Gorre & Daphetid
Encyclopedia
The Gorre & Daphetid model railroad was a notable HO scale
HO scale
HO or H0 is the most popular scale of model railway in the world.According to the NMRA standard S-1.2 predominantly used in North America, in HO scale, represents 1 real foot ; this ratio works out to about 1:87.1. According to the MOROP standard NEM 010 predominantly used in Europe, the scale is...
layout built by John Whitby Allen
John Whitby Allen
John Whitby Allen was an American model railroader who created the famous HO scale, Gorre & Daphetid model railroad in Monterey, California and authored numerous magazine articles on model railroading starting in the 1940s...
in Monterey, California
Monterey, California
The City of Monterey in Monterey County is located on Monterey Bay along the Pacific coast in Central California. Monterey lies at an elevation of 26 feet above sea level. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,810. Monterey is of historical importance because it was the capital of...
. (The name is pronounced "gory & defeated".)
The Gorre & Daphetid, also known as "The Gorre" or just "The G&D," was actually three successive model railroads. The first two small versions were built at Allen's home in Monterey. The final version of the G&D, which incorporated the earliest layout, was much larger and built over a period of twenty years at his new Cielo Terrace home in Monterey, where he excavated part of the basement to build the railroad. Mr. Allen was a pioneer in the field of model railroading - as a professional photogapher he had the artistic talent and attention to detail to create and document incredibly realistic scenes, and did so in numerous articles featured in Model Railroader
Model Railroader
Model Railroader is an American magazine specializing in the hobby of model railroading. It was founded in 1934 by Al C. Kalmbach and is based in Waukesha, Wisconsin. It is published monthly by Kalmbach Publishing...
, the NMRA's Scale Rails and Railroad Model Craftsman
Railroad Model Craftsman
Railroad Model Craftsman is an American magazine specializing in the hobby of model railroading. Its first issue in March 1933 was called Model Craftsman because it covered other areas of scale modeling as well. In April 1949 it changed its focus to model trains and changed its name to reflect this...
magazines. He developed a wonderful story of origin, including humor and numerous references to his friends in the model railroading and model railroading publishing industry. He designed and built numerous buildings and people. The final layout is considered one of the greatest layouts of all time, and has several fan websites and a devoted Yahoo discussion groups.
The basement of the house was severely damaged by fire just ten days after John Allen suffered a fatal heart attack in January 1973. Most of the layout was destroyed in the fire. However, one of the locomotives, No. 34, a 4-10-0
4-10-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-10-0 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels, ten powered and coupled driving wheels, and no trailing wheels. Central Pacific Railroad's El Gobernador, built in 1883, was the only locomotive with this wheel...
that John kitbashed
Kitbashing
Kitbashing or model bashing is a practice whereby a new scale model is created by taking pieces out of commercial kits. These pieces may be added to a custom project or to another kit. For professional modelmakers, kitbashing is popular to create concept models for detailing movie special effects...
from parts, resides in the office of Model Railroader magazine executive editor Andy Sperandeo
Andy Sperandeo
Andy Sperandeo has been an editorial employee of Model Railroader Magazine since 1979 He is currently executive editor after being the magazine's editor previously. He has also written a few books on Model Railroading such as Easy Model Railroad Wiring, The Model Railroader's Guide to Freight Yards...
. Sperandeo was a frequent visitor to the G&D, being stationed in California while serving in the United States Army.
Kalmbach Publishing
Kalmbach Publishing
Kalmbach Publishing Co. is an American publisher of books and magazines, many of them railroad-related. It is now located in nearby Waukesha, Wisconsin...
published a book entitled Model Railroading with John Allen written by Allen's longtime friend, Linn Westcott
Linn Westcott
Linn Hanson Westcott was an American model railroader, best known as the influential editor of Model Railroader magazine...
. The book is currently out of print and used copies can fetch a premium price at booksellers and online auction sites. There is a new edition available through a different source, check out the yahoo G ^ D website for the location.
Allen was a professional photographer by trade, and numerous boxes of his slides and prints are in storage at Kalmbach Publishing's corporate building in Waukesha, Wisconsin
Waukesha, Wisconsin
Waukesha is a city in and the county seat of Waukesha County, Wisconsin, in the Upper Midwest region of the United States. The population was 70,718 at the 2010 census, making it the largest community in the county and 7th largest in the state. The city is located adjacent to the Town of Waukesha...
. Some of the boxes were singed by the flames of the fire that destroyed the G&D, and the smell of smoke from the blaze still lingers when one opens a box for a look at unpublished photos of the G&D.