Model Legends

[Pacific231G]

Folk songs (especially the Country and Western variety) often have trains as their theme but I've never before come across one about the model variety.

 

 

This is by Larry Penn and seems to have been recorded in about 1980

 

For those who've not heard of him John Allen was the builder of the  Gorre and Daphetid Railroad at his houses in Monterey California. in the 1940s-early 1970s. He pioneered many aspects of Amercian model railroading. He is regarded there as something of a legend being seen by many as the greatest ever model railroader.  

The G&D grew from a 6ft8ins by 3ft8ins folded figure eight into a vast basement empire with floor to ceiling scenery that required eight operators for full scale operation. The final layout did though incorporate the first one.

 

He's often been credited in America with turning model railroading into an art form (perhaps in the way that John Ahern was here) but his layout was destroyed in a fire three days after he died of a heart attack in 1973 (the fire was caused by a small gas heater that his friends hadn't realised that Allen never used so switched on by mistake)

 

 a "gandy dancer" was the slang name for a section-hand and translates (more or less) as a platelayer .