John Swartzell's layout appeared in Popular Science & Machinist's Monthly Journal

 

It turns out John Swartzel’’s layout got coverage in places other than Model Railroader, which might be a sign that it was indeed quite significant for its time. 

There was a small item in the Oct ’34 issue of Popular Science Monthly (that photo is snipped from the piece). It notes that:

When John N. Swartzell, of Washington, D. C., was studying railroad engineering at the University of Illinois, he enjoyed nothing more than climbing up into the cab of one of the locomotives on the test stands and pulling back the throttle. Swartzell was completely fascinated by his studies and by the prospects of following a railroad career. Then his father, a Washington real estate man, wanted Swartzell to come home and learn real estate. It was impossible to realize his railroading dreams but he could not forget them. He began the construction in his basement of a complete transportation system.

It sounds like he was a frustrated railroad man who put those energies into creating what was to become the first so-called modern model railroad layout. That appears to explain why his layout seemed more railroad-like than others of the time - he had some professional training.

There’s also an entry about Swartzell over at Forensic Genealogy, which covers some of the territory we’ve already seen, but has some new information to add. They include a link to a report on a visit to Swartzell’s layout that appeared in issue 728 of Machinist’s Monthly Journal (likely published around 1924 or so).  Among other things, the article notes that:

The construction was begun over 20 years ago, when Mr. Swartzell was only 14 years old. Some of the equipment dates back to that time, and, with the pieces added since, form a very good picture of some of the changes in railroading.

Given he was born in 1890, that would place the start around 1904. Like many of today’s model railroaders, they often start young, pack it away in their late teens for schooling, marriage, and career, and then come back once settled, sometimes digging up old equipment if it’s still around as a place to start again. I would speculate that something like that happened with Swartzell too. So, maybe those Pretty Village structures were surviving childhood playthings from his pre-teen years in the 1890s. That could explain their appearance on his layout. But, it sounds like those models didn’t have too much longer to go on the layout. Remember that Pretty Village Hotel #5 model found on his layout:

Another old timer is the frame hotel with a general store in one end. That will be replaced by a modern hotel, probably located elsewhere.

Indications are that Mr. Swartzell wasn’t a healthy man. From the obituary* included over at Forensic Genealogy, he had to retire from business in 1925 - he’d be 35 years old then - for health reasons, and died at age 47 in 1937. 

*The obituary at Forensic Genealogy makes no mention of attendance at the University of Illinois as did the Pop Sci piece, so there seems to be some inconsistency on this point.