I have made a few odd posts about the G&D and recall hearing somewhere that the original plan was to preserve it, but of course the fire put an end to most of that.
(it is a bit poetic that the art died shortly after the artist. When I was younger I wondered how Someone could mistakenly use a heater covered by a flammable substance. I even pondered if it was some sort of secret plan to cremate the G&D, though this seems unlikely especially if the plan was to preserve it. I dont intend to accuse anyone of anything here, it just crossed my mind in high school.)
but was that actually mr. Allen’s request, to preserve the G&D? and if so, how were they going to preserve it. Would segments be moved to a museum? Would the house itself be converted to a museum. The latter might have been kind of cool.
The general ides was to use the house as the museum. The heater was not working properly and never used, it never gets that cold where he lived for some people. Someone turned on the heater to warm the house.
The Gorre and Daphetid was one of the all time greats. The GOAT…
in years since, the level of detail has been surpassed, but what is important is that John Allen showed what could be possible. I still have the January '69 issue of MR, which featured the G&D, and refer back to it occasionally. At the time, no one had seen anything like it. Mind blowing…
Wow. I had no idea until just now that the Gorre & Daphetid was not an actual historical railroad. While trawling through eBay I have often seen HO scale cars of the G&D for sale. Assumed they were manufactured by Roundhouse or Athearn or whomever because it was a prototype railroad.
Just did some researched and learned the real story. And in my head I’ve been pronouncing it “Gor and DAFF-uh-tid.”
It may well no Longer be state of the art but it is still pretty remarkable. would have made one heck of a model train layout. So his final wish was for it to be preserved?
what were they planning on doing with the rest of the house?
I can’t speak for the intended fate of the railroad, but sometimes people pass unexpectedly without an estate plan. Conjecture on my part, please forgive…
John Allen knew he was “living on borrowed time” since his diagnosis of a heart condition that prevented him from entering U.S. Army service.
His background in photography propelled him into model railroading.
From the accounts of his neighbors; who were allowed to “Take anything they want(ed)” after the tragic fire, his family apparently didn’t appreciate the significance of his work.
An estate plan wouldn’t have prevented the fire- -unless he’d posted a note in the house, “DON’T TURN ON THE FURNACE!!!”
That fire propelled his layout into mythical status.
It must have been 1970s or (most probably) 1980s when I first heard of the G. & D… An article with a couple of pictures was in a U.K. model railway magazine. It was the first time I had ever seen a (what seemed) a floor to ceiling layout.
I have a copy of ‘Model Railroading With John Allen’ by Lynn Westcott. As mentioned it is a great addition to any model railroad library.
A tragedy such a fine layout to be lost in such a way.
I don’t know, but I suspect that John Allen did not have an Estate Plan, which would consist of the Will, Living Trust, and Power of Attorney. With these, he could then specify what is to become of the layout, and who is in charge to handle it. In fact, it’s a good idea for anyone, especially as we get older, and tend to accumulate things. The original question is the intended fate of the railroad. It sounds like it was never spelled out.
Living trust used to be thought of as something for the rich, this has changed over time as the tax man got greedy and things became more complicated and also the expanding middle class.
It is highly unlikely a large model railroad is going to survive its owner for very long unless it is portable or a family member wants to move into the house the railroad is located in. If the house is going to be put on the market, it is going to be very difficult to sell the railroad with the house. Model railroaders are just too small a percentage of the population to do that. It would greatly restrict the number of potential buyers of the house. Allen McClelland attempted to do that with his Virginian and Ohio without success and so the V&O had to be dismantled when Allen decided to downsize. He began a new V&O in his new house but I don’t know how far along he got on it before moving into a retirement center.
I’ve left instructions in my will for the locos, rolling stock, structures, and electrical components to be sold off but the railroad itself will be demolished. Some if the track might be salvageable too but that will be somebody else’s call.
There was an article in MRR awhile back discussing this topic. A conversation between John Allen and another modeler was brought up. In summary, John fully expected his layout would not survive his passing and accepted that. I think the editorial appeared in MRR around the time the V&O was being dismantled.
The layout was not built with the intention of being moved so even without the fire it probably would have been dismantled anyway.
I’m not a worshipper of the G&D. Too much of a characterture for my taste. Give Allan McClelland’s V&O. (And yes, every model rr is a characterture, but the G&D was too extreme for me - too cutesy, I guess)
There was an attempt to salvage what remained after the fire, but after much effort that section of the layout collapsed. It wasn’t really meant to be dismantled and moved.
The furnace in question was never used while John Allen was alive. After the last operating session, someone turned it on, thinking the house should be kept warm. Since Allen had covered it, the furnace got hot enough to set the material on it alight.
There are pictures of the burnt house, showing the damage, available on the web.
He attended UCLA in the 1930s, before the war, so there was no connection. Per the Westcott book, he was very disappointed at not being allowed to serve in some capacity (like working with interpreting aerial photography - remember he was a professional photographer).
As far as I know, he didn’t leave anything in a will etc. regarding what to do with the layout. It may be he didn’t think about it that much. Although he knew he had a heart condition, at 59 he may have figured he had plenty of time ahead of him.
Seems very unlikely he had some bizarre plan to have the house burned down after he died to destroy the layout, since it would have meant his relatives would not have been able to sell the house and get the money from the sale.