I got to visit Bill McClanahan's layout as a high school kid in the late 60's.
Didn't realize at the time that he was among the icons of the MRR hobby.
Jim
hdtvnut There was a well-known scenery guy who had his picture on MR's cover in the late 50's or early 60's holding a loco and next to a layout tunnel, IIRC. I can't find the mag; does anybody know who he was? Thanks.
There was a well-known scenery guy who had his picture on MR's cover in the late 50's or early 60's holding a loco and next to a layout tunnel, IIRC. I can't find the mag; does anybody know who he was? Thanks.
As Cuyama mentioned in his post with the cover pic, there were other runs of the book that had a slightly different photo. There's one where he leaning into the layout with his hand reaching for an engine:
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51jPDMuG3TL._SX373_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg
wrench567Read some of the material lists in some of the old articles. Asbestos, lead paint, lead and we can't forget filling our basements with that oily smoke from our Lionel trains.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
The guy was McClanahan, and I bought a brass 4-8-4 painted by him at the "Tracks in the Sand" show, IIRC Miami 2002. I am aging, and if there is anyone who has a special attachment to his work, let me know. Photos on "brass collectors.io"
Nevermind the hats and ties. Read some of the material lists in some of the old articles. Asbestos, lead paint, lead and we can't forget filling our basements with that oily smoke from our Lionel trains. My mom would be mad. The whole house would smell like burnt oil like an old V8 with leaking valve covers. No wonder I took up smoking.
The good old days.
Pete.
John-NYBW rrebell John-NYBW SeeYou190 It seems fellows were still wearing dress shirts and ties to play with trains as late as August, 1968. -Kevin If you look at pictures from the 1950s, men would wear suits and ties to ballgames. There was even an episode of Leave it to Beaver where Beaver had to put on a coat and tie to go to a game. If you saw men getting off a plane, almost all of them would have coat and tie. Then we have Ozzie Nelson who seemingly never left the house but always had on a sweater and tie. We once had a culture where many men wouldn't think of being seen in public without a coat and tie. Thank goodness those days are over. I retired in 2001 and the day I did, I took a scissors and cut up every tie I owned and have never donned one of those dreadful things since. There isn't an event important enough to get me to wear one of those again. If they try to put one on me when I'm in the casket, I'm going to get up and leave. Funny, I never wore fancy clothes since I was a little kid except a dress shirt and maybe on occasion dress pants, wore tennis shoes my entire adult life, then I discoved zip up ties and I use them with a dress shirt when I want to go fancy. Consider yourself lucky. I don't know who created the necktie but I hope they hanged him with it. I'll never understand why it became a mandatory accessory for men. If people like wearing them, fine. Why require other people to wear them? What purpose do they serve? Is it to ward off evil spirits? Vampires?
rrebell John-NYBW SeeYou190 It seems fellows were still wearing dress shirts and ties to play with trains as late as August, 1968. -Kevin If you look at pictures from the 1950s, men would wear suits and ties to ballgames. There was even an episode of Leave it to Beaver where Beaver had to put on a coat and tie to go to a game. If you saw men getting off a plane, almost all of them would have coat and tie. Then we have Ozzie Nelson who seemingly never left the house but always had on a sweater and tie. We once had a culture where many men wouldn't think of being seen in public without a coat and tie. Thank goodness those days are over. I retired in 2001 and the day I did, I took a scissors and cut up every tie I owned and have never donned one of those dreadful things since. There isn't an event important enough to get me to wear one of those again. If they try to put one on me when I'm in the casket, I'm going to get up and leave. Funny, I never wore fancy clothes since I was a little kid except a dress shirt and maybe on occasion dress pants, wore tennis shoes my entire adult life, then I discoved zip up ties and I use them with a dress shirt when I want to go fancy.
John-NYBW SeeYou190 It seems fellows were still wearing dress shirts and ties to play with trains as late as August, 1968. -Kevin If you look at pictures from the 1950s, men would wear suits and ties to ballgames. There was even an episode of Leave it to Beaver where Beaver had to put on a coat and tie to go to a game. If you saw men getting off a plane, almost all of them would have coat and tie. Then we have Ozzie Nelson who seemingly never left the house but always had on a sweater and tie. We once had a culture where many men wouldn't think of being seen in public without a coat and tie. Thank goodness those days are over. I retired in 2001 and the day I did, I took a scissors and cut up every tie I owned and have never donned one of those dreadful things since. There isn't an event important enough to get me to wear one of those again. If they try to put one on me when I'm in the casket, I'm going to get up and leave.
SeeYou190 It seems fellows were still wearing dress shirts and ties to play with trains as late as August, 1968. -Kevin
It seems fellows were still wearing dress shirts and ties to play with trains as late as August, 1968.
-Kevin
If you look at pictures from the 1950s, men would wear suits and ties to ballgames. There was even an episode of Leave it to Beaver where Beaver had to put on a coat and tie to go to a game. If you saw men getting off a plane, almost all of them would have coat and tie. Then we have Ozzie Nelson who seemingly never left the house but always had on a sweater and tie. We once had a culture where many men wouldn't think of being seen in public without a coat and tie. Thank goodness those days are over. I retired in 2001 and the day I did, I took a scissors and cut up every tie I owned and have never donned one of those dreadful things since. There isn't an event important enough to get me to wear one of those again. If they try to put one on me when I'm in the casket, I'm going to get up and leave.
Funny, I never wore fancy clothes since I was a little kid except a dress shirt and maybe on occasion dress pants, wore tennis shoes my entire adult life, then I discoved zip up ties and I use them with a dress shirt when I want to go fancy.
Consider yourself lucky.
I don't know who created the necktie but I hope they hanged him with it. I'll never understand why it became a mandatory accessory for men. If people like wearing them, fine. Why require other people to wear them? What purpose do they serve? Is it to ward off evil spirits? Vampires?
Since retiring 12 years ago, I have only worn a tie 3 times - 1 wedding and 2 funerals. Last year I gave away all my dress shirts and pants, so I doubt I'll ever wear a tie again. And good riddance to them.
dknelsonThe MR cover that kevin posted is indeed Linn Westcott's HO layout, but the guy in the photo is I believe Gordon Odegard. That interesting throttle in the photo was written up in that issue
From "Off The Train Wire" in that issue, it is Linn Westcott's Sunset Railway.
However, the "half-size model of a prototype brake stand that actually works like the real thing" is being operated by "inventor and modelbuilder Dennis Blunt".
cuyamaStill pretty sure that the OP is thinking of the cover of the Kalmbach McClanahan scenery that book I posted way up the thread ...
Well, this is what I was responding to:
"There was a well-known scenery guy who had his picture on MR's cover in the late 50's or early 60's holding a loco and next to a layout tunnel, IIRC. I can't find the mag;"
That's a quote from post number 1, way at the top. Nothing there about a scenery BOOK nor men's HATS that I can see.
If the dispatcher is going to switch trains around, I think there's some sort of form for that.
John-NYBWI think Frary put out his first scenery book in the late 1980s or early 1990s. I hadn't heard of him prior to that.
You are correct, I had to go dig out the book and look. The style of the B&W photgraphy makes it look older.
Mike.
My You Tube
John-NYBW My guess is a younger Linn Westcott. The layout looks similar to other pictures I've seen of his layout.
My guess is a younger Linn Westcott. The layout looks similar to other pictures I've seen of his layout.
The MR cover that kevin posted is indeed Linn Westcott's HO layout, but the guy in the photo is I believe Gordon Odegard. That interesting throttle in the photo was written up in that issue and if memory serves what looks like a steel cover for it is in fact highly gloss painted masonite!
Dave Nelson
I guess I got confused about what the thread was about. I thought we were trying to identify who was on the cover of the August 1968 issue. My mistake. Bill McClanahan's scenery book was one of he first ones I bought and I still have it although it is falling apart. I probably got it around 1977 and I forget which edition it is. I think the original edition came out in 1958. The techniques shown are still good today although new techniques are always being devised.
As for the cover of August 1968, I'm still guessing that's Linn Westcott.
Thank you guys - it was Bill McClanahan, and that is the cover. I never met him, but I have a Varney 4-8-4 that he weathered. I remembered incorrectly - it was the scenery manual, not MR.
maxmanLooked at the covers from 1960 to 1975. There are several with humans, several with humans holding a model railroad item, and several with tunnels. But I did not see one with a human holding a model railroad related item standing next to a tunnel.
Still pretty sure that the OP is thinking of the cover of the Kalmbach McClanahan scenery that book I posted way up the thread ...
... but that was before people got into the very pertinent (?) discussion of men's hats, so you might have missed it.
Layout Design GalleryLayout Design Special Interest Group
Looked at the covers from 1960 to 1975. There are several with humans, several with humans holding a model railroad item, and several with tunnels. But I did not see one with a human holding a model railroad related item standing next to a tunnel.
Looks like it's going to require somebody with access to the digital archive to answer the question. If you bring up that edition, that should tell you who authored the cover story.
Overmod This was on WMVS Milwaukee (the Public Television Library thinks it was 1972-1974 timeframe but is not sure). At least 8 VHS segments (29 minutes) were transcribed by the station in March 1988. Here is the WorldCat reference: https://www.worldcat.org/title/trains-tracks-and-trestles/oclc/17673701 [Edit: we had a thread on this back in 2014, and Dave Nelson found this reference then...https://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/t/239050.aspx]
This was on WMVS Milwaukee (the Public Television Library thinks it was 1972-1974 timeframe but is not sure). At least 8 VHS segments (29 minutes) were transcribed by the station in March 1988. Here is the WorldCat reference:
https://www.worldcat.org/title/trains-tracks-and-trestles/oclc/17673701
[Edit: we had a thread on this back in 2014, and Dave Nelson found this reference then...https://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/t/239050.aspx]
It didn't play on WOSU, the PBS affiliate in Columbus, OH, until the late 1970s. I got back into model railroading in 1977 and this was shortly after that when I saw it. I recognized Linn Westcott's name because he had written a primer for HO model railroading that I had bought. As I recall, the series was about elementary stuff which was just right for me since I had just gotten back into the hobby. I watched several episodes when they played. I distinctly remember one episode in which he demonstrated his hard shell scenery method using wadded up newspapers as a base. He had written a chapter about that in Bill McClanahan's scenery book which I also had bought.
I've run across Dave Frary a couple of times at shows in New England. He looked to be too young to be on a magazine cover in the 1950s.
The GF and I dressed up for dinner one night last year. I think it was her birthday. We went to a fancy steakhouse, but quickly noticed that a lot of diners were wearing 'beach casual', all the way down to tank tops, shorts and flip-flops. She had a long dress, and I had a tie. Our waitress, probably pining for the older days as we were, made a point of thanking us just for taking the trouble to dress up and at least looking like we belonged in a dining room with white tablecloths and cloth napkins.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Overmod No one has commented, though, on the REALLY dated thing he's wearing in the OP picture: those black-tinned Buddy Holly glasses that became a hallmark of serious engineers in the '50s-'60s era when that was like Corb glasses for would-be architects. Remember the villain driving the Charger in the famous Bullitt chase? Those.
No one has commented, though, on the REALLY dated thing he's wearing in the OP picture: those black-tinned Buddy Holly glasses that became a hallmark of serious engineers in the '50s-'60s era when that was like Corb glasses for would-be architects. Remember the villain driving the Charger in the famous Bullitt chase? Those.
Here are a couple pictures of Linn Westcott with those same kind of glasses. The first one is undated. The second was on the back cover of his book about John Allen's layout that went to press shortly after Linn died in 1980.
linnwestcott.jpg (206×261) (guidetozscale.com)
WestcottLinnH_(2).gif (263×291) (sphsaa.org)
Speaking of Linn Westcott, does anyone remember the series on PBS he hosted back in the late 1970s? I tried to find it on YouTube but no luck.
Here and I thought 'cumberbund' was the fandom name for Benedict Cumberbatch aficionados.
I wore a tie by choice for many years... under a cashmere V-neck sweater if having to work on or near rotating machinery. I still like collared button-downs which are incomplete without a good tie; if you can't abide them tight because you don't know how to adjust the knot, just loosen them enough to 'clear' with the top button undone. Ties also double as ninja sweatbands when worn around the forehead...
I have never been able to abide bow ties, though, and the only place I'll be caught with them is when I have formal wear on. I will confess, though, to having some excessively showy matched tie-and-cummerbund sets...
However, the closest I got to working on a layout in evening wear was running 20mph on a Precor demo treadmill at a trade event to show it could indeed be done. (I played blow pong in a 3-piece suit once, but that was the mark of a misspent youth...)
My grandfather wore hats all through the '40s and '50s time when everyone else did. He was bald at 60. I don't miss those hats at all.
The original post's question seems to have drifted a little. I can't comment on any of the old MR magazines. But ...
Like several posters have mentioned, I wore a tie every single day for 43 years. My daughters growing up probably did not know it was me if I didn't have a tie on.
I had an unwritten rule in my school that men teachers wore ties while in the building. Coaches and PE teachers were the only exceptions.
Retirement brought a change, but I still wear a tie to church.
When I was a kid, entering church meant going into a men's coat room where hats were all lined up on a shelf. The women all wore their hats into church.
York1 John
richhotrain John-NYBW If you look at pictures from the 1950s, men would wear suits and ties to ballgames. There was even an episode of Leave it to Beaver where Beaver had to put on a coat and tie to go to a game. If you saw men getting off a plane, almost all of them would have coat and tie. Then we have Ozzie Nelson who seemingly never left the house but always had on a sweater and tie. We once had a culture where many men wouldn't think of being seen in public without a coat and tie. Thank goodness those days are over. I retired in 2001 and the day I did, I took a scissors and cut up every tie I owned and have never donned one of those dreadful things since. There isn't an event important enough to get me to wear one of those again. If they try to put one on me when I'm in the casket, I'm going to get up and leave. I wear a tux and bow tie, even the cumberbund, whenever I go down to the layout. Rich
John-NYBW If you look at pictures from the 1950s, men would wear suits and ties to ballgames. There was even an episode of Leave it to Beaver where Beaver had to put on a coat and tie to go to a game. If you saw men getting off a plane, almost all of them would have coat and tie. Then we have Ozzie Nelson who seemingly never left the house but always had on a sweater and tie. We once had a culture where many men wouldn't think of being seen in public without a coat and tie. Thank goodness those days are over. I retired in 2001 and the day I did, I took a scissors and cut up every tie I owned and have never donned one of those dreadful things since. There isn't an event important enough to get me to wear one of those again. If they try to put one on me when I'm in the casket, I'm going to get up and leave.
I wear a tux and bow tie, even the cumberbund, whenever I go down to the layout.
Rich
Isn't the cumberbund cumbersome when working under the benchwork?
selector John-NYBW 7j43k Ties? Ties? I guess none of you young kids remember hats: There was a Jim Frye. And a Dave Frary. I don't recall a Dave Frye. Ed JFK is often credited with getting rid of the hat as a necessary accessory for men. He rarely wore one and soon men quit wearing them. Women, too.
John-NYBW 7j43k Ties? Ties? I guess none of you young kids remember hats: There was a Jim Frye. And a Dave Frary. I don't recall a Dave Frye. Ed JFK is often credited with getting rid of the hat as a necessary accessory for men. He rarely wore one and soon men quit wearing them.
7j43k Ties? Ties? I guess none of you young kids remember hats: There was a Jim Frye. And a Dave Frary. I don't recall a Dave Frye. Ed
Ties? Ties?
I guess none of you young kids remember hats:
There was a Jim Frye. And a Dave Frary. I don't recall a Dave Frye.
Ed
JFK is often credited with getting rid of the hat as a necessary accessory for men. He rarely wore one and soon men quit wearing them.
Women, too.
Given a choice between a hat or a tie, I'd take the hat every time.
Alton Junction
7j43k There was a Jim Frye. And a Dave Frary. I don't recall a Dave Frye. Ed
David Frye was a well known impressionist back in the 1960s, specializing in political figures. His most famous impressions were probably LBJ, Nixon and William F. Buckley.
David Frye "Celebrity Impressions" on The Ed Sullivan Show - Bing video