Guide to the Addams Family Super O Layout

Adriatic posted:

Montclaire posted:

What a great thread.  Lionel should really do an article on this for the next catalog.  

  I honestly don't think they would have anything to add to what's already generally known. It might reduce some hunt time or generate interest but the focus wouldn't do much for sales today. It would only bring requests for items they are not producing at the moment.  The last Addams movie wasnt used to it's sales potential imo.  It is likely considered too "dark" for anything more than minor support to Hollywood and/or some "tame" boxcar art.

Imagine the operating cars and accessories we could come up with to suppliment copies of Gomez's collection offered as RTR LC LC+

Cousin It's habidashery and barber shop.   Marie Antionette car (Wednesday's headless doll),. Cleopatra and Kitty in a pet setting, A "museum" car (listen to the theme) with wooden Indian, polar bear, "twisted" moose, a "rack and nail bed", new dynomite car (oops, bad taste, better quit while I still have a head ) 

 

I brought this concept up to Lionel once and was blown off.

Lou N

I just watched the Youtube videos and the pictures and Designed the TV Layout in Scarm.

 

Hey, that looks great!!

Interesting Discovery -- While watching the YouTube video, I noticed that while the 1960s TV show always showed the same Layout Loco demolition/crash. There were actually two very different layouts used in the show. The first one used Lionel Super O Track, and the second used Lionel tube track and had a figure 8 track in the middle of the layout.

I don't think there is enough video of the second layout to recreate it.

The new layout first appears at 5:30 https://youtu.be/5kS-vk9mPR8?t=330

 

Addams Family is free on Amazon right now if you have it.

Would anyone know the correct names / identifications of Gomez's train cars? I hope to recreate his layout to the finest detail, IF POSSIBLE!! What were the billboards? What was the scenery besides a cattle corral? ANY info will be GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!!

I don't think Lionel built the layout. Why would they only use one F-3 and not a double A set. Also why would they use AMT passenger cars and not their own. These are a couple of AMT cars that you can see in the stills. Don

BobbyD posted:

Never noticed before, the Santa Fe unit has a black frame. Does anyone know if it has a dual motored chassis?

Not sure about the number of motors, but the black frame seems to be at least partly due to one of the wrecks and the ensuing fire right under the fuel tank.

I believe Lionel built the original layout for the Twilight Zone episode - they wouldn't have had any control over it several years later when it was recycled for the Addams Family.  

As far as why it was replaced with the tubular layout, my best guess is that either due to fading under the studio lights or a change in cameras/film that it needed to be refreshed and the easiest way was to build a new one.  There also may have been some limitations in how they were able to operate the first one, or it was damaged from being put up and taken back down repeatedly.  

The layout for "The Twilight Zone" episode, later used in "The Addams Family" Season One, was constructed by James Stewart and Sandy Oster, both of whom were members of Lionel's San Francisco sales team. Stewart was also responsible for providing layouts for other TV shows based on the West Coast, such as "I Love Lucy" (Source: Classic Toy Trains magazine, March 1993, with Neil Young's layout on the cover)

Very interesting thread! I have really enjoyed reading it.

Question: Does anyone have an outtake or still from an I Love Lucy episode that shows a train layout?

 

Chris

LVHR

Lou Sessa posted:

The layout for "The Twilight Zone" episode, later used in "The Addams Family" Season One, was constructed by James Stewart and Sandy Oster, both of whom were members of Lionel's San Francisco sales team. 

I'm going to conjecture that the layout used all Lionel equippage in its "Twilight Zone" incarnation,  but by the time the Addams Family set designers got ahold of it,  they just used whatever trains they had knocking about...  

Mitch 

Very very interesting thread.  I remember that the Addams Family was one of the shows that fostered my interest in trains.  Always fascinated by the layout.     Love the detailed info about the layout and the pictures.  

Hi Mitch!!! I believe that you're correct. That makes sense. The t.v. producers didn't care about what "labels" were on the trains, as long as Gomez had some to crash!!! "IF" the series were made today, I'm not sure if O gauge would be used. But, that's just a thought. I've worked in the media entertainment industry for the past 30 years. I know that any entertainment production has got to go on a limited budget!!! 

 

From what I gather. It seems the second layout was a Figure 8 with switch tracks to the elevated tracks. However, I could be wrong. I just need as much info on Gomez's layout as possible! Billboards, Cattle Corral, Buildings, Structures, etc.... Also, was it originally on a 4X8 sheet of plywood? 

Punkrockpub posted:

From what I gather. It seems the second layout was a Figure 8 with switch tracks to the elevated tracks. However, I could be wrong. I just need as much info on Gomez's layout as possible! Billboards, Cattle Corral, Buildings, Structures, etc.... Also, was it originally on a 4X8 sheet of plywood? 

I'm not trying to be mean, but no one knows these answers directly.  There was a link earlier in the thread to a video clip with every scene involving the layout.  That footage, plus whatever is in the Twilight Zone episode, is all there is for any of us to see.  Posting specific questions ( ie, at 2:06, is it this or that?) after doing a little research will get you better answers.  But no one knows these things off the top of our head, we work with what we know to figure them out.  

Alright Lou! I couldn't quote a soucrce let alone a great one. Ricky Jr gets a Super Chief if I recall right. Birthday or Christmas? I'm thinking the house vs the apartment too.

Montclaire,

I don't think you're being "mean". Please allow me to tell my perspective on trains. In the past 3 years is when I reintroduced myself back into electric trains. I happened to get lucky at a thrift store and bought an O gauge K-Line Christmas Train from 1991. "Santa's Express" I think that is its proper name. But before that, the last train set I had was a Marx Big Rail Work Train around 1972 or 73. That set was stolen from me back when I was a kid. I thought I would never get another chance having electric trains ever again. So, in that large gap of time between 1973 until 2015, a lot seems to have changed. I'm not very fluent in current O gauge hobby talk, and as for The Addams Family. That was the show that really introduced me to electric trains. The reason that I ask so many questions is that I'm not familiar with a lot of this hobby. I'm wanting to start building my very first electric train layout board in these present days. I'm sure some of my questions must seem monotonous and boring, but, that's the only way I know how to get some answers from folks whom have been in the hobby for some time now. I hope that I'm not being aggravating to anyone here. 

 

Jeff 

 

Jeff, we all have to start somewhere.  However I do recommend that you re-read the first few posts on this thread which are very specific and informative.  

John Astin is still working:

https://krieger.jhu.edu/theatr...irectory/john-astin/

Love this topic. But, even more, I want the table that layout is mounted on! 

Lionel on Lucy.....Don

scale rail posted:

Lionel on Lucy.....Don

This from I Love Lucy but was colorized, correct? Now, is it my imagination but was there also an episode of I Love Lucy in black and white that featured the Lionel Santa Fe F3s? Is the memory I have of a black and white Lucy saying "Here comes the Super Chief" and Santa Fe Fs pulling a passenger train for little Ricky a figment of my imagination?

Just came across a vid on youtube that supposedly shows all the AF train wrecks. What I liked about it is that it shows the O gauge tubular track (yes I know the title is Super O) that a couple people have mentioned. Here is the link:

https://youtu.be/5kS-vk9mPR8

It appears to be a two loop track without connecting switches.  The inner track is an elongated figure 8 and the outer loop is a simple loop with a trestle set.  All scenes of wrecks show the Super O layout even if the the tubular track layout is shown first. As mentioned previously, a few scenes show a ZW without any wire attached to it.

Steve

RideTheRails posted:

Just came across a vid on youtube that supposedly shows all the AF train wrecks. What I liked about it is that it shows the O gauge tubular track (yes I know the title is Super O) that a couple people have mentioned. Here is the link:

https://youtu.be/5kS-vk9mPR8

It appears to be a two loop track without connecting switches.  The inner track is an elongated figure 8 and the outer loop is a simple loop with a trestle set.  All scenes of wrecks show the Super O layout even if the the tubular track layout is shown first. As mentioned previously, a few scenes show a ZW without any wire attached to it.

Steve

That would be the exact same video that is linked in the first post of this thread.

The mystery structure at the corner to Gomez' right looks similar to a Colber 101 Automatic Gate Man

Would anyone know what the exact track plan was for the 2nd. (Replacement) layout for Gomez's Addams 1965-66? I know there was a figure 8 pattern in the center. 

I've been trying to determine the design of the 2nd layout. So far it appears that the layout is a figure 8 layout in the center and a circle on the outside. They still use the same crash scene from first layout.

That's what it seems to me as well. Would anyone know what the scenery is? The Buildings? the Billboard signs? I know one of the Billboard signs is BIG GALLON, which I see some of those on eBay sometimes. Any info will GREATLY be Appreicated!! 

As mentioned, that later one doesn't seem to be completely covered by camera.

I haven't watched them in a while, but if you look close, in two close up clips of just the train and about half of two track sections, a little over 1 piece in length total, I see 0-27 ties as well.

Also, how original is the source? It's possible we may be missing parts because as time went on, more and more of the shows were edited for increased commercial time. Multiple versions may have distributed to different parts of the States etc.. on purpose or accident. If some director/editor ends up with 5 cuts & one shot difference between them, no budget left, some of the cuts may have seen airtime in one city, but not another. Rather than waste the film and not distrubute enough to succeed; you'd use what you did have.

I enjoyed watching that layout when the show was first on.

Maybe one of the layout builders would offer something similar to this for sale?

 

Thanks,

Phil 

Punkrockpub posted:

That's what it seems to me as well. Would anyone know what the scenery is? The Buildings? the Billboard signs? I know one of the Billboard signs is BIG GALLON, which I see some of those on eBay sometimes. Any info will GREATLY be Appreicated!! 

To the right of the BIG GALLON is Van De Camps beans.  The buildings the Big Gallon is on, as well as the one to the right with two air operated canisters on it both look scratch built out of chunk of wood to me.

redrockbill posted:

Love this topic. But, even more, I want the table that layout is mounted on! 

Yes!!!  And a room that big to put it in!!!

I'm .looking for that exact table as well. I did, however found a table at a thrift store that was made in the 1930s or 1940s that would suffice. But I would like to have a table as seen in the series. 

This looks like this would be a more "cost effective" Addams Family Layout!!! From what I can tell, it's a Figure 8 pattern within an Oval. I "think" I have discovered most of the billboards, with all the help here from all of you guys, which I've Very Grateful for!!!!   Does anyone else think that this "replacement) 2nd layout is on a 5X9 plywood sheet? I know that the 1st, original one was on that size of a sheet. I can't afford to build an exact replica of the original layout. That would cost over $7000! So, if anyone has any info on this layout, please let me know at your convenience. I humbly thank you all in advance and hope to hear some good news soon!

Jeff 

 

Anyone else notice that when Gomez says "he's going to switch the trains to the  same track", he moves each throttle lever to the opposite position on his ZW power pack; setting power from 100% to zero and vise-verse. 

Replica layout from youtube:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=B-C2o0sr5_Y

It looks wrong in color.  Haha Commentary indicates that we will see a magazine article on the Addams Family layout in the near future.

 

FierceEye posted:

I've been trying to determine the design of the 2nd layout. So far it appears that the layout is a figure 8 layout in the center and a circle on the outside. They still use the same crash scene from first layout.

Not much to go on, but yes it looks like an outer loop, elevated on one side with a bridge in the middle.  The inner loop is a basic figure 8 that seems to be unconnected to the outer loop.  The simple “factory building” does appear to be wooden and either came from the prop department or possibly assembled from a generic building block set.  In either case the building should be easy to replicate.  

The question is, what makes the layout fun?  It’s the wrecks and resulting explosion.  We have some talented people on here who I am sure could use light and sound effects to achieve a very similar result; an “explosion” triggered by a plunge switch that would also release one end of a hinged bridge, stopping an oncoming train just inches before disaster.  Think of the American Flyer cow on the track accessory.

Personally I’d go with browns and grays and skip and green ground cover.  That would give you more of a monochromatic look.  

I'm using an older computer, so I don't have the ability to do "zoom in /  close ups" photos. I have, however, could identify some of the billboard signs. Van Camps beans , Big Gallon, and Target Range. If anyone can make some close ups of the buildings, I will be most grateful & thankful.  

In the Addams Family Episode where Gomez looses his memory, you get a good picture of the 2nd layout. The layout is a figure 8 in the middle with the outside track running around the outside. The inside track is ground level, the outside track is ground level in the far side and the closer track is elevated and has a bridge. The track is 027. The outside track has enough straights on all sides to fit the o27 figure 8 in the middle.