John Allen Memorial Breakfast: Celebrating a Legendary Model Railroader on July 2

For model railroaders of a certain age (like me), the name John Allen is very familiar.

Allen, also known as the "wizard of Monterey," achieved near god-like status in the 1950s and 60s with his legendary HO scale Gorre & Daphetid (Gory and Defeated) layout.

Allen died in 1973. On July 2 the Miami Valley Division of the NMRA is calling on model railroaders around the world to celebrate what would have been his 100th birthday with the John Allen Memorial (JAM) Breakfast.

The mark the occasion, they are suggesting that model railroaders enjoy a traditional railroader's breakfast of flapjacks and jam from strawberries, the big crop from around Monterey (where John lived).

They are also inviting people to take time to reflect on Allen's contributions to the hobby, and his legacy. More info and downloadable files in several languages can be found on this web page or this Facebook page.

More info about Allen can be found on the GD Lines website, a website dedicated to his life and modelling.  (And from where the photos on this page were taken.) Another excellent website about Allen is called John Allen's Gorre & Daphetid; it can be found here.

On a personal note, Allen was a tremendous inspiration to me. Growing up in the 1960s, I couldn't get enough of his fabulous layout, reading each issue of MR or RMC featuring the G & D again and again. I marvelled at his floor-to-ceiling scenery, backdrops, structures, trackwork and overall operational plan.

In the mid-1980s I was able to see a bit of Allen's modelling when I visited the home of Cliff Robinson (creator of the famed MUT Lines) in Dallas. 

Robinson was a friend of Allen's, and he had in his possession one of Allen's steam locomotives. It was cool to be that close to Allen, and to model railroading history. 

More Photos of Rich Loveman's Great Canadian Model Railroad

Earlier, I posted some photos of Rich Loveman's CN and CPR in the Thompson River Canyon (featured in the 2011 issue of Model Railroad Planning).

In the post, I wrote about how Rich had done such a superb job of modelling both sides of the canyon, with CN and the CPR on opposite sides (as in real life). He truly created a Great Canadian Model Railroad.

I also wrote about how Rich had tragically passed away from cancer last year at the age of 63 (before he could finish the layout). It was a privilege for me to pay tribute to Rich and his modelling by sharing photos he sent to me before he died, along with photos supplied by Tony Koester and Rich's friend, Bill Botkin.

Bill told me that he would try to get over to Rich's layout one more time to take a few more photos; with permission from Rich's wife, Alice, he was able to do that recently. His photos of Rich's amazing modelling are in this post for all to enjoy--and marvel at.

The future of the layout is uncertain; if I learn more, I will post it here.

Florida to New Jersey by Train in under Three Minutes

Every week, a CSX train pulled by two GE Evolution locomotives travels from Florida to New Jersey,  hauling 41 refrigerated freight cars of Tropicana orange juice.

The folks at GE mounted two HD cameras to the lead unit of one of those trains and compressed the 1,200 mile, 48-hour trip into a video of under three minutes--156 seconds, to be precise.

Click here to see it. The guy cleaning the windows in Philadelphia is a nice touch!

Click here for a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the video.

The Gravy Train and Other Railway Idioms

"Ending the Gray Train: Toronto's Not on Track Yet."

That was a headline in the May 30 Globe and Mail. It was a play on words from Toronto's embattled mayor, Rob Ford, who rode to power promising to "stop the gravy train."

Not being a resident of Toronto, I'm not as interested in the foibles of its mayor as much as I was taken by the words "gravy train." We see that used so many times to describe people--usually politicians--who take the easy way to riches, usually via the public purse.

But where did the phrase originate? And why is it still in use today when so few people actually take a train? And what other railway idioms are still in use?

The common explanation is that a "gravy run" or "gravy train" meant an easy run with good pay for the train crew--gravy being slang for something easy or cushy. Another suggests its because gravy is something luxurious, and a train ride is relaxing and requiring no effort on the part of the passenger.

Whatever the origin, we all know what it means today--it's not a compliment, unless we might be on that train, of course; otherwise, we want to stop it.

Gravy train isn't the only railway idiom still in use today. Others include having a one track mind; being railroaded (possibly due to the actions of the 19th century U.S. railroad barons); off the rails and back on the rails; thin as a rail; train of thought; end of the line; and train wreck (as in, "his life is a train wreck").

Some of them are anachronistic, like "that train has left the station." Many fewer trains leave stations today, but nobody says "that plane has left the airport" or "that bus has left the terminal" to describe the moment when it's too late for additional thoughts or decisions.

Then there's the "third rail," as in "social security is the third rail of politics." The third rail in a place like New York City is the rail used to provide power to electric locomotives that traveled underground. In politics, it means: Touch it and die. 

Of course, hurricanes and tornadoes sound like freight trains, though I wonder how many people have stood trackside enough to know what that sounds like. 

When I was a kid, it was common to hear that a crowded venue was like "Grand Central Station." Grand Central Station is still crowded, but hardly anyone says that anymore.

Considering how incidental trains are to most people in North America today (unless they block their car at at a railway crossing when they are in a hurry to get somewhere), it's interesting that so many railway terms still persist in the English language. 

Any other idioms you can think of?

The 1967 Confederation Train: Prototype and Model

The Confederation Train; photo by Jim Brown.

Forty-six years ago, in 1967, a special train crossed Canada--the Confederation Train.

The train, made up of two FP9A locomotives (numbers 1867 and 1967) and eight colourful cars, was a travelling exhibit about Canadian history.

The lead locomotive had the Centennial symbol emblazoned on its nose under the headlight, and its horn sounded the first four notes of O Canada. (Hear it here)

The train made its public debut in Victoria, B.C. on January 9, 1967. It arrived in Atlantic Canada in October, and ended its journey in Montreal in December of that year.

During its tour, it stopped at 60 cities and towns, and was visited hundreds of thousands of Canadians.

In Swift Current, Sask.; Scott Dunsire collection.

Modeller Fred Barkhouse was so enamoured of the train that he decided to make a model of it--something he describes in the latest issue of Canadian Railway Modeller.

Fred's inspiration for the project came from a Lionel HO scale train set called the Confederation Flyer that was owned by his father. The train set had a locomotive, ten 50-foot boxcars and a caboose; each boxcar was painted for a province with their flag and the date they joined Canada.

Lionel's Confederation Flyer.

Since Fred made his train before InterMountain brought out its units in Confederation Train colours, he used Highliner F9 shells on Athearn Genesis drives for the project. The cars were made from Rapido Super Continental passenger cars.

(Eleven years later, in 1978, the National Museum of Canada created the Discovery Train, which crossed Canada for two years as a mobile museum. That train showcased the landscape of Canada from the Atlantic to the Pacific.)

The 1978-80 Discovery Train.

2017 is the 150th birthday for Canada. I wonder if there will even be a passenger train left on the rails in this country to make into a similar travelling exhibit?

Read all about Fred's great model, including how he made it, and see more photos in the latest issue of CRM. See videos of Fred's Confederation Train on YouTube here and here. Read more about the prototype train and see more photos here.