Mid-Century Basement*

Popular Mechanics, Dec '54; Model Railroad With Sound Effects

"... Tolcua Lines, the big central system that is located in the basement of Chet Tayloe's home in North Hollywood, Calif.

To provide the space he needed for the joint railroad system Tayloe had to remove 60 truck loads of dirt from under his home, then build new foundations to support the house. The model layout is 65 feet long and 25 feet wide and there is a sunken way along its center from which all parts of the layout may be reached. The system is actually two systems in one, there being some 1200 feet of "O" gauge (1/4 inch to the foot) and 800 feet of "O" narrow-gauge track.

Two months ago the final "mile" of narrow-gauge track was completed and the occasion was fittingly noted by a "golden spike" ceremony attended by model railroaders of the neighborhood, including Dick Wessel, television star who helped build some of the background scenery, and by A. D. Jack Scott, paint-store manager who installed some of the narrow-gauge trackage."

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* Digressions

Awhile back Vince alerted me to this old Popular Mechanics article. It's a fantastic model railroad, but I must admit I was most taken by the layout illustration at the end of the story done in classic mid-century modern style. I love that style of illustration, and this picture in Popular Mechanics reminded me of the Bill Baron illustration I stumbled across in 2020.

I was surprised to read in the article about the attendance of actor Dick Wessel at the Golden Spike ceremony, and that he was referred to as a model railroader. Although I couldn't find mentions of any layouts by Mr. Wessel in Model Railroader magazine, I did find two full length articles about the Tolcua Lines: A visit to Tolcua, Aug '65; 45 years of the Toluca Lines, Mar '73.

Interestingly Chet Tayloe has a 2-page article in the Feb '73 issue about a 1/4" scale model he created of the Echo Mountain cable incline on the Mt. Lowe railway. The article notes: "Two of the passengers [JDL: of the real cable incline railway] in the 1920s were Chet Tayloe and his bride on their honeymoon."

On hiatus with the Clairtone Train

Design sketch of the Clairtone Train from The Art of Clairtone

Programming Note: Hiatus resumes. 

The hiatus is no longer on hiatus. Canoes to paddle. Bikes to ride. Lakes to swim. Paths to walk. Trains to see. And a stack of books to read. Especially this one I recently picked up: The Art of Clairtone: The Making of a Design Icon 1958 - 1971, written by Nina Munk and Rachel Gotlieb, published in 2008. Clairtone was the originator and manufacturer of the legendary Project G hi-fi as well as a long line of audio and tv products. Among the fascinating things I’m learning was that sometime in either the late ‘60s or 1970 Clairtone had:

“A model showroom on rails, the Clairtone Train travelled right across Canada, bringing the company’s line of products to dealers in small towns. As a sales technique, the Clairtone Train was innovative. “It was about creating a ‘total experience’ for the buyers”, said Eleanor Brydone, then a staff designer with A. D. Pollard & Assoc., the firm that designed the showroom.”

I recommend this book for the photos alone, but I’ve got the summer to find out the whole story. 

Later. 

Stay cool.

The cool and sophisticated mid-century model railroad stylings of Bill Baron

Snipped & edited from Bill Baron's Railroad in a coffee table?, MR June '66

When it comes to investigating the world of model railroading magazines passed, it's always one thing connected to another. When I was looking for cartoons by Gil Mellé I was frequently seeing cartoons by another artist, Bill Baron, in the same issues. I couldn't miss them. Mr. Baron's artistry was refined and definitely on a higher level than most other cartoons in RMC. Many reminded me of illustrations from MAD magazine. Clearly, Bill Baron was no amateur.

No, no amateur at all, but a renowned artist who continues to work, and lives in New Mexico. The Taos News has an interview with him, and in it they hint at his early connection with the model railroading press: He also did sketches and graphic art for a series of hobby and “gentlemen’s” magazines for extra cash during his lean years when he was a teacher at North Carolina University. (“I should have my hand slapped for some of the sexist things I cartooned about, really,” he confesses regarding those gigs.)

From what I can find in Railroad Model Craftsman and Model Railroader, it looks like he also did a small number of traditional model railroad related articles - many were trackplan proposals for small layouts - that were also heavy on the illustrations. These started to come later, sometime in 1964, and appeared in both RMC and MR. 

The layout article that impressed me the most was his Railroad in a coffee table? that appeared in the June '66 issue of MR. It didn't actually describe a particular layout, but showed how to build a small circular coffee table that could house one, but wear a disguise of conventional furniture when not in use. It seemed to me to fit quite well into the mid-century modern conversation pit aesthetic.*

It also appears that the only article to include models built by Bill Baron is his Pump house at Smuteye, which was published in the August '65 issue of RMC. The modelling is quite good, as are the accompanying photos.

In the beginning many of Bill Baron's cartoons note 'Malpass' as a co-creater. Malpass is Wendall A. Malpass, who was Bill Baron's neighbour in Raleigh when he lived in North Carolina. Wendall Malpass was his cartooning partner who worked with Bill to brainstorm and come up with ideas. Baron & Malpass are attributed with creating a series of cartoons in RMC about the misadventures of the members of the fictional Mud Hole & Southern Model Railroad Club. In 1963 Malpass disappears from the cartoons, and Baron is noted as the sole creator.

Without further adieu, here's my bibliography of Bill Baron's model railroad related publications. If you see errors or oversights, please let me know and I'll make appropriate corrections. If I find more works, I'll keep this list updated.

RMC = Railroad Model Craftsman
MR  = Model Railroader
MHS = Mud Hole & Southern Model Railroad Club

1961
Nov: 1 single panel cartoon (MR)
Dec: 1 single panel cartoon with Malpass (MR)

1962
Jan: 1 single panel cartoon with Malpass (RMC)
Mar: 1 single panel cartoon with Malpass (RMC)
Apr: 1 single panel cartoon with Malpass (RMC)
     1 single panel cartoon (MR)
May: 1 single panel cartoon with Malpass (RMC)
     + 1 single panel cartoon (RMC) (no Malpass on this one)
Jun: 1 single panel cartoon (RMC)
Jul: 1 single panel cartoon with Malpass (RMC)
     1 single panel cartoon (MR)
Aug: 1 single panel with Malpass (RMC)
Sep: 1 single panel (RMC)
Oct: MHS single panel cartoon with Malpass (RMC) (first MHS cartoon to carry that title, previous ones embedded in cartoon)
Nov: MHS single panel cartoon with Malpass (RMC)
Dec: MHS single panel cartoon with Malpass (RMC)

1963
Jan: MHS single panel cartoon with Malpass (RMC)
     1 single panel cartoon (MR)
Feb: MHS single panel cartoon with Malpass (RMC)
     + 1 single panel cartoon (RMC)
Mar: MHS single panel cartoon with Malpass (RMC)
Apr: MHS single panel cartoon with Malpass (RMC)
May: MHS single panel cartoon with Malpass (RMC)
Jun: MHS strip cartoon (RMC)
Jul: MHS strip cartoon (RMC)
Aug: MHS strip cartoon (RMC)
Sep: MHS strip cartoon (RMC)
Oct: MHS strip cartoon (RMC) (Bill Schopp makes an appearance in this one)
Nov: 1 single panel cartoon (MR)
Dec: 1 single panel Christmas themed cartoon (RMC)

1964
Jan: The Old Apple Tree (RMC)
     MHS strip cartoon (RMC)
Feb: 1 single panel cartoon (RMC)
Mar: MHS strip cartoon (RMC)
Apr: MHS strip cartoon (RMC)
May: 1 single panel cartoon (RMC)
Jul: 1 strip cartoon (RMC)
Aug: 1 single panel cartoon (RMC)
Nov: 1 single panel cartoon (RMC)
Dec: Telephone Shack (RMC)
     Mildew Hollow RR (RMC)

1965
Jan: Veedersburg & Tolono RR (RMC)
Apr: Visit to a Small Pike, a full page cartoon story (RMC)
Jul: 1 single panel cartoon (RMC)
Aug: Pump house at Smuteye (RMC)

1966
Jun: Railroad in a coffee table? (MR)
Dec: The Buckley & Onarca RR (MR)

1967,
May: 1 single panel cartoon (MR)
Oct: 1 single panel cartoon (MR)
Dec: The Philo, Clinton & Pesotum RR (RMC)
     Trackplan for first layout (MR)
     Structures for Pidgeon Creek (MR)

1968
Jan: A compact track plan (MR)
Jun: 1 single panel cartoon (RMC)
Jul: 1 single panel cartoon (RMC)
Aug: 1 single panel cartoon (RMC)
Sep: 1 single panel cartoon (RMC)

1969
Jun: 1 single panel cartoon as part of "Will the real Bill Baron…" by Tony Koester (RMC)

1970
Nov: 1 single panel cartoon (MR)

While I've been on this Mellé and Baron journey I continue to be impressed with the quality of their contributions to 1960's model railroading. There were many high caliber, unsung stars back then. No doubt there's more waiting for me. 

 

Conversation pit in The Miller House

*The photo is of the conversation pit in The Miller House, a famous example of mid-century modern residential architecture. It was commissioned in 1952 by J. Irwin and Xenia Miller. The house was designed by Eero Saarinen, landscaping was by Daniel Urban Kelly, and interior was by Alexander Girard. It was finished in 1957. I can easily imagine that circular table off in the corner of the pit being replaced by Bill Baron's coffee table layout. It's styling would fit right in. I don't know which "gentlemen's" magazines Mr. Baron had cartoons in, but one wonders if Hef had one of these layout-coffee-tables stashed away in the grotto, if the grotto had a conversation pit :-) 

 

[7 October 2020 Update: Vince contacted Bill Baron, and Bill has graciously provided information to help fill in my knowledge of his work and bibliography. I'll be updating this post as I learn more. Depending on the extent of the updates, I may need to write a new post; however, in this update I've add some information about Wendall Malpass's contribution.]

[7 October 2020 Update #2: Added 2 single panel cartoons that appeared in MR in 1967.] 

[8 October 2020 Update: Added 2 single panel cartoons that appeared in MR in 1963.] 

[8 October 2020 Update #2: Added 2 single panel cartoons that appeared in MR in 1962.] 

[8 October 2020 Update #3: Added 2 single panel cartoons that appeared in MR in 1961.]

[9 October 2020 Update: Added 1 single panel cartoon that appeared in MR in 1970. Also, I need to create a 'Six Degrees of E. L. Moore' index :-) to document the connections - even tenuous ones - people have had with E. L. Moore. In an email exchange Bill Baron mentioned that he once had a telephone conversation with E. L. Moore.]