In this article, we’ll take a closer look at the Model Railroader Hall of Fame May nominees. For those of you joining us for the first time, we’re creating a hall of fame as part of our 90th anniversary year. The rules for nomination are simple. The inductee must have made a significant contribution to the hobby and they must be deceased.
Each month, a member of the MR editorial staff will nominate a slate of three candidates (links for the previous months are located at the end of this article). Voting is cumulative, not one nominee per month. The inaugural class of the Model Railroader Hall of Fame will be announced in the December 2024 issue.
Is there a model railroader that you feel we’ve overlooked? Send a letter or e-mail to the addresses listed in the front of Model Railroader magazine. All suggestions will be considered, but that does not guarantee they will be nominated.
Malcolm Furlow (1946-2023)
If you were to create a list of influential Model Railroader authors of the 1980s, you’d probably find Malcolm Furlow’s name near the top. In addition to sharing updates on his 10 x 10 foot HOn3 Denver & Rio Chama Western, Malcolm also built the 8 x 10-foot HOn3 San Juan Central and 8 x 8-foot HO scale Carbondale Central.
Malcolm pursued an art degree and spent nearly 20 years as a professional musician. After that, he constructed movie sets and models for Walt Disney Studios. A 1977 John Olsen article rekindled Malcolm’s interest in the hobby.
Most of Malcolm’s early articles were about his Denver & Rio Chama Western. Within five years of his first MR byline, Malcolm had become one of the hobby’s most popular figures.
Malcolm is perhaps best known for building the San Juan Central, subject of a multi-part series that appeared in MR in 1983 and 1984. The model railroad was noteworthy for being our first narrow gauge project layout.
Following a successful run in the hobby, Malcolm went back to his art roots and became an internationally known painter. He returned to MR in September 2003 to share his 1:20.3 Ferrocarril de Rio Montañas layout.
Malcolm died in March 2023 from complications of long COVID.
Dick Elwell (1935-2022)
Though I never met Dick Elwell, I felt like I knew him thanks to MR. Through the various features on his HO scale Hoosac Valley (HV) layout, I could see he was an accomplished modeler. Based on the number of times his name appeared in other articles for helping or inspiring fellow modelers, it became apparent his impact was far reaching.
Dick began work on the first Hoosac Valley in 1961. The layout was featured in the October 1990 MR and Great Model Railroads 1996.
Dick moved to a new house in 2002. He saved about 90% of the original HV and expanded the layout. The updated version of the layout was featured in GMR 2008 and the August 2017 MR.
“Dick was without a doubt the most thoughtful, warm, caring person I ever met, always smiling and with never a negative thing to say about anyone,” said MR Contributing Editor Lou Sassi. “Not only was he willing to open his layout to people, but he didn’t hesitate to travel to other modelers’ homes, giving advice when asked to do so, and helping them with the building of their own railroads.”
Dick died on October 21, 2022 after a 14-year battle with cancer.
John Pryke (1940-2013)
For more than 45 years, John Pryke shared his modeling techniques with MR readers. During that time he covered a variety of topics, such as modeling superelevated curves, making photo backdrops, and weathering steam locomotives.
John made his debut in the February 1965 MR when images of his New York, New Haven & Hartford 0-8-0 steam locomotive were printed. In August 1965, photos of his scratchbuilt model of New Haven class R-3 4-8-2 No. 3561 were published.
For a quarter century, John worked on a 25 x 35-foot HO scale model railroad depicting the New Haven between New York and Boston in September 1948. The layout, and projects related to it, were featured in MR and GMR.
Among John’s most popular work was his four-part series on Union Freight, an HO scale urban switching layout. The articles appeared in the September through December 2000 issues of MR.
In 2005, John and his wife moved to Cape Cod, Mass. There he stared work on a 12 x 20-foot HO scale layout re-creating the New Haven on Cape Cod.
John passed away on December 22, 2013 in Chatham, Mass.
Time to vote
Now that you’ve learned about the Model Railroader Hall of Fame May nominees, click here to place your vote.
Here are links to the previous Model Railroader Hall of Fame stories.
