I had seen many references to John Allen here and had seen some pictures of his work in MRR etc. I have heard him called the Wizard of Monterey, the Dean of Model Railroading...etc. I assumed he had done some pretty nice work in his time. In a thread somewhere here I saw a mention of a book, "Model Railroading with John Allen". I found out my local library could bring it in for me and had them do so. Well... I am at a loss for words. To say I am inspired would be an understatement.
I just had to tell somebody who would understand where I was coming from.
What a shame the Gorre & Daphetid was gutted by fire shortly after John's passing. It truly was an amazing layout.
Chip
Building the Rock Ridge Railroad with the slowest construction crew west of the Pecos.
There is no doubt the man was an artist in the real sense of the word, both in his modeling and his photography. But at the risk of stepping on some toes, any art no matter how good has its fans and not. I recognize JA was a great artist but his type of RR etc never really appealed to me. I have never really cared for the old old RR setting. What has always got me excited was 70's and 80's western modern RRing. There was guy who published some major artwork in MR regarding "modern" Rio Grande and that was awesome for me. He was from the Chicago area and his name was Rand Hood. He kinda dropped out of sight in the last 8 years.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
SpaceMouse wrote:Many of us have been inspired by the G & D, it was a milestone layout. But there are many layouts out there that are just as significant and inspiring--some even that were inspired by the G & D.
riogrande5761 wrote:There is no doubt the man was an artist in the real sense of the word, both in his modeling and his photography. But at the risk of stepping on some toes, any art no matter how good has its fans and not. I recognize JA was a great artist but his type of RR etc never really appealed to me. I have never really cared for the old old RR setting. What has always got me excited was 70's and 80's western modern RRing. There was guy who published some major artwork in MR regarding "modern" Rio Grande and that was awesome for me. He was from the Chicago area and his name was Rand Hood. He kinda dropped out of sight in the last 8 years.
I agree. I have seen some layouts belonging to members of the forum and some club layouts that are just as inspiring. I certainly don't mean to minimize the efforts of anyone who is involved with MRR today. I just had to say how impressed I was with John Allens work. I too am currently more interested in modelling a more modern era but I don't think scenery gets dated at all. One day I would like to have a level or a module devoted to the Steam Era but for now I like the Diesels. The 70's and 80's are a time in railroading that is important to me too. After all, I started with this great hobby in the 70's.
I am impressed mostly by the artistry in John Allens modelling more than the era or operation. The "grandeur" of his mountain scenes...the trackwork five feet from the floor, gracefull bridges spanning gaping canyons, mountains that reach to the ceiling and gorges plunging all the way to the floor and he had provisions for using real water on the layout. Something I have always wanted to investigate. Overall it's a pretty amazing layout. I'm sure it would have been something to see in person.
Hi Kevin:
http://www.gdlines.com/galleries.html Here is a google link to that site. You might like to spend some time there as well.
Johnboy out.........
from Saskatchewan, in the Great White North..
We have met the enemy, and he is us............ (Pogo)
http://www.gdlines.com/galleries.html
Clickable now
Great site that has many slides that didn;t make it into that book. Check it out.
"The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination."-Albert Einstein
http://gearedsteam.blogspot.com/
riogrande5761 wrote: There is no doubt the man was an artist in the real sense of the word, both in his modeling and his photography. But at the risk of stepping on some toes, any art no matter how good has its fans and not. I recognize JA was a great artist but his type of RR etc never really appealed to me. I have never really cared for the old old RR setting. What has always got me excited was 70's and 80's western modern RRing. There was guy who published some major artwork in MR regarding "modern" Rio Grande and that was awesome for me. He was from the Chicago area and his name was Rand Hood. He kinda dropped out of sight in the last 8 years.
I think you really need to keep it in the context it is. The 70's and 80's get you excited .... keep in mind, the 70's and 80's were in the distant future for John Allen. the terms DCC and RTR were almost unheard of and plastics were still in their infancy !!! Considering back in the 50's and 60's, a lot of model railroads had very little in the way of scenery and structures because most if not all had to be scratch-built. I can only imagine what John may have accomplished had he and his layout survived into the 70's and 80's !!! Regardless of whether his style appeals to you or not, you can't help but appreciate the results considering what was available at the time.
Mark.
¡ uʍop ǝpısdn sı ǝɹnʇɐuƃıs ʎɯ 'dlǝɥ
Mark R. wrote:I think you really need to keep it in the context it is. The 70's and 80's get you excited .... keep in mind, the 70's and 80's were in the distant future for John Allen. the terms DCC and RTR were almost unheard of and plastics were still in their infancy !!! Considering back in the 50's and 60's, a lot of model railroads had very little in the way of scenery and structures because most if not all had to be scratch-built. I can only imagine what John may have accomplished had he and his layout survived into the 70's and 80's !!! Regardless of whether his style appeals to you or not, you can't help but appreciate the results considering what was available at the time.Mark.
Excellent point!
I did forget to mention that nearly everything, if not EVERYTHING, John did was scratchbuilt.
last mountain - eastern hogger wrote:Hi Kevin:http://www.gdlines.com/galleries.html Here is a google link to that site. You might like to spend some time there as well.Johnboy out.........
Hey, thanks very much for the link! I had no idea...
On an other matter has anyone else noticed that the forum does not like the ampersand to appear within the quote blocks?
This is a quote from John Allens biography on the Gorre & Daphetid site linked above. I think this quote sums things up rather nicely. I hope my quoting without permission will be excused.
John was able to combine his formal art and photography training with modeling skill, close observation of the real world, and a knack for caricature to produce a truly imaginative effect in his model layouts. Since his time, some modelers have tried to imitate his style, while others have developed influential styles and approaches to the hobby of their own. Despite changes in the hobby, better products and materials, and the passage of time, his models and photos retain an irresistible appeal.
Art goes a long, long, long way.
Shep Paine, who could be called the John Allen of armour modelling, based the layout of his dioramas on a lot of fundamental design principles.
Paine's work leads one's eye around the scene much the same way the master painters such as Rembrandt lead one's eye around the painting.
Today, the dioramas he built in the 70s using kits that would now be regarded as inferior still stand up against anything anyone is doing today.
Study prototype railroads but also study artistic design.
Plan your track like a railroad, and plan your scene like an artist.
You'll be amazed at what you can do.
Craig
DMW