nelson

[friscobob56]

I have several of his books in my personal library, and at least one of them is dogeared & almost worn out from constant use. If ever someone deserved to get a PhD in trackplanning, it was John Armstrong. His knowledge and gentle humor will be missed.

[dragenrider]

How uncanny! I was just reading an article in an old MR planning book about John Armstrong's track plans and studying one of his designs. I will miss him. (sniff, sniff) Somebody hand me a tissue. [*^_^*]

[Anonymous]

[angel] John [angel]
The wit and the wisdom will be sorely missed.[V]

[andrechapelon]

QUOTE: Originally posted by BNSFNUT

John will be missed in this hobby. I have read just about every book or mag artical he ever wrote. He was always on the cutting edge of layout design, some of his ideas are incorperated in my layout. The hobby has lost a giant.

I will always remember John Armstrong as a man who could combine prototypical realism with a touch of whimsy. Ya just gotta love a man who would come up with a town name like Llawn Mawr, or a power company called Conemaul, or a freight yard called Des Maigne Yard.

He will be sorely missed.

Andre

[BNSFNUT]

John will be missed in this hobby. I have read just about every book or mag artical he ever wrote. He was always on the cutting edge of layout design, some of his ideas are incorperated in my layout. The hobby has lost a giant.