photos in the hobby press reveals many just a notch or two above tinplate plan- ning or else crammed into spaghetti bowl trackage, filled with switches, sid- ings, industries, homes, mountains, all on a 4′-0″×8′-0″ piece of plywood. We had to include everything in them. Good looking, neat, well thought out layouts did exist, but were few and far between. Even larger layouts became crowded with numerous buildings, white-tired toy vehicles and cast people on thick cast bases. Landscaping was achieved with
wood framing and window screening with plaster of Paris or asbestos fiber cement daubed on. Don’t laugh! It coat- ed our coal fired home furnaces as well. Another material was Celastic sheets, which, when dampened, could be pressed into desired form over a sub- structure. Whatever the material, paint was daubed on with green saw- dust or whatever else to mimic nature, with random trees sparsely spotted about. Many HO building kits were made of wood-framed lithographed cardboard from manufacturers like Ideal, LeRoy, Skyline, Ayers, Argy, Suydam, and Westchester. In O gauge, Skyline litho- graphed cardboard and lithographed metal buildings existed, though many structures were scratchbuilt of wood framed bristol and illustration board following hobby press construction arti- cles. Plastics were new, so one could buy simple molded Skyline or Plasticville kits, precursors to what would later develop into better de- tailed, more accurate Revell. Close ex- amination reveals buildings were often aligned to face the front of the layout so as not to diminish their importance. An occasional Lionel station or accessory might wind up on an O scale layout. Even Frank Ellison used Lionel’s bas- cule bridge on his O scale Delta Lines. We had not evolved far yet from our tinplate roots. What is evident, is how frequently trolleys were included or were the exclusive raison d’etre for a home or club layout. Traction was a very important sub-group within the hobby. Pittman supplied O scale trac- tion models, as did Walthers, and in HO, there were Pennsylvania Scale Models, Model Tramway Systems, Walthers, Paul Moore and Eastern Traction Models, to name a few. When photographed, it was obvious
some modelers used box cameras to take badly lit, unclear overall flash shots to show off their mastery of layout design and execution. Shallow depth-of-field fo- cus on better cameras helped for close- ups on others. Many photos revealed what we would never allow today, glimpses of basement furnaces, over-
RAILROAD MODEL CRAFTSMAN
head joists and piping, unpainted cinder block walls sometimes decorated with posters and other railroadiana. Un-insu- lated attic rafters were obvious in im- ages and if work was displayed in a spare room, a bit of wall paper, perhaps a steam radiator and lace curtains or drapes, an arm chair were visible. So ad- vanced have digital cameras become, we can selectively focus in on scenes with- out making a viewer aware of the physi- cal space in which a layout exists, which today more often than not, is finished and well lit. The year 1954 represents a turning
point of sorts. RMC ran steam and diesel locomotive directories in November and December issues that year. In them are scale Japanese brass imports. International, an early im- porter, showed eleven HO steam loco- motives and one similar Lobaugh mod- el. This proved that imported brass was cheaper than domestic makes. What we once called superdetailed, die-cast locomotives paled in comparison with better, finer-fabricated Japanese brass. Italian Rivarossi had entered our mar- ket, too, with four HO models made to either run standard NMRA two-rail d.c. or inside third-rail European a.c. The Germans were next with nine, though no real competition, unlike Rivarossi’s American prototypes made expressly for sale here. There were fewer American HO pro-
totype diesels. One each came from International and Rivarossi and three from Tenshodo. Electric outline models were a mix of three HO and four O scale. Our hobby was beginning to evolve with a variety of imported
American prototypes we were not yet prepared to manufacture, particularly some steam and electric outline loco- motives. Diesels were duplicates of those already on the domestic market with E-units and F-units their edge be- ing quality of manufacture and price. The most exotic diesel was Rivarossi’s Baldwin shark nose. Variety was at last possible. The availability today of hi-tech super-detailed imports of all kinds, steam and diesel alike, pre- cludes the necessity of having to go the kitbash/scratchbuilt routes our fore- bearers had to endure. Comparing contemporary editorial content with 60-odd years ago reveals just how far we have come. Many hob- byists today build museum quality lay- outs undreamed of even by Frank Ellison, our guru and mentor who showed us the way. With an extensive available library on historic prototype railroads, standard and narrow gauge as well as traction, plus superb materi- als and details, hi-tech electronics and craftmanship, the trails and tribula- tions creating late postwar 1940’s to early 1950’s layouts and models are long past. We have matured to consider con- temporary layouts are as much art as hobby. We are freed from petty worries that frustrated our parents and grand- parents. Pouring through old maga- zines and catalogs makes me realize just how quaint and innocent that era was, as were we. The seeds were sown in the late 1930’s, but it was the fruit- ful postwar era that saw them nur- tured to eventually grow into where we are today. Enjoy!
The Dixie Line
NASHVILLE, CHATTANOOGA & ST. LOUIS RAILWAY by Charles B. Castner, Jr.
The Dixie Line was Grandpa’s Railroad. The snappy 1100 mile Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway was a class act with over 200 locomotives, 4000 employees, 7000 freight cars and its own marine fleet of barges and steam boats. Today it’s a vital part of the giant CSX System. With roots dating back before the Civil War, the NC&StL covered an area from the Mississippi river through to Atlanta. The road’s crack Dixie Flyer, Dixie Limited and Dixie Flagler were followed by the new Georgian and City of Memphis. This exciting book covers the early history and the herculean efforts needed during wartime to move traffic using any available equipment. The road beat out competitive roads by upgrading equipment in its own shops and stream- styling several 1913 vintage Pacifics. The first road diesels arrived in 1948 with complete dieselization occurring in 1953. The NC&StL merged into the
SCL System and CSX. Author Charles B. Castner was formerly with the Louisville & Nashville
Public Relations Dept. The book is packed with photos of the NC&StL both before and after the merger with the L&N. Streamlined steam power and a variety of diesels are included in the many photos. Samples of passenger rolling stock provide a clue to the services once offered.
8-1/2 x 11, Hardcover C00087 $26.95 + s & h
TO ORDER CALL: 1-888-526-5365 (M-F; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. e.s.t.) or FAX your order to us: 973-383-4064 (24/7) OR ORDER ONLINE:
www.carstensbookstore.com
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