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Executive editor Andy Sperandeo talks about running trains on John Allen’s HO scale Gorre & Daphetid.
Video: Remembering the Gorre & Daphetid
By Angela Cotey | November 19, 2008
| Last updated on November 23, 2020
Thanks for rerunning this oldie on the GD Line. Though the layout as well as John and Andy are no longer with us they’re not forgotten. RIP
I miss Andy so much, only got to meet him a hand few of times over in New Orleans club shows,(Ilived in Gulfport 60 miles to the east) fun guy and of course we love the same lady, Santa Fe. Hoping his good friends are complementing and getting the work done on the ‘retirement layout’ Andy gave much to the hobby. it would be so cool if a few off the other masters of Santa Fe came to the table, Ted York, Peter Youngblood, Howarz, Jimm Bromor , but I guess this is unlikely as they have there projects underway but its nice to dream others would come to finish our life’s dreams.
It’s good to know the legacy of “the Wizard of Monterey” is alive and well. I have the video from Sunday River about the G&D and it is as fascinating a documentary film on a model railroad as there is.
Now that Andy Sperandeo is also departed from us, so many links to the greats of the past are slowly disappearing. Keep up the great work, MR, in helping modelers remember from whence we came. We have come far, but there is still yet more to learn and do.
As far as the music goes, yes, it can be toned down a bit. It should enhance but not overpower the rest of the sound. Something to ponder….
Keep ’em rolling!
L(I have to join the chorus in complaining about the overloud music! The music adds to the presentation of course, but it mustn’t drown out the dialogue. Can’t your sound engineer get the balance right to begin with? And failing that, how about going back in and fixing it after so many complaints? I’ve experienced similar sound imbalance with other new videos on the site. C’mon, David, give your crew some direction here! )
Great memories of an amazing railroad. Love the concept of "drop it all til next Tuesday. " So many ops start at "zero" each session. But Dana…you can leave the music off.
Many years ago I was lucky enough to have the cash available when a rare (very rare in Australia) copy of the book "Model Railroading with John Allen". This book became my most read book on the shelves, on the bedside table, on the coffee table…well, you get the picture.
This video was a joy to see, fond memories to recall and made my day. THANK YOU for showing this.
Very interesting…..but please kill the annoying piano. It's way too loud!!
Rick Troyer,
Someone reads every comment posted on our website. Not all comments deserve a response, though.
In November of 1969, when I was 15 years old, I was very fortunate to visit John at his home in Monterey during the course of a family trip to San Francisco. John's friend, Jim Findley, was staying with John at the time of my visit. John was a very gracious host. The two hours spent viewing the railroad and chatting with John were the quickest two hours of my life!
There was just so much to see! The longer you looked, the more you noticed. I had poured over pictures of the Gorre & Daphetid in the pages of Model Railroader for several years prior to my visit, so I was very familiar with how the railroad was laid out. All the time I was there I kept thinking to myself, I'm finally here, I'm finally here!
My visit was everything I had hoped for. John ran a train on the mainline while patiently answering all of my many questions. The railroad was even more impressive in person. It just engulfed you as you stood in the middle of it all!
I was allowed to take photographs as long as I didn't use a flash. I had recently purchased my first SLR, a Nikkormat FTN. I used transparency film.
His untimely passing barely three years later was a great shock. John was a very kind gentleman and very generous with his time in sharing is wonderful and amazing model railroad with so many visitors over the years. John set the "standard" in so many ways.
Whats the point. You guys don't read these comments anyway.
Agree interesting video but would be so much more intelligible without the loud, unnecessary piano muzak. Can we have a version without it please?
I completely agree with Herbert's comments.
I have read elsewhere that John Allen, (the sausage king of model railroads), had a few rough edges. Guess it comes with the turf when genius drives a lot of hard work. Anyway, his vision of MR is still with us today. I wish the layout would have survived!
A good video and narrative, but the piano music has to go.
I first got into model railroading at about 14 in 1949. My first issue of MR that I saw was about 1950 and the G & D was in it. I was so impressed that a model could look so real that I was competely hooked. However, I never did acheive that level of realism in my work; never seemed to have the time. It's too bad there are no videos of the G & D, but of course they didn't exist back then.
I only saw a John Allen backdrop done on the late Cliff Robinson's layout where I was a regular operator for several years. Allen's creativity, craftsmanship and his willingness to have a genuinely purposeful operating layout give him the reputation he deserves. Glad now that MR also has better microphones and savvy about video editing so consider an update on this interview, in HD and yes, a bit less on the piano, but still worth hearing any other memories from Andy S. Again, thanks!
The music was too loud and made it very hard to understand the dialog, but I always enjoy looking at John's layout.
I thought I had seen most of the published photos of the G & D. Some of the photos in this article are the first I have seen. It may be that I am suffering from the first onset of K.R.A.F.T.'s disease (Kant Remember A Flaming Thing), I believe that it goes with being over 60. Very informative, and enjoyable episode. Always wanted to be an operator, but being from down-under, never the cash (at the time) or opportunity to visit prior to John's untimely death.
Nice video but tell your video editing guy to dump the piano score during Andy's interview. Stuff like that is okay during the beginning of the video to set a mood or during the end credits but it's annoying and a distraction when we're trying to hear the interview.
Watching this video brought back some fond memories. I also saw the G&D in 1970. I'm a little younger then Andy. I was thirteen at the time. I'm sure Andy would agree, pictures don't do that railroad justice. I liked Mr. Allen's sense of humor. In case you missed it locomotive number thirteen is a Stegosaurus. There was also a man hanging off one of the bridges. He was a diesel salesman. Mr Allen liked steam. There was a level spot on one of the mountains that was at a good height to be an arm rest. So to keep people from resting their arm there he installed a barb wire fence. A lot of the techniques we take for granted he pioneered. For instance weathering and track level photography.
The G&D was the layout that inspired me to become a model rail. It's just a shame that now we have some modelers who don't appreciate the artistry of Johns vision and his creative skill. I've seen the layout referred to as " cartoonish" or a "caricature" and I just think that's awful!
Well, color me SO impressed. The only pics of John's G&D that I have seen were of mountain running and following an engine down the line, passing a station or two. I had never seen the industrial parts of the railroad! Thanks for that AND thanks for another glimpse of Andy. Ya just don't get the chance to hear and see any of the…uhh…"old-timers"….anymore.
this model railroad is so cool i have a model r.r in ho and i think ho is the most amazing scale i have ever seen when i being this hobby in1998 i hop to have a nice railroad like this some day john allen did a good job on the railroad great job Andy
I stumbled across this video this evening. I devour anything I find about the G&D. I have the book, "Railroading with John Allen" and the movie. I also have the DVD so I can now read all of the articles that appeared in MR about the G&D. It is great to hear from someone who actually operated on the G&D. Thank you, Andy.
This layout was the first that absolutely blew me away! When you consider he did this when all our current technical advances were not available and the scenery still sets the standard for model railroads today, I wonder what he would have done in 2012, Just amazing!