Tom Daniel's Railroad Modeler year

Tom Daniel's M. Bezler & Company from Railroad Modeler Mar '72

I was reading some old Railroad Modeler magazines over the weekend, and came across an interesting kitbash, M. Bezler & Company, by Tom Daniel in the March 1972 issue. As well as a few odds and ends, it's built from our old friend the AHM Grusome Casket Company kit, and Vollmer's Two Story Factory, item #5610.

This wasn't the first article penned by Tom Daniel that I'd seen in my reading, and I started to wonder if this was the same Tom Daniel who designed all those awesome 1/24 scale showcar kits. Vince has got an extensive library on this subject, so I asked him. And he did the logical thing and asked Tom Daniel directly via email. Mr. Daniel replied quickly, and confirmed that he was the author of those articles. I'm a big fan of Tom Daniel's kit designs, and have featured here the T'rantula, Rommel's Rod, Ice 'T', and the Hot Wheels Red Baron - and I've got a 1/24 scale Red Baron kit stashed away in the basement awaiting assembly and a post. I didn't know he had an interest in model railroading too. 

So far I've found 8 articles in Railroad Modeler published over a 1 year period from December 1971 to November 1972. Most appear to deal with improving and modifying kits, as well as kitbashing. Here're the Tom Daniel stories I've found so far:

Dec'71: A Modified Mallet (modifying AHM's 2-8-8-2)

Jan'72: Shortline Combine (shortening AHM's 82' combine)

Feb'72: A Winterized E-8 (making AHM's E-8 diesel ready for winter operations)

Mar'72: M. Bezler & Company (kitbashing AHM Grusome Casket & Vollmer Two Story Factory)

May'72: An Inside Look at Boxcar Details (adding loads to boxcars)

Jun'72: Elephant Eared Berkshire (detailing AHM's Berkshire loco)

Sep'72: up to date depot (converting Life-Like's convenience store kit into a modern station)

Nov'72: Locomotive Riptrack (Diorama from a Kitmaster J3a Hudson & a Hobbytown 0-4-0 tank switcher)

In the story, An Inside Look at Boxcar Details, Mr. Daniel mentions in his younger days, this author unloaded many, many boxcars, and each had its own mystery and intrigue. Working inside one was ALWAYS at one of two extremes...hotter than a steam room or colder than a refrigerator. I always used to wonder at all the states, cities, towns and lonely spurs the average boxcar must visit during its travels.. which to me hints that there is more to his interest in model railroading than meets the eye. I'll keep you posted if more turns up, but for now, where's that Red Baron kit :-)

[4:09pm Update: The first issue of Railroad Modeler was September 1971, but it wasn’t until the March 1972 issue that they included a list of contributors on the index page. And in that list is Tom Daniel, and there he remained up to and including the May 1973 issue. In June 1973 he was gone, and it looks like the contributors list was shaken up a bit. Some old names were gone, some new ones appeared. Maybe there was a staff shake-up? Maybe some veterans had simply moved on? Was Tom Daniel a founding contributor? Questions, questions, questions.]