!OST #14_rev - O scale trains

Last issue I suggested some guidelinesabout how this particular column couldbe conducted. This time I’d like to offer arationale for including a column such asthis in OST (other than the publisher andeditor thought it would be a good idea, ofcourse). It may have crossed the minds ofthose readers who prefer to model whatthey see around them in contemporaryrailroading that a column about older OScale is—dare I say it—irrelevant. Not allwho model twenty-first century prototypeare necessarily young, nor are all whomodel earlier periods always fossils whocan’t let go of their youth, but, generally,most of us tend to favor the kind of railroadingwe knew from when we first reallygot interested in the steel rail. Yet, howcan we explain the phenomenon of RevolutionaryWar and Civil War re-enactors,who are, effectively, recreating 1:1 scalemodels of an earlier period. Clearly, noneof them were around when the “prototype”existed.One of my mentors in a graduate program—anexcellent historian—onceanswered the question, “Why study history?”He observed that many claim thatone ought to study history because thepast teaches us things we need to know(ever hear that at school?). He allowed ashow that might be a reason, but not themost compelling one, which is that whatwent on before we were around is INTER-ESTING. That is my justification for offeringthis corner of OST. As we find outmore about O Scale modeling when itwas young, perhaps before we were born,interesting tidbits appear. Some may evenbe useful for one’s own modeling, whateverthe period or emphasis, but that issecondary and coincidental. Not everyonemay want to learn about matters thathave no immediate application to his orher modeling. That is perfectly all right,and I hope we can stay on friendly termswhen we are grabbing for the same itemat an O Scale show. I believe Joe G.intends OST to offer a variety of goodiesfor all individual tastes, so that any OScale modeler can find enough to keepher or him coming back, and there areplenty of good, practical, hands-on projectsin each issue.For others, of course, knowing moreabout the ways O Scale modelers foundto represent the real thing in the past is aconnection to something outside oneself,30 • O Scale Trains - May/June ’04the here-and-now, and gives a sense ofcontinuity with the past that goes on intothe future. For those of us of a certain age,the great names of that past are largelygone, with more departing all the time.Perhaps only a handful of O Scalers stillliving can actually tell us what it was likein the 1920’s. The hobby began to developfrom mass-market toy trains, the occasionalrich man’s custom-built adult toys,and the rare example of a skilled workman’sleisure production when leisure formany workers was rare. There was modelrailroading as a hobby before Al Kalmbachpublished the first issue of ModelRailroader in 1934. Back then modelerslargely relied on British imports, booksand periodicals (Henry Greenly was thegiant among them). What canny Al, himselfan O Scaler, hoped was that all themodelers working in solitude wouldbecome aware there were other fellowsjust like themselves, and that what theyenjoyed was not odd or bizarre.In the middle of the Great Depression,Al Kalmbach was taking a considerablerisk, but he was a printer, and the printingbusiness was slow. We know now, afterthe fact, that his gamble paid off, but hedidn’t know it then. Once model railroadersfound a forum, things started to pick uprapidly. One of the great milestones wasthe organization of the NMRA. Whateverfolks say about the merits of the currentNMRA, looking at it from a historical perspective,model railroading would notexist as we now know it without the pioneeringwork of establishing commonstandards for commercial products, as wellas bringing those early hobbyists togetherfor conventions. Concurrently, the greatclubs in the large cities (mostly in the Eastand Midwest) were organizing in the1930’s (and they were almost all O scaleuntil after WWII). Individual modelerscould show their work, receive encouragementand (generally) tactful criticism toimprove their efforts. Information as toprototype and modeling techniques couldbe shared. Those who lacked space tobuild their own miniature empire couldjoin with others to afford operation fortheir prized locomotives and cars.When one reads older magazines andstudies the ads, it is easy to forget theresults of inflation. One sees locomotivesselling for $100 and thinks, “not bad!”forgetting that few workingmen earnedmuch more than $25 a week—if they hada job at all—and that many had to supporta family on that. It is not coincidental thatthe older magazine articles mention modelerswho were physicians, attorneys, corporateexecutives, bankers, and such.Some of that was doubtless to suggest therespectability of the hobby, but it reallywas a rich man’s hobby. The only alternativefor those of modest means was toconvert toy trains—a recurring theme formost of model railroad history. Theywould gradually develop their skills to thepoint where they could match the custom-builderswho provided the wealthierwith their equipment. Until after WWII, itwas common for manufacturers to offertheir locomotives three ways: built-up byin-house craftsmen; a semi-kit with mostof the parts machined to some degree;and as a set of unmachined castingswhich required not only some effort onthe part of the builder, but also considerableskill in using machine tools. The onething most people had in abundance duringthe Depression was time. Curiously,that cut both ways: the model railroaderhad to spend more time making things hecould not afford to buy, but the effortspent in creating them also served as apastime to help him forget that he wasunder- or unemployed.With a few exceptions, most of theequipment from this period is now of onlyantiquarian interest. When it shows up atmeets, flea markets, eBay or at estate auctions,it usually seems crude. It either cannotbe brought up to our current expectedstandard of fidelity or would take so muchlabor and cost as to hardly justify theeffort. But for at least some, it is a connectionwith the pioneers, just as visiting alocal history museum gives some sense ofwhat one’s locale once was. There is evena modest collector interest in many of thepieces, preferably in a pristine, unbuiltstate in the original box with originalinstructions (and early “kits” did notalways include “instructions,” assuming afair amount of expertise on the part of thebuilder). There is something fascinating, Ithink, to be able to put a well-built car orlocomotive (structures developed moreslowly in the hobby) from the 1930’s nextto a more recent counterpart and recognizethat all the changes have come aboutin a single human being’s lifetime.I had hoped to actually talk specifics(perhaps about Hawk Models) this time out,but I’ve used up all my space. Next time, I’dlike to open a discussion of the variousmodel railroad periodicals over the yearsand invite your input, as there is still quite abit I don’t know about the subject. ◆