Each week the Book Club takes up an older issue of MR so that those with the issue, or have the All Access Pass to the Digital Archive, or have the DVD of past issues, can read it through and post any thoughts, comments, or reactions they may have. Of course anybody is free to post here but it obviously really helps to have read the issue.
Last wee's look at an issue from the 1940s did not seem to get many comments or "hits" and I sense that people really prefer an issue recent enough that the content is relevant and useful today. Every once in a while however I will dip back into the very old issues.
I remember getting the April 1973 issue and the cover hit me, and I suspect many, many others, with a jolt: a photo of John Allen framed in black, with a photo of the G&D to the side. The only words were "John Allen." He had died January 6. Linn Westcott's "At the Throttle" editorial was all about John and filled 10 pages of pictures and text. This was the origin of Westcott's book "Model Railroading With John Allen" that I believe MicroMark still sells. It includes some of the classic Allen photos and models, including the prize winning enginehouse that scandalized some folks in the 1940s with its realistic modeling of pidgeon droppings on the roof and other weathering.
The sad news about John Allen totally overshadowed the announcement of former MR editor Paul Larson's death on page 81.
There are as usual many other things of interest in the issue: an E.L. Moore structure article, drawings of the GE 44 tonner and an article on using fiber optics by Derek Verner. I won't say more about those articles: read them and post your thoughts and comments.
I remember admiring John Pryke's astounding conversion of the AHM HO scale Indiana Harbor Belt 0-8-0 into a New Haven prototype in the November 1965 issue -- but in this issue Pryke does the same conversion with the O scale version that AHM released (and sold at very low prices) and it is even more astounding.
As usual the ads (and the prices) will get some attention -- note the huge number of classified ads at the back of the magazine -- but I would call your attention to the Trade Topics review of a cast aluminum New Haven coach in O scale on page 28. Now look at the angry letter about that review on page 12 of the July 1973 issue. An interesting perspective because the guy starts out seeming to want more challenging, craftsman-type kits but then says MR needs product reviewers with less experience in the hobby. It is a nonintuitive perspective to say the least.
1973 was an interesting year overall for Model Railroader magazine and I think you will find the April '73 issue to be enjoyable reading - and I hope, worthy of comment.
Dave Nelson
Dave,
I remember that issue well. As you said, Paul Larson died about the same time. two very large losses in the model railroad community.
I had been following Paul Larson in RMC - He was building a new O scale layout and was writing great articles with lots of vintage 50's photo's of Wisconsin rail subjects. I am sure most of those railfan trips were funded by Kalmbach back in the 50's!
Paul had left Kalmbach in the early 60's, and IIRC - went to work for Fuller Brush out east. He eventually returned to Milwaukee(working for one of the beer companies). It was then that he started on his O scale layout. Another 'ahead of his time' modeler. At least we had Tony Koester & Allen McClelland to keep the hobby moving forward.
I have gotten back from Vietnam in 1972, and was just completing school(and then off to Xerox, then IBM). My modeling had slowed down(school/girls), but I was active in the planning/dreaming department.
I built one of those AHM O scale 0-8-0 engines when I was in Vietnam. My parents used to send me model railroad stuff to work on(so I would not return as one of those 'drugged out' vets). A LHS owner(Gary Kraus at the Division Point Shop) used to send me free copies of MR & RMC as well.
By the summer of 1973, I was fully into the work force. My interests waffled between trains and girls(this was the age of free love). Raising children & travel for work put a dent into the hobby, but my MR collection just kept growing.
Dave, thanks for bringing back the memories!
Jim Bernier
Modeling BNSF and Milwaukee Road in SW Wisconsin
The Ambroid wood & metal Santa Fe 50 ft. reefer kit brought back memories. I built that kit, and several others by Ambroid.
I won't get into the question about the suitability of the NH passenger car review except to say that the review, as usual, is uncredited. We don't know who wrote it. Thankfully, MR (as well as RMC) prints the name of the reviewer nowadays. Keeps 'em honest.
I've never been a big fan of John Allen (I know: Heresy!). He was a consummate craftsman, but his final product always seemed a bit too cartoonish to me. I thought of the G&D and the DG&H in much the same way that I thought of Carl Fallberg's Fiddletown & Copperopolis. It didn't look like any railroad I'd ever seen in real life. Nevertheless, the tribute to him was entirely appropriate. As I said, he was a great craftsman. He showed everybody that the models on our layouts shouldn't look like they had just fallen out of the box. He made weathering respectable, even as he overdid it. If a figure he wanted wasn't available, he sculpted one out of wax. Floor-to-ceiling scenery was virtually unknown untiil he showed that it could be done.
In contrast, Paul Larson's obit was certainly subdued. I've heard it said that he was less popular within the Kalmbach organization than is generally known, but I certainly don't have any inside information. Whether he was likeable or not Paul was certainly another innovative craftsman. His Mineral Point & Northern was documented in another issue of MR, maybe in the 1980's. The railroad was, like Allen's, a freelance shortline; but the MP&N did look like someplace we might have actually seen in real life. As an editor, he brought a lot of fine work, from a lot of fine modelers, layout planners, and writers, to the pages of MR. I was surprised to read that he was only MR's editor for about 4 years, because he seemed to have an impact that spanned a greater time frame.
The back cover is a sentimental favorite: PFM/United's PRR L1s 2-8-2, the first PFM engine I ever owned (I bought mine a few years earlier).
Tom
A great tribute to John Allen was written by Linn Westcott. I have seen bits and pieces of Johns RR before but this issue had a lot of content. The depth of his scenes was something to see. A nice control panel shown. The house must have been quite old as a wooden support column was noticed on one of the shots.
Does anyone know if, for the most part MR contained all of Johns book over the years or did "Model railroading with John Allen" contain new content never shown in MR? Never had a chance to buy the book when it was reasonably priced.
Jim
I'm pretty sure there are a ton of pictures in Linn's book that were never in the magazine. I'm sure there are many that you would have seen before. I keep meaning to try and get a copy, it's been out of print for years and the hardcover version goes for huge money when you find one.
I think a large part of the thinking that John Allen's layout was 'cartooney' comes from not what was published in articles on his work, but those Varney ads he took pictures for - those look out of place, with contemporary era Varney rolling stock sitting on his layout. A Docksider in the old West? Sheesh! OK, so he had a Stegosaurus hauling timber. But are we all so serious as to never be able to have a slight biut of fun? Overall if you look at the G&D there wasn't a lot of cartoonish about it, and certainly not when it was operated, prototypical fashion. Gimmicks? Perhaps, like the mirror that made Port Plastics look twice as big as it was, or the infinite parking garage. Those buzzer cars that lit up and buzzed if you coupled them too hard - silly? Perhaps, but it also kept you honest and didn't allow you to slam bang the cars around when switching, because you never knew if John had one of his trick cars in your consist.
Maybe we've become spoiled by the trend away from freelancing and more towards protoype replicas which has been the trend in the hobby press for the past few years. Most of the big name freelancers either no longer have a layout (McClelland) or have switched to a protype layout (Koester, Chubb). Outside of the somewhat silly name (which John Allen himself said later on that he wished he had changed) (and silly names were all the rage in those days - just read the postwar issues, Gorre & Daphetid is actually pretty mild compared to some pike names), John built the G&D to operate as well as show off artistic skill.
Compounding the loss of the man himself, the subsequent destruction of the layout by fire has got to be one of the bigger tragedies in model railroad history.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Benchmark reprinted it a few years ago, and you can buy hardcover copies at bobhayden.com.
I am always struck, even now, by the sheer number of people I have met who have to one degree or another been influenced by John Allen. It's extraordinary; I don't know of anyone else who has a compable following. I always find something compelling and attractive in his modeling, even when I know it's not "right." I think it must just be that he has captured something interesting and appealing in every scene, and that's intrinsically interesting enough that I am willing to overlook the things that aren't quite right. I can think of some other modelers I have seen over the years whose work evokes the same response: John Olson, Bob Hayden, Dave Frary, Malcolm Furlow, Tim Warris, Ken Kirkwood - the list could go on and on, but you get the idea.
http://mprailway.blogspot.com
"The first transition era - wood to steel!"
This is one of those issues I can remember exactly where I bought it -- at the Stars and Stripes Bookstore in Hainerberg Shopping Center, Wiesbaden, Germany. It was always a thrill when the ne edition of MR arrived, but seeing John had passed away made it a bit of a downed that day. I had just gotten pretty familiar with his work in the last couple of years after entering the hobby in 1970.
I think when you become well-known for something, eveno if you're notably accomplished, people tend to try to find fault. I guess I've always been a net-positive sort of person, so could never quite figure out where people found negative things to say. It was his layout. Sure, a lot of it was extra spectacular, but I accepted it for what it was, not for the railroad I was going to build. In any case, what I found most attarctive was beyond what was in the pictures and that was how he thought about his layout and the hobby and what people wrote about him and his ideas. Yes, no doubt the pics were impressive, but what counted most to me was the way he went about his art.
But there was the good with the bad. Off the Train Wire offered that the hobby was growing ast a rate of 6% to 7%. MR was awaiting confirmation that the Dec. 1972 issue broke over the 150,000 threshold for the 1st time.
That SS LTD Dinky Creek Bridge was very attractuve and outside my price range at $15.00. Balboa had a bunch of cabooses, your choice, $22.50.
Shades of some of our Forum controversies, because some folks were wrining their hands over the fact that multiple magazines printed pics of the NMRA national contest winners
Lots of HOn3 offerings, including brass Gramps and narrowframe tank cars from Westside. Also "The Narrow Gauge Silverton Train" book is reviwed, as is the Timberline Models National Belle mine kit (later picked up by Campbell). My version:
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
I learned a lot about John Allen and the history of the G&D. It was interesting to see the human side of him including the fact that he could be rather demanding of his operators. I'd only seen a few pictures of the G&D so seeing more was interesting too.
I also learned more about fiber optics. The different lighting effects based on how the fiber was flared was quite educational. I was also a bit suprised to see the article in 1973. I had always thought that fiber optics was a more recent technology.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
dknelsonLast week's look at an issue from the 1940s did not seem to get many comments or "hits" and I sense that people really prefer an issue recent enough that the content is relevant and useful today.
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
Me and my compter ran out of steam together last night, so called it quits at that point. Now for a few more observations...
Atlas had 6-wheel desel switchers in both N ($8) and O ($20) in Trade Topics reviews, plus Kadee/MicroTrains had a double-door bixcar in addition to its single-door 40 footer, signaling N was getting seriously scale. Covering all the bases, a N scale Atlas 0-6-0 also popped up in the Hobbyshop Window.
Train-Minature was always one of my faves and they have a whole page full of reefers to drool over.
Harry Gill's traction layout was impressive and another example of how traction was still a regular attraction in the pages of MR in those days.
That 44-tonnere article had me wishing for one. Tried to oerder a Keystone version a few years later and it was backordered forever. Finally came up with several from Bachmann, one of which I've converted to dual-gauge couplers.
I really like that E.L. Moore Cal's Lumberyard, a classic and compact little industry that I may just have to build. Hmmm.
The Tony Cumneen pic of Jack Collier's MOTM WM Shay is impressive. I guess that's the one you can ride behind at Cass now? The horn-hook couplers look just a little weird on it, though.
The dome flasher article is a reminder of how far we've come electronically in 40+ years. Not an LED in sight.
Prior to 1968, LEDs were on the order of $100+ each. New manufacturing techniqued devloped then quickly dropped the prices, but they were still a couple of bucks each in the early 70's - and there was only red, yellow, and green. No blue, no white. And only in T-5 size. Even in the late 80s, when my senior college lab project was an LED screen oscilloscope, the 160 LEDs in it cost around $80. It's pretty recently that manufacturing techniques have developed which allows those Chinese makers to sell LEDs for a couple of cents each, almost as cheap as resistors.
It's pretty amazing what he accomplished with grain-of-wheat bulbs and primitive mechanical contrivances. We would consider an automated day-night sequence a real achievement: that John Allen did it with such primitive materials speaks volumes about his ingenuity and imagination (as well as his spare time).
mlehman I really like that E.L. Moore Cal's Lumberyard, a classic and compact little industry that I may just have to build. Hmmm.
Given the continued interest in E L Moore articles and structures on these Forums I did anticipate and expect more comment about this particular article, one of his less remarked structure articles, but a really impressive bit of modeling.
The comments about E. L. Moore's Cal's Lumberyard caused me to go back and look through the April 1973 issue again. It is indeed an interesting structure, and it would require a bit of patience to get all the building vents assembled properly. However, I do have a small bone to pick with one aspect of the main structure. The front face of the building shows the flat board cladding applied horizontally. That's not very prototypical IMHO. It would be more appropriate for the boards to be applied vertically, or, if they were horizontal, they would be applied in an overlapping 'clapboard' style. Anyhow, that really isn't a big deal and the model is very interesting despite the perceived anomaly.
The other article that I took a second look at was John T. M. Pryke's 1/4 scale Y4B kitbash. I had skipped over the article the first time through simply because it was 1/4 scale and I'm into HO. However, a second look revealed some very intricate detail and some fine modeling. I'll have to broaden my perspective when reviewing the older issues in the future.