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Hi Everybody--  Back on January 3rd I ran a couple of photos of the 1/2-inch scale, live steam railroad that I was exposed to in my youth, growing up in my native Oakland, CA.

https://ogrforum.com/t...nt-railroad-memories

 

The layout was built totally from scratch, using raw materials, by my late grandfather, Victor T. Shattock, over a span of several years.  I'd like to run several more photos to give you a better idea of what the layout looked like.  Enjoy the look back !!

(Rich Melvin and Jack Wheelihan will like this because it is real STEAM !!)

 

Ken Shattock (KRK)

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THe detail on those were really nice. I can't imagine making something like that from scratch with what they had to work with back then, it's amazing. Those were true modelers and craftsmen. And live steam as well. It would be difficult at best to try and duplicate that today, if anyone even could.

 

I also think it is really impressive that they were almost always wearing a suit and tie, or at least a tie when working on their hobby. No sweat pants and t-shirts. Those were really different times. I also like the looks of the old basements, reminds me of my grandparents basement and many old buildings I have worked in over the years. Not to mention the poor lighting they had to work in. I find it all fascinating.

Thanks for your replies guys !  Here is some general info about Vic Shattock's Live Steam basement railroad ...

 

VICTOR SHATTOCK’s BASEMENT RAILROAD
Oakland, California

** FACT SHEET **

Location: 1877- 38th Avenue, corner of Foothill Blvd; Fruitvale District—Oakland…
Total trackage: Approx. 400 feet.
Scale and Track Gauge: ½ inch scale; 1/24th full size; 2 ½ inch gauge.
(Known in the United Kingdom officially as "Gauge Three")
Fuel: Denatured Alcohol (wood alcohol)
(Known in the United Kingdom officially as "Methylated Spirits")

Burner Method: Vaporizing Burner of Vic Shattock’s personal design.
Boiler construction: Standard fire-tube boiler construction (all copper) using staybolts
Asbestos boiler lagging, and other accessories.
Boiler pressure (operating): 85 to 100 psi …
Feed Water: Axle-driven pumps; Horizontal feed water pump, steam operated.
Lubrication: Steam cylinder oil via Mechanical Lubricator
Direction of travel: Standard johnson bar in the cab on engineer’s side.
Throttle control: Manual… Throttle handle extended just a little thru the cab roof.
Radio Control: NO… Not available…
Locomotives:
TWO (2) 2-8-2 "Mikados" : # 3217 and # 3254
TWO (2) 4-6-2 "Pacifics" : # 2422 I and # 2422 II (# I built in 1929)
ONE (1) 2-8-0 "Consolidation" # 2753
ONE (1) 0-6-0 "SP Switch Engine" # 1207 (Stolen from basement in 1946)

Rolling Stock:
Twenty-two (22) freight cars of various types.
One (1) Central Pacific "Harriman-style" Chair Car (coach)

One Turntable: SP 110-foot common standard (55 inches long) containing 2500 rivets.
Three tunnels
One ballast deck trestle
One steel girder bridge
Two signal bridges
Three two-track stub end yards
Twelve turnouts plus One double-slip switch
Roundhouse with Five(5) stalls and electrically operated turntable.
One water column standpipe (operational)
One water tank with spout in Roundhouse (operational)
Fully automatic block signal system

 

Overall interior size of basement:  45 x 32 feet--  9 foot ceiling...

110-lb, SP Common Standard T-rail (BRASS) specially created and rolled by Rollin J. Lobaugh Company.  They also provided scale rail joiners, spikes, and tie plates: All brass.

 

Wood for ties and car bodies came from old Kraft Cheese Boxes and cut to desired pieces..  (LOTS)

Tanks for "tank cars" came from former Carbon Tetrachloride fire extinquisher bottles.

Ice cubes could be fed through hatches of two PFE cars and keep your sandwich cold while working on the layout.  SP Hopper car had all working doors and was used for ballasting the track.

 

To SEE this layout in operation, go to You Tube and Search for "Steam Railroading in the Basement" ...  There are two parts!  Among the dozens of newspapers and magazines my Grandfather was featured in, he was on the front cover of Model Railroader for APRIL-1951  and JANUARY-1939...  In the Jan-'39 issue is a photo story written by "Boomer Pete" (Al Kalmbach) who visited and couldn't believe what he saw firsthand!

Notable Guests and other visitors:
Various Southern Pacific Officers
Various Southern Pacific Division Managers
Al Kalmbach, Publisher, Model Railroader
Linn Westcott, Editor, Model Railroader
Bill Walthers, The Walthers Company
John Allen, Gorre & Daphetid RR, Monterey, CA.
Eddie "Rochester" Anderson (Jack Benny Show)
Walt Disney
Dick Bagley, Publisher, The Miniature Locomotive
Whit Towers, Editor, NMRA Bulletin
Bob Bast, NMRA
Lawrence Sagle, B&O RR
Various civic, school district, and other community leaders
News Media (various)
Movietone News
Lloyd Combs, Professional film maker…
Ray Maker, Amusement Park Train builder
Billy Jones, Los Gatos
Louis McDermott, Overfair Railway builder
Charles "Budge" Garbett, local oldtime modelmaker
Rollin J. Lobaugh, Model Railroad Manufacturer
Jack Collier, Jack Collier’s "Toys for Men", Oakland.
Walter I. Brown, founding member, Eastbay Model Engineers Society
Plus hundreds and hundreds of other visitors.

All railroad locomotives, rolling stock and accessories totally "scratchbuilt" from raw
materials in Victor Shattock’s workshop… No kits of any kind were used…

Notable Events:
Founding location and Headquarters: Golden Gate Live Steamers (1936)
National Convention Layout Tour (NMRA)-- Oakland, CA. (1947)
Radio Appearance: The Old Craftsman, KFRC, San Francisco (1938)
Radio Appearance: Hobby Lobby, New York City (1938)

In the 1940’s , Victor Shattock and his friend and fellow club member, Walter Brown,
were National Co-Chairmen of the NMRA’s "Live Steam Standards Committee" …

Victor Shattock was employed by the Southern Pacific Railroad for thirty-six years !
(1923—1959)
Within the railroad’s maintenance of way department (Western Division) he was the "Water Service Foreman" (railroad plumbing//HVAC) , responsible for anything on the railroad having to do with plumbing, HVAC, tinsmithing, train and ferryboat fueling, and so forth.
He was a member of the Brotherhood of Maintenance-of-Way Employees (BMWE) and was Secretary—Treasurer of Subordinate Lodge # 407 at West Oakland. He was also Division Grievance Chairman and Asst.Chairman of the Pacific Federation.

I hope these facts about Victor T. Shattock are helpful in some way.
He died in Alameda, CA in April-1974 at the age of eighty-seven years…

Cheers...

KRK

 

 

 

Last edited by keyrouteken

You don't find men with talent like Victor Shattock anymore. The man had to be an artist, mechanical, engineer, steam fitter, craftsman and a machinist to make all those engines. When this man past away, we can only wonder what happened to all the equipment. Does it still exist? Live steam still exists but I doubt if people custom scratch build steam engines anymore. 

After initially being "fired-up" and ready to roll, An engine was usually run by itself for a half dozen laps to see if it was running ok and so forth.  Then a train was made up from the Yards and attached to the engine.  Two "toots" of the whistle, and your wildest dreams were set in motion !  STEAM trains running around your basement..

 

KRK

What a treat! The videos are wonderful. It's lucky that some pros came around to document this masterpiece on film.

 

He seemed a little surprised in his narrative that so many craftsmen came to see his work.  He sounded pleased and a little humbled by their curiosity and respect.

 

Was it your father that did the electrical work for the turntable and blower vent? "I didn't know much about electricity" was his matter of fact comment.

 

Do you know if the track still survives or any of the locos and rolling stock? 

Ken, thanks for posting the pictures and information, I appreciate you sharing them with us.  Amazing locomotives and layout!

 

 
Originally Posted by Dennis LaGrua:

Live steam still exists but I doubt if people custom scratch build steam engines anymore. 

Dennis, I'll back up John's post... there are a lot more live steam locomotives built these days than most people think.  There is a man not far from my house that is building a 1/4 scale (that's one-quarter of full size, not 1/4"=1') Santa Fe Northern from scratch.  It is a monster!  7+ gauge steamers are more common... I have some friends that build 7-1/2" live steam as a group, they always have several (yes, several) locomotives under construction on the shop floor when I visit.  However, I realize that Live Steam is an esoteric hobby, one most people don't even know about.  It is surprising to find out how many live steam tracks there are in the US, usually with multiple hobbyists enjoying each track.  Live Steam is alive and well!

Hi Everybody--  First off, THANK YOU for all the comments about my grandfather's live steam basement railroad in Oakland, CA.  I realize this was not O-gauge, Lionel or whatever-- but it was something so different, so astounding, so marvelous shall we say, that I wanted to share it with all of you.  Years ago, when my grandfather was addressing civic groups, clubs and whatever, he stated (even in the 1930's) that there were thousands of people nationwide who had model trains in their house.  However, "the idea of STEAM engines hauling cars around a scenic railway in someone's home was totally unheard of" !!  The various media got wind of this and wrote it up. Newspapers, magazines, radio, TV, Newsreel outfits, et al.

ALL of the BIG names in Model Railroading, NMRA included, have been in Vic Shattock's basement.  Al Kalmbach, Linn  Westcott, Bill Walthers, Rollin Lobaugh, Whit Towers, Bob Bast, John Allen, even Walt Disney--  have been in that old basement in the Victorian home in Oakland where I lived and where I was raised by HIM for the first 14 years of my life, as his own son!

 

The railroad was essentially in that basement from around 1930 to 1961.  Vic did not own the house.  He rented it for all those years.

 

On February 3, 1961 the LAST MEETING of the Golden Gate Live Steamers was held in Vic Shattock’s basement. The house had been sold and Vic and his family had to vacate and be out by April of that year. The railroad was dismantled and placed in storage for a while and later on certain locomotives and rolling stock & accessories were disposed of in various manners. This was a very sad ending to a live steam empire created by a very congenial man considered by some to be a genius in his field.

 

And now, on a personal note, I'll add this:

Maude Shattock, wife of Victor, died on February 9, 1961, due to a ruptured aorta.  The last meeting of the GGLS at Vic's basement had occurred just 6 days earlier.  The house had been sold and the family had to vacate by April.  In addition, Vic had his hands full caring for and comforting his grandson Kenneth, who essentially lost his mother.

 

February-1961 was terrible for ME and the family.  A steam railroad had to be dismantled.  Where would it go ?  We had to find a place to live.  I was still going to school.  I was in the 9th grade!  Most of the locomotives were sold to interested parties.  The rolling stock went to family members who wanted a couple of cars to have on display in their home!  The accessories, turntable, etc got thrown out in the dump!  Yes, true!

Today, I have his SP P-4 "Pacific" 4-6-2 # 2422.  He built it in 1929 and it sits in a glass display case in my dining room!  I also have the Caboose, built in 1925, and the Hopper Car and Harriman-type Coach.  These are all 2 1/2-inch gauge...

BUT, I also have something else worth more than anything else:  MEMORIES !!

 

By the way, Vic's oldest son, Ron (my uncle) was a whiz with electricity. It was he who wired up the block signal system and the motor and controls for the turntable. My grandfather built the signals (built everything) and Ron installed them and wired to the insulated track blocks.  When I was about 11 years old, I built a model board for the layout to indicate block occupancy!  Uncle Ron worked for Western Electric for 42 years-- I retired from the Bell System with almost 50-years.  I took electronics in high school and college as well as serving as an Electronics Tech in the US Navy..  Hopefully, I can wire up my forthcoming O-gauge layout construction.  (grin)

 

One last tidbit, guys...  During Christmas of 1952 (I was SIX), Santa Claus brought me a brand new MARX 0-27 train set.  I thought that was the greatest thing in the World!

I loved it and added more stuff to it!  it was really FUN !

BUT, just a few feet below the living room floor was a STEAM railroad empire ! In closing, I hope you don't mind me sharing a few personal details!

Happy Railroading !!

KRK

Originally Posted by L.I.TRAIN:

PRETTY COOL

Amazing how many photo's showed the operator dressed in a suit and tie working or operating trains. A stark comparison to todays Jeans and dress down standards

Steve, I was thinking the exact same. Dress "code" in the day 1930's-early 60's was so formal.. I look like Mr. Green Jeans today in my outfits.

Hi Guys--  Time for a few more memories ..  But first, when I post photos on here, why do they double or triple in number after posting.  I find that stupid and irritating !

 

Anyway,  one of my grandfather's live steam models "traveled by train from Oakland to NYC" to be featured on National Radio..  Here is the story !!

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'Vic Shattock' on Hobby Lobby show: Oct 19, 1938     Author: KeyRouteKen


"Hobby Lobby" was a weekly radio show that was carried on one of the National networks of the day.  The show invited various listeners to apply to be on the show and tell the folks at home all about what they pursued in their spare time.  Or as show creator "Dave Elman" explained: To "Lobby for their Hobby"...
Didn't matter if it was stamp collecting, butterfly collecting, woodworking or any number of possibilities, if the Show's producers thought your hobby was worthy, you got to be on the Show.  It was primarily sponsored by "Fels & Co."--  longtime makers of Fels-Naptha Laundry Soap and Fels-Naptha Soap Chips.
After applying to be on the Show and originally declined by the producers, "Vic Shattock, an Employee of the Southern Pacific Railroad" was invited to be on the weekly spot, on a National radio hookup.  He was to bring a locomotive and accessories required, to New York City to "Lobby for his unusual Hobby". The broadcast date selected was Wednesday, October 19, 1938.  The Southern Pacific seized upon this moment and personally got involved. My grandparents were provided transportation to New York City courtesy of SP.  They were put up in the Waldorf-Astoria hotel.  A "Mikado-type steam locomotive was chosen from the basement collection. His small Mike # 3217, an MK-4 Class. It was packed in a special box with required track and accessories and placed in the confines of an SP baggage car for the long trip ahead.
At the studios in Radio City, the locomotive was steamed-up and put thru its paces while Vic Shattock told a National audience how he built these locomotives.  His employer got tons of free publicity.  Here was one of their own, talking railroads (SP in particular) on national radio. The sounds of the engine's exhaust, whistle and cylinder cocks among other things were broadcast live, over the Network that Wednesday night so many, many years ago. The little engine gained the reputation of being heard all over the Country.
After the big broadcast, Vic and my grandmother took the train home to Oakland, CA. The SP requested that the locomotive stay in New York for a few weeks to be on display in the window of their NYC ticket office.  Vic agreed to this.  When the engine "took the train home" to Oakland, it was dropped by somebody.  But it was packed so well that no harm ever came to it. In my archives, I have a copy of the original radio script, so I know how the broadcast went.  I also have the letter he received from FELS & CO, thanking him for being on the Show.  In appreciation for being on the Show, the folks at FELS, mailed him TWO BOXES of their "Soap Chips" product.   Well, at least he could keep his clothes clean. (grin)

Photo 1.   The late Dave Elman, creator of Hobby Lobby and the Host for the broadcast.
Photo 2.   The late Vic Shattock, with SP "Mikado" # 3217 in the studio for the Show.
Thanks for letting me share more old memories.
Ken Shattock  (KRK)

 

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Ken,

What a great concept for a radio show in it's time.  I'll bet a few folks got involved in hobbies they first heard on the show.  That was quite an honor for your grandfather.  Funny how SP jumped on the bandwagon and the nice gift Fels gave him.  I sure do remember Fels Naptha soap was all my mother used to wash our clothes.  Also, I still buy the bars of their soap as my dad always encouraged its use especially if we thought we got into poison ivy.

My grandfather liked to help out his employer (SP) with things like advertising, etc.

So,  let's go back some 78-years, to SP company headquarters in downtown San Francisco:

 

The year is 1937.  Four years before Pearl Harbor.  Southern Pacific is going full steam ahead in advertising its various products and services.

In this view of the main window at company headquarters, 65-Market Street, San Francisco, a miniature freight train brings the subject home and gets the point across to its patrons and other customers.

And naturally, the train 'must' be powered by one of the popular P-4 Class 4-6-2 "Pacific"-type locomotives. And actually STEAM-powered, at that..

That photo was taken seventy-eight years ago.  The model locomotive was built in 1929.
That SP Caboose was built in 1925.  The other freight cars whereabouts are unknown.

Today, both the locomotive and the Caboose reside in my home.  I think most of you probably have guessed by now who built them.  Yep-- my Grandpa, Vic Shattock.

He would loan his models out to various corporations for special occasions.
Advertising, luncheon or dinner headtable "centerpieces", corporate meetings and on and on.  I doubt if he was ever paid for doing this.

I have a letter from Leland Cutler, President, Golden Gate International Exposition, thanking him for bringing his trains to the World's fair on Treasure Island.

I have a letter from the secretary of the famous "Bohemian Club" in San Francisco thanking him for the use of a locomotive at one of their big luncheon meetings.

When I was barely in my teens, I helped him take four locomotives, two Pacific's and two Mikado's to Goodman's Hall in Jack London Square-Oakland for a big meeting of the "Old Rails Club" ... Those old guys went NUTS !!

 

In 1939, the "Industrial Arts Teachers" held their convention in downtown Oakland at the Hotel Oakland, 14th & Alice Streets.  The Golden Gate Live Steamers put on a railroad display.  Vic constructed a portable track from the kitchen to the Ballroom and brought in delegates lunch on flat cars pulled by STEAM !

During the 1940's he constructed a portable track and installed it out in East Oakland on 76th Avenue for a benefit sponsored by the Southern Pacific Storekeeper's Assn.
Kids were lined up for blocks to take a ride behind a steam locomotive.

This was my Grandpa..  Always wanting to help out when called upon--but getting paid very little if anything.  Thanks for letting me share more memories!

Ken Shattock  (KRK)

 

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Ken,

I really appreciate the personal stories. The insight into one man's approach to the hobby in it's early days is not something one can find easily.

 

One commonality that struck me early on is that he liked to see his trains make people smile. So, do I.

 

I am still impressed with the fact that Lobaugh came to visit him.

 

Do you know how the panoramic backdrop came to be? Quite impressive to have those large photos or prints in his day.

Originally Posted by keyrouteken:

Today, I have his SP P-4 "Pacific" 4-6-2 # 2422.  He built it in 1929 and it sits in a glass display case in my dining room!  I also have the Caboose, built in 1925, and the Hopper Car and Harriman-type Coach.  These are all 2 1/2-inch gauge...

I'd love to see a photo of that as it exists today...

Originally Posted by Moonman:

Ken,

I really appreciate the personal stories. The insight into one man's approach to the hobby in it's early days is not something one can find easily.

 

One commonality that struck me early on is that he liked to see his trains make people smile. So, do I.

 

I am still impressed with the fact that Lobaugh came to visit him.

 

Do you know how the panoramic backdrop came to be? Quite impressive to have those large photos or prints in his day.

My grandfather was very good friends with Rollin J. Lobaugh of O-gauge fame, for it was his company in San Francisco that produced the BRASS rail, rail joiners, tie plates and spikes.

Around 1930, the Golden Gate Model Engineers Guild in SF consisted of electric model railroaders, live steam enthusiasts, model plane, boat and model race car buffs.  Rollin J. Lobaugh and my grandfather both belonged to the Guild!  About 1933, the electric RR buffs split off and founded the Eastbay Model Engineers Society led by Walter I. Brown...

In 1936, my grandfather, Vic Shattock, took his followers and split off from the Guild and created the Golden Gate Live Steamers; the oldest live steam club in the U.S. today!

 

My Uncle Ron, Vic's oldest son, also belonged to the Guild.  Vic and Ron were known as "Big Smoke" and "Little Smoke" Shattock to the other Guild members !

The ATTACHED photo shows one of the many monthly dinner meetings of the Guild.

Now look carefully:   In the second row from the right, 2nd person from the front, is "Rollin J. Lobaugh" (with a #10 behind his head)...

In the far right row, 3rd person from front (leaning way forward) is "Ronald 'Little Smoke' Shattock" ......  In the same row, 2nd from front (right next to Ron) is Victor "Big Smoke" Shattock....  So, we have a steam railway builder and the "rail producer" having dinner together.  How 'bout that ?

 

Cheers.

 

KRK

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One other thing guys, that one of you brought up previously:

Old photographs and films, videos...

 

My grandfather left me his complete photo collection dating back to 1913 and before.

All the films--  everything !  I treasure them dearly!  I feel I owe it to him to keep his memory alive as long as possible, especially because of the life he gave me starting shortly after I was born !  So I decided to write a multi-chapter BOOK that will tell the entire story..  It is a BIG project.  Besides all the photos I already have, one of our GGLS members provided another "13-pounds" of photos from one of Vic's deceased long time friends.  They came in a FedEx box--I couldn't believe it!

Before signing off for today, here is the FOREWORD for the new book :

 

Foreword

 

 

 

Those of us who regret the passing of the Age of Steam will take heart at the durable nature of some of the world's miniature railways.  In the United States particularly, the small steam locomotives are often our only reminder that once their big prototypes were a commonplace on the railroads of the nation.  In many foreign lands, the miniature steam locomotive has had a better chance of survival; but they disappear one by one until only a few are left, preserved in the case of Britain by Railway Societies and others.  These reawaken our interest in the part the steam engine once played in the world of commerce and in our daily lives.

In the belief that there must be many people who would like to share with me almost a century of miniature steam railways and their creators in the United States, I have set down in the following pages the story of the roads themselves and the men who had much to do with them.

The hobby of building scale miniature steam locomotives coins a new term for the description of the hobbyist himself.  "Live Steamer" !  As we shall see within these pages, our primary focus will be about the life of a young boy from Devon in the United Kingdom who at the age of twenty-five years emigrated to Alberta, Canada and then to the United States some twelve years later and set in motion the beginnings of the live steam hobby we have today.

Twenty-three years after the arrival of the young Brit to the United States, this author came into the world. I was born into an extended railroad family, not by choice, but by

the will of God.  Within some twelve months time, I would have my first meeting with that British live steamer.   And now our story begins !

          Kenneth  V. Shattock

February 26, 2013

 

Cheers to all,

KRK

 

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