RAILROAD DINING, ART, AND CULTURE IN REVIEW BY JAMES D. PORTERFIELD Margaret Mailly (1930-2014)
Erie Lackawanna Historical Society Two New ELHS Exclusives
Erie and DL&W Erie Lackawanna Historical Society
Wreck Trains by Ron Dukarm Available through the
MAITLAND TOWER HO
Maitland Tower
Erie Crossing Shanty
The Maitland Tower kit builds into a model of the tower's initial configuration and can be modified to represent a number of other Erie west end towers. Maitland also broke up the block between Glen Echo and Cold Springs on the Dayton Branch and was used by the DT&I to issue trains orders. This served to extend the tower life more than anything else and remained in service well into the Conrail years. Crossing Shanty not included
Member price $5200
plus $8.95 s&h (US Funds Only)
Non-member price $6500
This kit builds into a model representing crossing shanties located throughout the Erie west end.
#55 June 1996 in the Rain in Lebanon, 2000. ARTWORK BY MARGARET MAILLY, COURTESY OF THE MAILLY TRUST
A RECENT EMAIL from watercolorist Margaret Mailly’s daughter Eileen called my attention to Margaret’s passing on November 30, 2014. I came to know Margaret, by telephone and through correspondence, while at Penn State, when assembling an exhibit in 2005 for the University’s annual Railroad Heritage Con- ference on the Altoona campus. Margaret was memorable for her charm and warmth, for the fact that she was still active despite advanc- ing age, and that she was a female in a pre- dominantly male occupation (not to mention her skill as an artist). A subsequent conversation with Eileen, an autobiographical sketch Margaret wrote in 2000, and other sources, provide insights into the motivations and methods of a railroad artist at work.
The Artist
Margaret Mailly was born September 15, 1930, in Dayton, Ohio, the oldest child of Mary Elizabeth (nee Blair) and H. Robert Graman. She attended Stivers High School in Dayton, where she studied art with Martha K. Schauer. At age 14 she won second prize for a coat design, with the result that a pic- ture of her appeared in the March 1945 issue of Calling All Girls. A self-taught artist, Margaret relied on lo-
cal resources — the library and local galleries — for inspiration and instruction. She was especially drawn to painters of the industri- al landscape. The bold cylinders, buildings, heavy equipment, and railroads found in the works of Charles Sheeler, for example, caught her attention. Sheeler, and others — the fig- ures of George Bellows, historic landscapes of John Steuart Curry, the dramatic use of dark colors by Winslow Homer, and limited colors of Andrew Wyeth — all influenced her
development. To increase her skill at paint- ing figures, she eventually took classes at the Cincinnati Art Academy. Her first marriage, to James McDonald, re-
sulted in two children, but ended in divorce. She subsequently married Howard Everett Mailly, a widower with six children of his own. As a result, despite her creative bent, raising a large family and working as an ency- clopedia salesperson, a dental assistant, and a Welcome Wagon hostess, came to dominate Margaret’s early adulthood. She nonetheless continued to paint, exhibiting at sidewalk fes- tivals and in local art shows, networking with other artists, getting feedback and advice. An interesting insight into one artist’s acquisi- tion of skills emerges in this sentence: “I went to work as a dental assistant, where I learned ‘hands on’ . . . about facial anatomy.” Margaret was, by definition, a fine artist, comfortable painting landscapes, seascapes, and non-objective abstracts, as well as trains. But railroads, including historic trains and the people who keep them running, are clear- ly a subject she enjoyed and captured well. That her works were often populated became one of her hallmarks. By 1990, her children grown and her work
selling, Margaret was able to make a full-time commitment to painting. In all, she produced approximately 500 works, 80 percent of which are of railroading.
Methodology
“I was always intensely aware of the sights and sounds around me,” Mailly has written. Another insightful story: “I had two talented, busy youngsters, and was busy driving one or the other of them from activity to activity, always dropping off and picking up, but al- ways carrying a sketch pad. I never minded
This 100 page, five chapter spiral bound book includes 153 photos of Lackawanna, Erie, and EL wreck cranes and their associated equipment. Most of these photographs are being published for the first time. The book also includes 36 drawings and equipment charts. Ron thoroughly covers the complete roster of wrecking cranes, wreck trains, and wrecking procedures of all three railroads. Ron also provides the first ever explanation of Erie's mysterious Maintenance Of Way numbering system.
ERIE CROSSING SHANTY
Member price $1400
plus $8.95 s&h
(US Funds Only) STILL AVAILABLE
Member price HO $5000
$8.95 s&h HO $5000
Erie Lackawanna Historical Society Erie Steam Locomotive Diagram Book Book No. 2 (1944)
ERIE L ACKAWANNA H ISTORICAL 201 S OCIETY 5 Calendar
Erie Passenger Equipment Diagram Book Book No. 76, May 1952
DL&W Locomotive Classificaton Diagram Book Revised July 1st 1939
DL&W Classification of Freight Equipment Corrected to May 1, 1952
The Maitland Tower kit builds into a model of the Erie Crossing Shanty
Erie Lackawanna Passenger Equipment Diagram Book, Book No. 15, Issued Aug. 30, 1966.
Maitland Tower $32.00 Erie Lackawanna Freight Equipment
Member price $795
Diagram Book, Book No. 78, Updated May 9, 1975
(Book prices are non-member. Please allow 4-6 weeks delivery)
Payments in US funds will only be accepted Add $1 shipping
plus $8.95 s&h $4.25 s&h (US Funds Only) each additional calendar
www.erielackhs.org Dealer Inquiries Welcome
Order from: ELHS, Department RF Jay Held, 10-10 ELLIS AVE, FAIR LAWN, N.J. 07410 No phone calls will be accepted For information send SASE
RMC N.Y., N.J., PA & Ohio res. add sales tax. Outside US extra s&h.
ELHS membership at $35 per membership cycle. Cycle includes four issues of our magazine “The Diamond” and four newsletters with modeling
information. Separate check please. Send to: ELHS c/o Randy Dettmer, 290 W. Prospect St., Hudson, OH 44236
57
14 GREAT PHOTOS! plus
Non-member price $995
$32.00
$32.00 $24.00 $30.00 $21.00
N2015 ELHS CALENDAR Books from
Member price $3800 (US Funds Only)
US Funds Only $8.95 s&h
plus N
$1696Erie Waldwick Interlocking Tower HO & N $8.95 s&h
plus
Non-member price $1750
DL&W Vestal, N.Y. Station plus
(US Funds Only) Member price STILL AVAILABLE
Non-member price $1995
Non-member price HO $6500
Non-member price HO $6500 $4800
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72