Raymond C. Ovresat, Legendary Model Railroad Structure Builder

Mr. Ovresat's Grain Elevator in Easy-to-Build Model Railroad Structures

I've noted a few times here that as a kid Kalmbach's Easy-to-Build Model Railroad Structures was a book I read cover-to-cover many, many times. I built a few projects, but mostly just admired them. Two in particular caught my eye, Grain Elevator and A country general store. Thinking about them I speculate that it was their line drawings, especially those of the grain elevator, that captured my attention. Both those projects were written by Raymond C. Ovresat. 

I guess I shouldn't be surprised at the quality of Mr. Ovresat's work as after a little investigation it looks like the Ray Ovresat Model Railroader profiled in their January 1953 issue is the same Raymond C. Ovresat who was a partner in the architectural firm OVA Associates; the O standing for Ovresat. 

Mr. Ovresat passed in 2018, and his obituary, as well as the MR bio, notes that he graduated with an architecture degree from the University of Illinois in 1950 or 1951 (MR notes again in the Mar '50 at the Throttle column that Mr. Ovresat is a college student at the University of Illinois), won a scholarship so he could study in Europe, and worked as an architect at the Chicago firm Perkins & Will in the early '50s. There isn't any other biographical material in MR beyond the Jan '53 issue, so there's no corresponding note regarding the obituary's statement that he joined Vickery Ovresat Awsumb, VOA Architects with offices in Chicago and Florida where he was a partner. 

Ancient models by juvenile me inspired by A country general store

The internet informs me that VOA Associates was founded in 1969 by Wilmot Vickrey, who also worked for a time at Perkins & Will. VOA Associates was acquired by Stantec in 2016. Apparently, VOA Associates was a major operation that employed around 300 people, and had offices in Chicago, New York, Washington, Orlando, Highland, Beijing, Shanghai, and Sao Paulo.

Model Railroader must have had a high opinion of Mr. Ovresat's projects, and hopes for an ongoing relationship, if this editorial comment in the Jan '50 issue where his General Store article first appeared, is anything to go by:

Scale structures are roughly divisible into two types: space-fillers that merely contribute to the general scenic effect; and those that are true models, as carefully built and profusely detailed as the finest rolling stock. The latter are to the former what oil paintings are to charcoal sketches. Ray Ovresat follows the oil painting school. He has an artist's eye for form, shadow, and color, a craftsman's touch at construction technique, and an invaluable knack for imparting life to his structures by surrounding them with appropriate paraphernalia. 

As far as I can tell, this is a complete list of Mr. Ovresat's publications (MR = Model Railroader; MC = Model Craftsman):

Dec '44, MC: An "Old Time" Railroad Station

April '45, MC: Old-fashioned house

July '45, MC: A colonial house

Sept '45, MC: Remodeling Kits

Oct '45, MR: Main Street (a photo of well-detailed HO buildings complete with sidewalk and street)

Jan '46, MR: River Front Factory

Oct '46, MC: Model Church

Dec '46, MC: Down on the farm

April '47, MC: Covered Bridge

Jan '48, MR: Union Station

May '48, MR: Feed Store

May '49, MR: Grain Elevator (reprinted in Model Trains April '55; reprinted in Easy-to-Build Model Railroad Structures )

Jan '50, MR: General Store (reprinted in Model Trains Nov '55; reprinted as A country general store in Easy-to-Build Model Railroad Structures )

Feb '50, MR: Creating Lifelike Trees (reprinted in Fawcett's 1952 book Model Railroad Handbook)

June '50, MR: Signs of the Times

Sept '50, MR: Village Corner Store

Feb '52, MR: Old Board Fences

Apparently the old west had AM radio & charge cards

From the dates it looks like most of Mr. Ovresat's work was produced when he was either in, or just prior to being in, the army (he joined at age 17 in 1943; the Oct '45 and Jan '46 items refer to him as Pvt. Raymond C. Ovresat), or when he was a student after his service (he graduated college in either 1950 or 1951). After the 1952 Old Board Fences article I don't see anything else by him. My guess is it was an article that MR had purchased years previous, and there was nothing more forthcoming from Mr. Ovresat as he was now well on his way in the world of professional architecture. It's interesting that MR's bio appeared in the Jan '53 issue, but there were no more articles from Mr. Ovresat after Feb '52.

It appears that Raymond Ovresat's career in the model railroading press was similar to Gil Mellé's: short, but high quality.

I'm on the hunt to track down the origins of miniature building construction in model railroading. I wouldn't call it a hidden history as much of the information is readily available, but I would characterize it as not well known. And it's becoming less well known as the years roll on. I think there might be some thread that connects the old, pre-WWII miniature building folk art to the development of miniature buildings for model railroads. Right now I have no proof, and may never have, but the search is fun.