1957 Catalog Layout Underway

Mike-

The layout is brilliant! Your attention to detail is impeccable. The crisp demarcation between the painted sections and the grass are critical to capture the period feel of a dealer display/ catalog layout. It’s impressive how precise you were.

i love layouts like these that provide breathing room for the track itself as well as accessories and landscaping to share the limelight. As a Super O addict, I want the track to be the focus of attention and not be hidden by too many buildings or accessories. 

I’m sure others will have some good suggestions for the control panel.

Thanks  for sharing the photos; this is a real gem.

Mack

Mike:

I'm with you on getting the controls off the layout surface. I used a simple pine shelf to hold my controls along with a hinged control panel supported by two pieces of pine, all painted a neutral color (left over from another home project).

Running TMCC, I elected to use switch controllers only for frequently used switches and run the rest through TMCC.

Your efforts are inspiring and I covet that beautiful Super "0" track. Keep up the good work!

Train Nut posted:

I always use 50/50 glue-water.

I agree, however, I add a drop or two of dish soap to make it wetter.  That spreads it through the grass more thoroughly and evenly.

Alan

That looks really great. Post more pictures.

Mike,

Any progress to report/share on the layout? It’s really looking great.

Mack

Tunnel now done. Next step is finishing the mountain!!

Hey Mike,

any updates to share?

@Mike Espy posted:

I can also tell you that not all the accessories will not fit where they are shown in the catalog photos. There was a great article written in the TCA e-Magazine on this very layout that covers a lot of the issues of bringing this layout to life. 

I don't know if that original Lionel layout in the 1957 catalog was ever built. I think it was maybe just an artist's conception, which would explain scale issues. For example, it is the upper level track that goes through the mountain, but we don't really see the mountain going down to the table level. An optical illusion. And why would an elevated line on trestles go through a mountain? Sort of nonsensical when you think of it.

But it is a wonderful illustration, the whole scene, and I drooled over it as a kid too. I actually have the remains of a dealer display from 1961 packed away. The table, mountain ( which is cloth), and a lot of the track and bits of the accessories. A family friend bought it from the dealer after Christmas that year, and gave it to my Dad in the 1980s. But it had been pretty beat up by his boys, and my Dad took all the track off and decided to put another layout there. He didn't know they were collectible, I think.

Sorry for not posting more progress photos. It is springtime and farming seems to take up more of my hobby time!

Finished up some small details on the mountain and ready to add color to it. Wish me luck!!

Also got started on the control panel. Decided to put if in the inside corner of the layout.

Will post more photos soon!

 Thanks to everyone that is following this build and providing such great encouragement!!👍

Very cool!  What is the grade% that you are planning?

Here is a link to a design thread where I redesigned the layout for FasTrack with a bit of Atlas-O.  I ended up with a grade of 3.5% maximum.

Hi Mike,

You don’t need good luck wishes for the mountain, but I’ll wish you luck, anyway. You’ve got this.

Your wiring is the neatest and most meticulous I have ever seen. Everything you are doing is absolutely top notch. Thanks for keeping us updated. 

Mack

I’m late to the party here, but super glad I found this gem in the making!! Amazing craftsmanship! 

We will need a video once it’s done showing us trains and accessories in action!!

Mike,

Any progress to share? Looking forward to see how the mountain is coming along.

Mack

Thanks for following up with my progress Mack. I am at a standstill due to several issues with accessories that will not work. Got started wiring everything up and have ran into all kinds problems. Did finish up the mountain so i will get you some photos of it this weekend. Have been a little frustrated with the layout for the past week so just walked away for a bit.  

Hey Mike,

I look at this hobby as a source of escape and relaxation, so whenever something like you are experiencing happens, I do the same thing- step away. 
If the track work is complete, maybe just run some trains, watch plastic fish swim around inside an aquarium car, watch a giraffe bob up and down as it rides down the Super O rails, and inhale the delicious smell of Lionel Smoke Pellets.

It’s an impeccable job you have done and is no less so because some operating accessories have decided to be cranky. 

FWIW, you have inspired me to refresh my own Super O layout. It has re-ignited my enthusiasm and for that I am very grateful to you.

All the best,

Mack

Maybe a roll-around control panel that has a loop of cabling between itself and the main train board. Then you could place it where you want, within a few feet, and store it under the table when not in use.

@Will posted:

And why would an elevated line on trestles go through a mountain? Sort of nonsensical when you think of it.

 

Like this?  

Brendan

Hi Mike,

Hoping your frustration with uncooperative operating accessories has subsided and that you are reinvigorated to complete the great progress you have made.

any new photos you might choose to share are greatly appreciated!

Mack

Hey Mike,

First; hoping you are well!

it has been just shy of three months since we last heard from you and I have thus far resisted the urge to pester you with requests for updates and photos.

Last we heard, you were fighting with uncooperative operating accessories and were a bit frustrated and perhaps taking a break from this layout. Understandable.

I hope you haven’t lost the enthusiasm to complete this gem as what you have accomplished so far is beautiful.

Best wishes,

Mack

I hope you have better luck with that 155 ringing bell signal than I had. I went through two signals and one replacement inside unit before I gave up on that accessory! The outside shell of the 155 now sits on my shelf queen cabinet and replaced with a 154 crossing signal with modern flasher unit controlling it instead of the primitive contact method originally used.  I suppose I could have used that modern flashing module to work with the 155, but I needed a change from that frustrating accessory.

I picked up my copy of the 1957 Lionel (Reg.U.S.Pat.Off.) catalog at the old Sanger Bros. Department Store in Dallas, Texas.  It was around the time when I had just passed Birthday Milepost 11 that long ago July 4, 1957.  My stepdad was out of work a lot, so all I could do was dream about that layout, as well as Super-O track too for that matter.  I never really liked my O27 so sold it to a guy shortly after my stepdad moved us from Texas to his native Tampa, Florida, in January 1962, for a whopping $10 bucks!  NO REGRETS! 

The trains were pretty well wore out by this time.  The 2-4-2 steam locomotive was missing a marker light on the front (real common) and I had brush painted the tuscan red Pennsylvania GP7 with Testor's red for "The Katy"!  I cut out Deramus KATY heralds from a public timetable and glued them under the cab windows.

I recall that the guy said he was going to strip the paint off the geep and make a "GP20" out of it.  Never saw the guy again (having met him one time in a North Tampa hobby shop out on Nebraska Avenue) so don't know if he ever went through with the project or not? 

The father shown w/o a head walking down the stairs with his son reminds me of my stepfater.  He was 6 ft. tall.  If I were going to recreate the scene, I'd do it just as it's shown in the drawing including the same floor pattern, etc.  I imagine most boys in 1957 who had Lionel trains dreamed about this layout when they weren't busy watching Annette Funicello (RIP) play the part of "Annette" in the Mickey Mouse Club series that aired on beautiful black and white TV in early 1958.

I'm sure this question has been asked and answered a million plus times over the years, but personally having never found it myself, I've always wondered why Lionel never reintroduced Super-O to the market?