Kelley's Folly and E. L. Moore in 1977

Left: Karl Osolinski's interpretation of Kelley's Folly | Right: E. L. Moore's original model

Back in July Paul sent me some photographs of a masterful interpretation of E. L. Moore's Kelley's Folly project by Karl Osolinski. Karl granted permission for me post his pictures here. 

Well, longtime readers will know I was on an extended hiatus in the summer, and when I returned to the saddle in September I had forgotten about Kelley's Folly. A few days ago Paul reminded me, and I started to feel bad that I had ignored this stunning model.

But, you know, I'm thinking it might have been good that I put off this story until now, even if it was caused by forgetfulness, because Kelley's Folly is a 1977 story. And a major one at that. Here's the headline:

Kelley's Folly was the last story E. L. Moore ever submitted to RMC

1977 was at the end of Mr. Moore's publishing career. He only submitted 3 articles to MR and 2 to RMC that year. The first one to RMC was The Firecracker Foundry, which became his very last published article appearing in the July 1980 issue, and the second, his last submission, was Kelley's Folly, which was published in the January 1979 issue. 1978 only saw one submission, and that was the North Conway Depot article to MR. E. L. Moore died in August 1979.

Hey, since we've come this far, let's take a trip back to 1977 to get a sense of how Kelley's Folly came to pass.

As I mentioned, Mr. Moore submitted the manuscript for the Firecracker Foundry to Railroad Model Craftsman sometime in 1977. There isn't a cover letter for this project in the archive even though the original typescript still exists. However, it looks like it was submitted in the spring of 1977. Later, on 26 May 1977, he sent a letter and photos off to Tony Koester at RMC to see if there might be any interest in the Kelley's Folly project: 

May 26, 1977

Tony Koester, Editor,

Railroad Model Craftsman,

P. O. Box Drawer 700,

Newton, N. J.

Hi Tony . . . . . . . .

Well, looks as though my "swan song" got side-track somewhere along the way. Anyway I'm sending you in somewhat abbreviated form, a resume of the beginning of KELLEY'S FOLLY, 2200 words, three photographs and four sheets of drawings, to see what you think of it.

My goddamed legs are going to remain numb but I can get around pretty well . . . worse is my numb finger tips . . . I gotta watch the keys pretty closely and still make mistakes . . . but I manage.

Why the hell do I have to spend all the time I do on those cussed drawings (except in the interests of accuracy) when you have them done over anyway. Still it ain't really work, just tedious, since I can sit in my easy chair and do them. But dammif I gotta move around a lot to photograph the stuff and printing the pictures is a helluva strain on the gut. I type a couple of pages then go lie down a while, then type a couple more but they eventually all get typed. It's much more fun writing longhand in bed. But hell, I got no complaints, much, I eat well, got plenty of leisure, lots of books and don't get up until I get damned good and ready . . . except to feed my cats. When they get hungry they won't let me sleep.

E. L. Moore.

525 Oakland Ave., Apt 3

Charlotte, N. C. 28204

Enc. 3 photos, resume on backs.

I believe the 'swan song' to be the typescript for the Firecracker Foundry. Mr. Moore was 79 when he wrote the letter.

On 10 June 1977 Tony Koester replied with a postcard filling in E. L. Moore about what happened to the Firecracker Foundry and expressing an interest in Kelley's Folly.

June 10, 1977

Dear E. L.:

We are indeed interested in the Kelly's (you said Kelley's?) Folly material. Frankly, after the MR piece on the fire, the other recently received material from you is too close at first-glance to publish right now. I will thus be happy to have something which is entirely different. The signs of weathering and age are also of interest.

The accuracy of your drawings is appreciate [sic], in that we can usually trace them directly. You could do them only in pencil, however, and save the inking time.

Thanks for keeping us in mind, E.L.

Tony.

The 'MR piece on the fire' is the infamous Cannonball and Safety Powder Works that appeared in the April 1977 issue of Model Railroader - yes, 1977 was a curious year for E. L. Moore.

Once Mr. Moore heard of RMC's interest in Kelley's Folly he sent off the complete article:

June 16, 1977

Tony Koester, Editor,

Railroad Model Craftsman,

P. O. Drawer 700

Newton, N. J.

Hell, it's not my fault M R chose to publish that thing in their May issue . . . they've had it in their files two, three years awready [sic] yet.

Anyway here's KELLEY'S FOLLY, 2200 words, three photographs, four sheets drawings . . . they ain't got nothing similar to this, although they've got stuff dates back six, seven years . . . . 

Hell man I couldn't send in a drawing just done in pencil . . . take these for instance . . . they wouldn't look right except in good black and white . . . so I guess I'll stick to pen and inking 'em.

You're steadily making improvements in the old magazine . . . it's come a long way in the past few years . . . more power to yez!

E. L. Moore

525 Oakland Ave., Apt 3

Charlotte, N. C. 28204

That stuff that dates back six, seven years I believe he is referring to are what we now know as his lost articles. 

E. L. Moore signed his Kelley's Folly model on the bottom

It's great to see what Karl Osolinski has done with this classic E. L. Moore project from '77.

As I keep saying, 1977 is the year that keeps on giving.

The E. L. Moore eBook is done….and it’s free!

First things first. The book is available in two formats: pdf and ePub. Download whichever one you like, or both, they’re free:

The Model Buildings of E. L. Moore (pdf)

The Model Buildings of E. L. Moore (ePub)

The eBook is 225 pages long and contains 617 high resolution images. The pdf version weighs in at a hefty 278.8 MB, while the ePub is a slightly slimmer 249.3 MB. It also has chapters discussing E. L. Moore’s life as a model maker, raconteur, accidental kit designer, and folk artist, as well as a bit of his personal history. An extensive bibliography finishes things up. 

I’ve chosen to produce an eBook at this time and wrap up what’s been found about E. L. Moore as I’m concerned that one day soon Google, or Alphabet, or whatever they’re called these days, will pull the plug on Blogger, and the E. L. Moore content I’ve posted here for the past 10 years will suddenly disappear. An eBook will help it live a bit longer.

Also, the eBook format allows the information that has been presented as a sequence of posts in time to be structured into a more logical narrative. Now, the book isn’t just posts that have had covers slapped on them; no, the posts formed the source material, and all the information has been rewritten, cleaned up as best I could, and reorganized.   

Sample pages

As a child in the late 1960s, and on throughout the 1970s, I loved to read and write. I’d read just about anything I could get my hands on. When I first ‘discovered’ Mr. Moore’s work in the summer of 1973, it was in the pages of a magazine, and for years I continued to read all the model railroading magazines I could find. My introduction to model railroading was via the written word and photographs, and later the hobby shop - there weren't any near my house. Those old articles also introduced me to the idea of exchanging technical information and discoveries via articles and papers, which helped to set up the beginnings of my career in science and engineering. 

While on the E. L. Moore trail for the last 10 years one thing I found quite interesting that was new to me was that Mr. Moore was also a voracious reader, not to mention a regular writer who seemed to have his fingers glued to his typewriter. At one point in the 1950s he claimed to have a library of nearly 1,000 volumes, and I later learned he was a regular patron of his local library, didn't watch or own a tv, and read a newspaper or two every day. And we know he was a dyed-in-the-wool lifetime letter writer with an extensive correspondence. I kind of feel a Fellowship of the Word with him :-) So, look, if you want to compensate me for this book, why not send some money over to a literacy charity in your part of the world. The ability to read and write is just as important today as it has ever been, and still has the power to unlock imaginations.

Well, that’s it for me for awhile. I hope you enjoy the book, and happy Saint Patrick's Day!

E. L. Moore's Old Red Barn

All model photos courtesy of James L. Dixon

You might recall that back in May Paul figured out that one of the E. L. Moore mystery pieces was the cowshed from the barn described in ELM's article, The Old Red Barn, that appeared in the January 1966 issue of Model Railroader. Recently, I generously received some detail photos of the rest of the barn from E. L. Moore's grandson.

A photo of this view of the barn's end wall is clearly shown in the article, and one thing that strikes me about the model on the left is that it has no window in the peak, and the decorative circular designs on the middle of the wall are missing. So, I'm wondering if this is a duplicate of the model that appeared in the article. As Mr. Moore notes in the article's opening paragraph,

I really built two barns, one for a fellow modeler who wanted a bit classier barn with matched siding and a cupola to set it off. But both barns are basically the same, with similar skeletons serving both. The difference is in the finish.

So, I'm thinking this is the less classier one.

You can see from this interior shot that there are no cutouts for windows near the end wall peaks.

But, I do like that interior, and the straw is still there.

Here's a closer look at the straw and interior framing around it, which is quite neatly done and precise.

It's even got a curious pig, and what looks like a rooster.

Here's a view of the framing looking in the opposite direction. Again, the joinery is quite well done.

Animals abound in this barn. Here's a collie.

A chicken looking for some seed.

Another chicken and what looks like a goat, or maybe that's the animal I thought was a pig in a previous photo.

Looks like it's feeding time. 

As you know, I consider E. L. Moore an American folk artist who plied his art in the world of model railroading. A number of his builds are more in the folk art vein than strictly model railroading, and this is another example in the folk art category. In the article's introductory paragraph ELM notes as much,

I wanted a souvenir to recall a phase of my wasted youth, so I set about building a barn with memory - it being some 40 years since I was last down on the farm - as my only guide.

ELM was raised on a farm in rural Michigan in the early years of the 20th century, so this sounds like it was a model of the barn on his parents' farm.

Piece #2 = Cowshed

Left image snipped from MR Jan'66

Many thanks to Paul and his excellent sleuthing skills! He provided the important clues that identified mystery piece #2 as the cowshed that's attached to E. L. Moore's The old red barn project that appeared in the January 1966 issue of Model Railroader. I don't know if the barn still exists somewhere, but it's good to know part of it does.

One further note. You see that cabin in the upper left corner of the black-and-white photo? I think that's the Elizabeth Vally Cabin being reused in the photo shoot.

A Mini Moore Mystery

Piece #1

I've been puzzling over these two stray pieces of E. L. Moore buildings for quite sometime and can't figure out where they might come from. So, dear reader, I'm asking you, do you recognize these pieces?  

Piece #2

I offer no prizes other than glory. If you think you know which models they're a part of, please let me know in the comments.

E. L. Moore’s Legacy in the 21st Century: HOJ-half-POJ

[Photo of the prototype derived portion of E. L. Moore's HOJPOJ MRG. CO. project. Photo used courtesy of the owner.]

E. L. Moore built a manufacturing complex called the HOJPOJ. MFG. CO. - which I believe is meant to be pronounced, ‘Hodgepodge Manufacturing Company’ - that appeared in the April 1968 issue of Railroad Model Craftsman. Recently, half of that model has been found, and what’s left is shown in the lead photo. 

Mr. Moore drops a couple of clues in his article about the prototype and its whereabouts: there’s a photo of part of it in the article, but the only discernible signage is the partial ‘BARNHA’ and ‘MFG.’ printed high up on the water tower, and there's his opening comment that “...this factory is only a few minutes walk from where I live...” My friend Google tells me it’s actually a 14 minute walk.

[Walking route from E. L. Moore's residence to Barnhardt Manufacturing via Google Maps.]

Putting the pieces together, the prototype was most likely the Barnhardt Manufacturing Company that is located on 1100 Hawthorne Lane in Charlotte, N.C., around 3/4 of a mile from E. L. Moore’s residence at 525 Oakland Ave. The company website states it was opened for business in 1900 - just as E. L. Moore notes in his article - and grew and expanded and diversified over its long life. 

[What's at the site of the HOJPOJ facility today according to Google Streetviews.]

Now, E. L. Moore’s model isn’t an exact replica as he notes in the text. First, he designed the model’s footprint to fit into a 9 inch by 9 inch area, so there was a lot of selective compression applied, and second, he notes that of the two major parts that make up the model, the two-story main brick building, which is the other half that’s missing in the model photos, is something he made up to “rise above the jumble of units and achieve some sense of balance.” 

[That unfinished wall is where the two-story brick building attaches. Photo courtesy of the owner.]

So, the half shown in these model photos is his interpretation of pieces of the actual Barnhardt Manufacturing facility as it appeared sometime in the mid-1960s, and the half not shown - which the model’s owner informs me he has - is something Mr.  Moore added to make the whole look right. The model is a good example of using a prototype for inspiration, squeezing away the irrelevant stuff with selective compression, and applying some artistic license to pull together a visually interesting and balanced model.

25 April 2016 update: I was given the HOJPOJ and you can read about how it was restored in this series of posts.

E. L. Moore’s Legacy in the 21st Century: Outhouses, backhouses and privies, oh my!

[Private Collection - posted with permission of the owner]

One thing that E. L. Moore liked to build were outhouses, and not just replicas of the usual run-of-the-mill one-holers. No siree. He had a genius for them: two-story jobs, hexagonal plans, ones with wheels, skull shaped (!), and more. 

[Private Collection - posted with permission of the owner]

17 of them were documented in all their glory in A Mighty Relaxin’ Job that appeared in the November 1975 issue of the NMRA Bulletin. I’ll leave it to the Sigmund Freud department to speculate on what it all means, but I’m glad to see that at least one has managed to survive the years: this one dates from 1964.

[Private Collection - posted with permission of the owner]

This example isn't one of his wildest designs, but it's very similar to the one shown in figure #13 in the article. And has a similar caption on the ventilation theme :-)

[Private Collection - posted with permission of the owner]

31March 2016 update: More outhouses can be found here.

E. L. Moore's Legacy in the 21st Century: The lost schoolhouse is found

As well as its formal beauty, one of the more interesting aspects of this E. L. Moore project is that it was the subject of one his articles that remained unpublished at his death and was 'lost' until quite recently. A few weeks ago I was contacted by a gentleman who mentioned that he owned the lost manuscripts, but due to legal restrictions could not circulate copies; however, he could say one was about a project that could be built as either a schoolhouse or church. After a little emailing with the gentleman and the owner of the collection of E. L. Moore built originals, it was clear that this schoolhouse was the same as the one described in a lost manuscript. This was an exciting development.

The owner informs me the model is missing the flagpole and flag, but it's likely mixed in with the packing materials used to store it. Like the large cabin, this model was on display at the North Hills Hobby Shop in Raleigh, North Carolina for a number of years.

It has a fully detailed interior complete with desks, pupils, piano and a teacher. The owner says he added the light strung to the rafter to better show off the insides.

This looks like the teacher is reading the lesson.

But it appears that someone isn't paying attention. That wooden prop modelled to hold up the lower part of the double-hung window is a nice touch.

E. L. Moore's Legacy in the 21st Century: Two cabins

[Private collection - Posted with permission of the owner.]

Two cabins: a large one on the left, and a much smaller one on the right. Both are HO scale. Both were built by E. L. Moore. It appears that they were made using methods outlined in his articles Easy to build Cottage or Cabin that was published in the December 1963 issue of Railroad Model Craftsman, Backwoods Log Cabins that appeared in the September 1968 issue, and Under the spreading chestnut tree (about a village smithy) that appeared in the June 1964 issue of Model Railroader. As well, he used the same method on a few other projects. The Spumoni's house in Spumoni Country Estate that appeared in the July 1955 issue of Railroad Model Craftsman is a good example.

[Private collection - Posted with permission of the owner.]

This is the larger of the two. It's an unassuming and utilitarian building. It looks like something pioneers in the northern US states or Canada might have built to get through a long, hard winter. Small windows. One door. Massive fireplace. Wood pile near the door because when you're buried in snow and it's freezing outside you don't want to go far when the fire needs replenishing. Although, the wood pile would need to be considerably larger to get through an entire winter. This isn't a dilettante's weekend get-away place.

[Private collection - Posted with permission of the owner.]

This photo gives a much better view of that fireplace. It's massive.

[Private collection - Posted with permission of the owner.]

Here's a detail shot of the fireplace exterior. It appears to have been carved from wood - likely balsa given that this is an E. L. Moore build - and the stones are individually painted. The blue ones are a nice touch. You can also see that Mr. Moore spent some time adding the chinking between the logs for a little extra realism, and the logs themselves have a pleasant variation in tone. 

[Private collection - Posted with permission of the owner.]

The roof lifts off to reveal a detailed interior. There are two beds in the loft, and it looks like a bench or chest to help keep sleepwalkers from falling though the ceiling! 

[Private collection - Posted with permission of the owner.]

This shot gives a good idea of how small those details are.

[Private collection - Posted with permission of the owner.]

The ceiling / loft floor lifts out to show a fully detailed interior.The inside is rather homey compared to the exterior. Table cloth, oil painting, curtains and a large, well-stocked bookcase. Not to mention a clock on the mantel and a rifle for hunting game. There is a red light bulb in the fireplace to make it look like an actual fire, and the owner added a another small bulb to light-up the interior. 

[Private collection - Posted with permission of the owner.]

That Sharpie pen gives an idea of the size. It's rather small. The model is in very good condition, and the owner informs me that for many years it was part of the in-store layout at the North Hills Hobby Shop in Raleigh, North Carolina.

[Private collection - Posted with permission of the owner.]

The second cabin is HO-size as well, but it's much smaller and doesn't have a detailed interior. It looks like it has some sort of shake roof whereas its big brother had boards for roofing.

[Private collection - Posted with permission of the owner.]

But, like its big brother, the fireplace is also quite large in comparison to the building. 

[Private collection - Posted with permission of the owner.]

There's only one window and one door - the back wall is solid logs.

[Private collection - Posted with permission of the owner.]

The opposite end wall is just as solid. Wintering over would be tough in this little cabin.

As I've read through the E. L. Moore construction articles I'm starting to think his work on buildings falls into two broad categories: the first were highly selectively compressed, used simple materials and were very low cost, and the second were more finely detailed, less idiosyncratic and fit better into the mainstream of where model making was going. The first group I'd call his classic style, and things like Bunn's Feed and Seed, Jones' Chemical Company and Caleb's Cabbage Company fit into that category. The second group includes projects like The old red barn from the January '66 issue of Model Railroader, and Nova Scotian Lighthouse from the October '69 issue of Railroad Model Craftsman. These two cabins seem to be a little more in the second category than the first.

E. L. Moore's Legacy in the 21st Century: Ma’s Place and a newly discovered collection of E. L. Moore built models

[Private Collection - Posted with permission of the owner]

The last 3 months, and especially the last couple of weeks, have been exciting. To make a long story short, after some inspired detective work by Debra, working with a vital clue from Vince, not to mention the generous assistance of many longtime friends and people who were previously strangers, I’ve been able to connect with a gentleman who has a large collection of models built by E. L. Moore. That is, original E. L. Moore models actually made by him; many of which were the prototypes for a few of his construction articles.

I’m respecting the collector’s request to remain anonymous, and he has generously allowed me to post some photos of his collection as part of the E. L. Moore’s Legacy in the 21^st Century series [1]. I’m starting with Ma’s Place as it was the focus of the Age of Plastics posts which can be found here, here, and here.

[This is how Ma's Place appeared in the January '67 issue of Railroad Model Craftsman - after 48 years the model is looking as it did when first published]

E. L. Moore’s Ma’s Place build appeared in the January 1967 issue of Railroad Model Craftsman. 

[Private collection - Posted with permission of the owner {added to post on 1 Feb '15}]

As well as the Age of Plastics posts, I discussed the article’s use of storytelling to enhance the construction details in the Twenty-five Years at the Movies post.

[Private collection - Posted with permission of the owner]

The American Civil War era figures in the photos are repurposed Airfix models. They weren’t made by E. L. Moore. His article featured Ma Spumoni, her husband George, Uncle Charlie and Pistachio Jr from an early-20th century rural universe, and were represented in his article’s photos by figures from Weston.

[Private collection - Posted with permission of the owner]

It was obviously well cared for over the years given the good condition of the model today.

[Private collection - Posted with permission of the owner]

It appears that the model is still in original condition: Mr. Moore makes note in his article that the house "except for the front, is a bit shabby, faded green intermingling with plain weathered surfaces" and the bright red front was "bait" for the customers. It looks like he used his technique of drawing with a sharp pencil to scribe in the roof shingles.

[Private collection - Posted with permission of the owner]

[1 Feb '15 update: The model is signed on the bottom, as shown in the photo below, and dated 10-1-65. The article appeared in Jan '67, so there was a little lag between model completion and publication.]

[Private collection - Posted with permission of the owner {added to post on 1 Feb '15}]

Digressions

[1] Added 31 Jan ’15: A little while after I had put this post online Debra gave it a read and told me it made her wonder if Ma’s Place is actually a thinly disguised version of E. L. Moore’s boyhood home. He was born to modest circumstances on a farm in southern Michigan, and she thought the model might be some sort of stylized embodiment of the most memorable aspects of his old home and family. Does any of this have a grain of truth? Did his mother sell food or home cooking from the house? Maybe a neighbour did? I don’t know any of this, but it’s an interesting thought and when she told me it reminded me of some things we saw on the episode of Anthony Bourdain’s tv show Parts Unknown where he visits Detroit. We watched it over the Christmas holidays. It was excellent.

Among other things in the show, Bourdain visits a few restaurants run from people’s houses. Maybe ‘restaurant’ isn’t the best term to describe them as they are simply people offering great food for sale out of their own homes to others in the area. It was this part that seemed very like what E. L. Moore was doing with Ma’s Place, and the plastic version takes the idea even further. CNN’s got some clips about a couple of those places. Take a look at the clips about Pupusa House, Greedy Greg’s, and after you’re done eating don’t forget to visit the Packard Plant: all here at this CNN link.