Model Trains in 1925 and Scale

The thing that struck me first was that it was not an island. Even back in 1925 we had already discovered around the room layouts with a duck under. The tunnel portal on the back left looks like the train may have run through the wall into another room and then back through on the front side - which is not shown in the photo, but that front track had to come from somewhere.  Another "modern" concept for its time ? 

Another thing, the track looks to be sitting on some type of formed road bed and you can see that best by the front right locomotive and the curved piece that is laying on the floor to the left of the layout. 

Seems like I remember reading something about this many years ago in Model Railroader. There was one or two sentences about a totally scratch built railroad from 1925. I wonder who the little girl is in the picture. She would be well into her high nineties now, if she is still living. It would be interesting to know the story behind this layout. Whoever built it would have to be a master machinist.  

There was flex track & roadbed track & track that rolled up like a runner/carpet too

Solid rail with wood ties . And ties to resemble concrete ones. 

I wonder if the roadbed isn't simply wood. If mass produced, Id expect a beveled cut similar to FT etc.. Ive never seen roadbed in any era be that squared off, that's all. It has always had a sloped bank that I've seen.

Locomotives and cars had heft and huge motors for the day.Durability was not an issue.

dk122trains posted:

Locomotives and cars had heft and huge motors for the day.Durability was not an issue.

You're probably right; everything back then (and well into the mid-century) was built to be "durable".

Case in point:

1938 Hamilton Beach Model 18B; runs as well today as (I suppose) it did back then... 

This is the only thing I took from my Dad's "estate"; it was the only thing I wanted.

Mark in Oregon

Really neat picture.

The history of scale model RR'ing is not clear to me...I know about JLC's Hudson of 1937, made in part to bring the scale crowd into 3-rail, and that HO was around, but other than that I don't know much.

It is two rail track. I wonder if it is Ives or one of the other early manufacturers that my brain has not yet fully grasped. I think some of the early stuff had the ties mounted or as one whole piece(the roadbed and rails all together as one solid piece). I can't for the life of me get it squarely to the clear picture in my head. I think last year at the Toy Train Museum I saw something like the track is.

The railroad was called the Swartzell Railroad System. That is Margaret Swartzell on the layout. The house was in Washington D.C.

If you notice it looks like a curved track under the layout. Railroad pictures on the wall. Two mechanical levers for the switches. Wonder if the owner was a big wig for a Railroad. I think is says Baltimore and Ohio on the tender. Don

"Scale model railroading" may have - probably did - precede "toy trains" (as in for-sale-to-the-public). So long as things have been made by humans, there have been good models of them made. (Ancient Greek and Roman - and other - architects built scale models of proposed buildings; ancient shipbuilders did the same; the concept of "scale" is an easy one, and they certainly had precise units of measure.) And, in 1925, the average person was far more clever that he is now, with mechanical knowledge gathered from an early age.

Beautiful stuff in the photo.  

I thought that every single piece of this layout, track, cars,buildings and locomotives was scatchbuilt by the owner. Someone may correct my history on that.

TNCENTRR, or if he was wealthy he had it build. The little girl looks like she was well cared for.  Don

Back in 2014 we had a long thread on this railroad complete with a lot of other pictures and references.  The name of the railroad was the B&O Jr. 

https://ogrforum.com/...47#38737273698473547

Look impressive to me.

Amazing that people were once able to play trains without a phone, DCS or bluetooth. 

CBL #1

The little girl is utterly adorable, and reminds me a little of Shirley Temple. I love to see girls, as well as boys, playing with trains.

I agree that the trains, track and station look like they may be scratch built and are attractive and very interesting.

Robert, I'm getting old. I forgot I posted that thread. Wonder what ever happened to the railroad? Don

Searched for Margaret and found a photo of her and dad playing trains on the front porch

Here is that picture Aussteve and a little more. Don