End of the Virginian & Ohio

[chatanuga]

Just saw this on the VandOHS · Virginian & Ohio Railroad Railfans (V&O) Yahoo group: 

===================================================================
> Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2008
23:05:27 -0500> Subject: Re: [J6-layout] Re: V&O -- End of an era (off topic)> >
This is REALLY off topic, but I thought you folks would want to know:> > Allen
and Sharon McClelland are selling their Miamisburg O., home and > moving to a
retirement community this spring. That will allow them to > gain better control
on their retirement funds and avoid heavy > housework. Allen would like to sell
the house with the V&O 2.0 > intact, of course. It is fully operational with
some basic scenery in > place. An open house is scheduled for Sunday, March 16.>
> Paul Dolkos, Steve King, and I are headed out there in mid-March to >
photograph and otherwise document every square inch of it for future > magazine
articles. An era is about to end. Hard as I try, I cannot > think of a single
individual who has contributed more to the > advancement of model railroading
from a runs-the-trains activity to > modeling a transportation system with a
walk-around design supported > by hidden staging.> > Now back to your regularly
scheduled programming....> > Tony K.>

Needless to say, we have a model railroading legend who will be missed.  As Tony said, Allen has contributed in a huge way to our hobby.  The V&O has been a huge inspiration in my attempt at realistic model railroading and the whole "beyond the basement" concept.

Mr. McClelland, thank you so much for all you have given us, and I wish you and your family well.

Kevin

http://chatanuga.org/WLMR.html

[CP5415]

All good things must come to an end. Hopefully a model railroader comes along & buys the place.

I had heard of the V&O in the past but I didn't really take notice until I watched Allen Keller's video on the V&O. That changed my whole view about wanting to see the entire layout from one spot. His ideas about layout design changed my idea & I'm building my current layout with ideas similar to his.

I was looking forward to seeing the new V&O completed.

Gordon

[tstage]

So, is Tony Koester implying that because Allen is moving and selling the V&O 2, he is also "retiring" from MRRing?  Just because he moves to a retirement community does not mean that he's necessarily done with modeling.  I've seen retirement homes that still have plenty of room in them.  Maybe Allen will decide to design and construct a smaller "V&O 3"?

Tom

[R. T. POTEET]

I had the pleasure of touring the V&O during the 2005 national convention - the only word to give justice to Allen McClellan's contribution to this hobby is FANTASTIC. I have hoped that somehow or another I would one day be able to make it back for a second tour in order to record the progress of V&O #2.

I for one hope that V&O #3 rises in the retirement community spelled S-U-N  C-I-T-Y or S-U-N  C-I-T-Y  W-E-S-T, A-R-I-Z-O-N-A!!!

I never really wanted to live in Miamisburg, Ohio - who needs snow? - but if I hit the POWERBALL tomorrow night I'll buy the place!!! Does anyone know if a snow blower is included in the sale???

[jasperofzeal]

I had the pleasure of touring the V&O during the 1905 national convention - the only word to give justice to Allen McClellan's contribution to this hobby is FANTASTIC. I have hoped that somehow or another I would one day be able to make it back for a second tour in order to record the progress of V&O #2...

Young man, that means you are 103 years old!!  Typo or legend?  Please let me know.

[R. T. POTEET]

I had the pleasure of touring the V&O during the 1905 national convention - the only word to give justice to Allen McClellan's contribution to this hobby is FANTASTIC. I have hoped that somehow or another I would one day be able to make it back for a second tour in order to record the progress of V&O #2...

Young man, that means you are 103 years old!!  Typo or legend?  Please let me know.

Ya'gotme, my friend; that kinda mistake tells me I aughta gotabed!!!

I killed my car at an intersection the other day; that is about the third or fourth time I've done that in my life. I have heard that if you do it five times you have to turn in your drivers license.

[fmilhaupt]

Wow.

This news hits me hard.

Those of us who are involved in prototype operation owe a HUGE debt to Allen. The V&O and the articles written about it were responsible for letting a lot of people know that realistic operation IS possible on a model railroad.

And he was doing it decades before most of us.

Most of the people I know who are into realistic operation cite Allen and the V&O as early inspirations.

I never saw the first V&O, and haven't been able to get down to see the V&O ver. 2.0, but I'll certainly try to make the trip to the open house.

I'd like to publically thank Allen here and now for all he has done to advance model railroad design and realistic operation.

 

[wm3798]

The V&O served as an inspiration to me back in the seventies when I was in the germination phase as a model railroader.  From the atmosphere of the scenery to the style of operations, I was always impressed with Allen's work.

I wish him well in his retirement, and hope that large chunks of the layout survive in some form or another.

Lee 

[fifedog]

For the longest time, I had thought the V & O was a real railroad.  I have watched GREAT MODEL RAILROADS VOL. 11, countless times.  To this day, I still prescribe to the "good enough" approach to modeling.

Good luck to Allen in his retirement.

[Heartland Division CB&Q]

Kevin ...... I'd like to know more, and sent a PM to you.

[jecorbett]

I have been influenced by a lot of the great modelers who came before me but in terms of layout concept and design, Allen McClelland has had the greatest influence on my current layout. My mainline is a linear, around the room layout design, with a branchline planned for a center peninsula. A train will never pass through the same scene twice. While that is not unusual today, it was certainly not the norm when Allen began his first V&O. Spaghetti bowl design was much more common as modelers tried to squeeze as much mainline as they could in a limited space.

It doesn't seem that long ago that I was reading about the dismantling of the V&O 1 and the birth of the V&O 2. How long had the V&O 2 been in existence. I grabbed one great idea from the V&O 2 which was the use of a long papermill along the backdrop opposite my main classification yard. It filled a big void and gave me an interesting industry to service as well.

Thanks again to Allen for the contributions he has made to this great hobby.

[BRAKIE]

That is sad indeed and truly a era has came to a end.
Allen and Tony was very instrumental in the planing and modeling a fully believable freelance railroad.I have planned and modeled several freelance railroads following their lessons..

I wish Allen and Sharon the best in the coming years.

[PASMITH]

I can remember Allen's first MR cover and still have that issue. I am very fortunate to have had the opportunity to visit V & O 1. Whether we are armchair modeler's or master builders, his work has enriched us and I wish he and his family all the best having confidence that the V & O and his work will continue it's natural evolution in one form or another with this move.

Peter Smith, Memphis

[Anonymous]

Another great model railroad comes to an end....

I never got to see any of the different versions of the V&O, and I won't be able to make it to the open house either.... "Hey dad, will you drive me to Ohio?" Yeah right!

I certainly hope he builds another V&O in the retirement home! I know I could never give up model railroading.... 

[chatanuga]

Well, as far as I'm concerned, the V&O will live on.  I'm modeling Mansfield, Ohio, which is at the northern end of the V&O.  South of my "MF Tower" is where I've pictured my interchange with the V&O (my Columbus staging yard), and I've always envisioned V&O traffic and run through power heading up to Cleveland through Mansfield on my ficticious North-South route through Mansfield.

Would be nice to see Atlas, Athearn, or somebody come out with a couple V&O locomotives or cars.  I've got one of the 50-foot V&O boxcars that Allen allowed to have made about three years ago but would love to get more cars added to my fleet.

Kevin

http://chatanuga.org/WLMR.html

[cjcrescent]

Would be nice to see Atlas, Athearn, or somebody come out with a couple V&O locomotives or cars.  I've got one of the 50-foot V&O boxcars that Allen allowed to have made about three years ago but would love to get more cars added to my fleet.

Kevin

http://chatanuga.org/WLMR.html

Kevin;

Emphasis mine, but I'd start looking for Train Miniature 2-bay hoppers from the mid 1970's. They offered at least 3 cars. These were 2-bay hoppers lettered for the V&O, Tony Koester's AM and Jim Hediger's OS. Other roads and car types may have been offered as well, but these are the ones I have.

[wm3798]

Could it be that the V&O and the Allegheny Midland have been absorbed by VMX?

Lee 

[dmitzel]

I'm not concerned about Allen's future model railroading endevors... he has been quoted before (LDSIG LDJ Yards Issue) as to his thoughts about moving into a condo or other small housing. His thoughs then would be to build a yard (with staging) if faced with less square footage. Also, one MRP he showed a plan to fit into a spare bedroom. Larger doesn't always have to equal better.

I wish him and his wife well in their future home.

[jamnest]

I hope Model Railroader gets someone to the layout for lots of photos before it is dismantled. The "V&O" and its creator has had a significant influence on my modeling.

JIM

[V&AL]

I doubt that the V&O and the AM have been absorbed by the VMX.  A while back I contacted Tony abotu merging the AM with my Virginia and Alleghenny to form the V&ALM: Virginia & Alleghenny Midland.  He told me he didn't want to end the history of the AM.  Instead the V&AL, A&O, and AM all interchange at verious points.  I need to sit down with a detailed map and figgure out jsut where though....

[Tom Curtin]

Let's clarify . . . this is the SECOND V&O that is for sale, right?  I recall McClelland's previous announcement a decade or so ago, to sell his house with the FIRST V&O intact (Did that sale attempt succeed?)

[slotracer]

I was quietly concerned when I saw the old V&O was going as they were moving.  It struck me Allen had to be up in years as his model RR was gaining in popularity 35 years ago and was started in the early sixties....I figured he probably had to be at least in his mid seventies to early eighties.  That is an older age to begin a large and ambitious layout.....although Harold Weirthein's (SP?) Erie is massive and I think he was in his upper years when that was started..... Either way, sad news to hear the end of an era like this, however inevitable.

[chatanuga]

Let's clarify . . . this is the SECOND V&O that is for sale, right?  I recall McClelland's previous announcement a decade or so ago, to sell his house with the FIRST V&O intact (Did that sale attempt succeed?)

Yes, this is the second V&O.

The original was dismantled when he last moved, although a couple parts of it were used in the second V&O, and another section was saved for in a museum (can't remember where right off hand).

Kevin

http://chatanuga.org/WLMR.html

[wjstix]

IIRC the 1905 convention was in New York, seems to me the tour of the Ives plant was the high point although that Joshua Lionel Cowan kid looks like he's got a chance at success. My favorite seminar was "MICROSCOPIC MODELLING - Is O gauge too small to succeed??"

Our side trip to the Polo Grounds to see Christy Mathewson pitch for the NY Giants was nice too.

Only sad part was in the hotel lobby display layout, someone knocked over the open container of battery acid that was helping power the trains and burned a hole all the way down to the basement!!

 

[Master of Big Sky Blue]

Oh if only I lived closer.

I tried to purchase the first V&O intack but couldn't get anybody to listen to my proposal. Now I to entangled with my career to be able to purchase the house and finsih the railroad. Also Wyoming to Ohio would be a big shift. It would probably be easier to move the layout from Ohio to Wyoming. But I don't even want to consider the logistics that would be involved.

James

[PA&ERR]

The NMRA Mid-Central Region, Division 9 Newsletter "Up In The Holler" has a good article on the V&O's last open house. It mentions that Allen Keller and his video crew were there so there will probably been a V&O finale in his GMR series soon...

www.coaldivision.org/Newsletter_2.2.pdf

-George

[Dean-58]

I followed "The V&O Story" avidly in RMC, back in the day, and Allen's ideas for creating a Transportation System that reached Beyond the Basement were as important as the late Frank Ellison's ideas for running a model RR like the real thing--and telling us how to create the scenes.  I particularly liked Allen's development of his Diesel fleet, from color schemes to the "torpedo boat" air tanks on some of his F-units.

RMC published the series in book form, some years back, but I don't know if it's still available.  Will one of the Brethren please check this out for those of us with NO MEMORY?  As was said in the recent MR story on the V&O, Allen's "Good Enough" way of doing things was very good, indeed, and should be mentioned often for those who're on their second or third model RRs And Really Getting Down to Brass Tacks (and N-S tracks).

[PASMITH]

George, from your last quote:

""And the sons of Pullman porters and the sons of engineers ride their father's magic carpet made of steel...""

George, somehow, these seem to be appropriate words for this thread. Do you recall the name of V & O's crack passenger train and if so, where is Willie Nelson or Arlo Guthrie when you need them?

Peter Smith, Memphis

[Autobus Prime]

Wow.

This news hits me hard.

Those of us who are involved in prototype operation owe a HUGE debt to Allen. The V&O and the articles written about it were responsible for letting a lot of people know that realistic operation IS possible on a model railroad.

fm:

Yup. He was like a 1970s Frank Ellison.

The V&O was a great railroad. I too hope we will see a new V&O. It will be an excellent chance for McC to atone for his lamentable sin of diseaselization. I suggest burning an offering of Pocahontas coal before the glorious Allegheny at the B&O Museum, at the very least :D

One of my favorite V&O stories was the utterly sensible way it was built, as described in an old RMC issue, I forget which. It takes a real man to admit that he uses nails and glue on L-girders, and that he mixes construction methods...but the nails and glue worked (the glue provides the strength, as A McC pointed out) and the construction methods worked. This may have been V&O 2, perhaps.

A new, more compact V&O that used the same operational concepts but in an easier-to-manage form would be a very handy thing for a lot of us.

[corsair7]

I followed "The V&O Story" avidly in RMC, back in the day, and Allen's ideas for creating a Transportation System that reached Beyond the Basement were as important as the late Frank Ellison's ideas for running a model RR like the real thing--and telling us how to create the scenes.  I particularly liked Allen's development of his Diesel fleet, from color schemes to the "torpedo boat" air tanks on some of his F-units.

RMC published the series in book form, some years back, but I don't know if it's still available.  Will one of the Brethren please check this out for those of us with NO MEMORY?  As was said in the recent MR story on the V&O, Allen's "Good Enough" way of doing things was very good, indeed, and should be mentioned often for those who're on their second or third model RRs And Really Getting Down to Brass Tacks (and N-S tracks).

I followed that series too. I was fascinated by what Allen was able to accomplish but I also realized to do what he did required more than an average salary  and more than average talent and skill. Still, those who can accomplish these feats are the ones who give the rest of us some incentive to do something nice in the space we have.

I have the V & O Story and because I was able to buy in 2004, was finally able to read the entire series on it. I think it's still available but I don't remember seeing it advertised in RMC.

Another of my favorite railroads is Bruce Chubb's but I haven't seen anything about it or an article by him in years.

Irv