I havent seen a thread on this topic anywhere in about a week, so I'll start off.
Rege Cordic, who passed away in 2000, was a model railroader! I was flabbergasted when I read this. Most of you will remember Rege as the 1950's Pittsburgh radio host who 'invented' Olde Frothingslosh, a beer so light the head floats on the bottom! A railcar full of Olde Frothingslosh weighed less loaded than it did empty!
Dear Bill,
As a kid in the 'Burgh in the '50's, I listened to Rege nearly every morning, especially on snow days!!!
Old Frothingslosh was billed as "The pale, stale ale with the foam on the bottom" and had a buxom, nay coruplent lass on the can. Pittsburgh Brewing Co. puts it out every Christmas time. Why don't you get yourself a case!
Too, there was Bob Trow as Brunhilde, Louie the Garbage Man, Ah Cool Barry Fink (the Beatnik), Johnny Costa (I think) the musician, and of course, "Omicron" the man from outer space who talked to "Kordicron." I am sure I have forgotten others, but a web search turned this up:
http://aolsearch.aol.com/aol/search?encquery=4ff78d3f33802b614987d8552f2a4d4e&invocationType=keyword_rollover&ie=UTF-8
Would suggest you listen to the sound bites for an ideer of his humor, definitely "Pittsburgh-esque."
Rege lived in Zelionople, and many the time I have passed his house.
Best Wishes,
Jack
Buster Keaton was an avid model railroad/railfan and even had an S gauge garden railway.
Former race car driver (F1 Grand Prix) Riccardo Patrese has a hugh collection.
Mel Torme, (spelling) the singer, was pictured in MR years ago
Add Frank Sinatra to the list. Just watched a video of his layout and collection in Palm Springs.
Neil Young is a well-known Lionel collector:
http://www.thrasherswheat.org/tfa/trains-neil-young-1993.htm
Do "fictional" celebrities count? ;)
Gomez Adams (The Adams Family) - O scale lionel - famous for staging crashes!
Bobby Baccalieri (The Sopranos) - O scale lionel
Reverend Lovejoy (the Simpsons) - HO scale layout in his basement.
Scot
Walt Disney ran live steam outdoors and may have an indoor layout as well. Maybe not a "celebrity", but Hermann Goering had an enormous 0 gauge layout in the attic of his estate.
Well dur, Johnny Cashy :P
Was it Mel Torme, or Vaughan Monroe? Or both?
Vaughan Monroe was a good friend of my childhood bud's dad, who was also a collector. Who knows; besides being a "lady killer", maybe he was also a "kit basher"...
Sinatra's collection-or part of it- is in some organization, museum, or something.
I also seem to recall Ralph Storey of "This is your Life" fame; as well as Henry Morgan of "I've got a secret".
I also believe that Merle haggard is in this stuff.
Rich
I seem to recall seeing some of Michael Gross' work in MR years ago.
Sid
Jack, do you mean the 300 pound go-go dancer who was named "Miss Frothingslosh 1968"-the vivacious Fatima Yechburg?
I have an old Clover House catalog that lists a dry transfer set for Olde Frothingslosh reefers in N, HO and S. Rege designed them for use on his layout.
'A whale of an ale for the pale stale male'
Oh, my Gosh! Its Olde Frothingslosh!!
Mel Torme for sure was. He even appeared in some ads in Model Railroader back in the early 1950's, maybe for Varney equipment.
Dear Bill,
That's a good one!
A web search revealed that Tom Snyder, the night time talk show host has recently died, and was an avid model railroader.
Best Wishes,
Jack
The late Tom Snyder had an extensive collection of Lionel trains. He told this story once: His father used to sell seasonal decorations to stores. They always looked at Christmas decorations on July 4th. His dad amassed a collection of Lionel trains as they were often part of the display. He continued collecting.
When he did his cable show (either MSNBC or CNBC) he had a loop of LGB trains running around the edge of the set and would run them during station break.
He was a great TV journalist and there are very few on TV today who are his equal. Too bad he smoked so much.
Hi all,
TM Books & Videos has DVD's "Celebrity Train Layouts" Frank Sinatra,
Tom Snyder, & Mandy Patinkin. I also really like their Christmas Train DVD's,
& The Great Train Story, about the new layout at Chicago Museum of Science & Industry.
Enjoy,
Barry
Neil Young is another.
Neil Young was a partner in one of the resurrections of the Lionel Company. I don't think he is still involved.
He has an autistic son and claimed that working on a train layout had helped his son.
Michael Gross did several commercials for "Operation Lifesaver",
a childrens awareness program for safety around trains & tracks. in one he stated his Father & Grandfather and he himself,while in college, worked for a railroad.
www.oli.org
Enjoy,
Barry
Gary Coleman also comes to mind.
But how many of these celebrities are model train collectors as opposed to model railroad builders?
If I'm not mistaken, Ned Jarrett, the auto racer, has a beautiful layout that was photographed and written about in MR.
What about Mr. Roger's "layout" (ya know Mr. Roger's Neighborhood)
He had a G-scale trolley runnin all the time.
Former race car driver and race commentator Sam Posey has a beautiful steam era layout. I have an MRCfrom the 80's with Gary Coleman on the cover, he worked at Caboose Hobbies part time.
brad
Add Sally Jessie Raphyal(sp?) to the list...she's into z scale..
Dave
Gary Coleman... You can't mention Johny Cash or Niel Young enough....but then there was Jerry Garcia - Yeeee Haaaa !!!!! Drive'n that train.....
Richard Nixon the thirty-seventh President of the United States. He may have never been a model railroader, but he was a rail fan.
The late Hughie Green, who if I remember correctly, was Canadian by birth had a noted model railroad which I think was OO scale.
He was noted for a programme called "Opportunity Knocks" in the UK - a form of talent show.
Richard Nixon the thirty-seventh President of the United States. He may have never been a model railroader, but he was a rail fan.
Richard Nixon's father was a motorman; I forget where, but he did operate trolleys (streetcars) in California somewhere; so an early influence was probably what contributed to Nixon's love of trains.
Rich
Nixon Trolleys in Whittier Ca, it's where he grew up. My home town.
Bodie Bailey
Rod Stewart is an HO modeler and collector.
Bob Keshan (sp?) alias Captain Kangaroo was a modeler or railfan.
Spencer Christian is a railfan and I believe a modeler and narrated/hosted a series of train videos.
Roger
Spencer Christian hosted "Tracks Ahead" a train show on PBS Stations.
They were originally made in Milwaukee, Wi., with creator/host Chuck Zehner. Chuck has now passed and the show was redone using Spencer
as host. He has carried on from there.
Barry
I knew Rege Cordic---supplied some info he was seeking about our local line.
Another was Bandleader Billy May--used to see him at regional meeets before PCR was split.
I recall an article in a popular magazine years ago on Merle Haggard--showed him on a porch with O Scale trains running on the railing.
Apparently it was rather common among performers who were on the road a lot to take along something to occupy the time between shows. I used to do the same--had an attache case with tools and kits in it--called it my "boredom box"--took along on business trips and professional conferences--where often the evenings were either open, or the main attraction was the bar. gj
Pete Waterman, most known from Pop idol, has his own model train company! Its Called Just Like the Real Thing and the website is http://www.justliketherealthing.co.uk/
Quote from: max (uk) on August 19, 2007, 08:18:08 AM
Pete Waterman, most known from Pop idol, has his own model train company! Its Called Just Like the Real Thing and the website is http://www.justliketherealthing.co.uk/
You mean he spent all the money he made in the late 80s and early 90s to have a train shop? :o
Now I feel good about buying all those Kylie Minogue records years ago...the money ended up for a "good" cause. ;D
You mean he spent all the money he made in the late 80s and early 90s to have a train shop? :o
[/quote]
Oh even better, he makes O gauge kits. He stated the business so he could have what he wanted for his model railway. ::)
Brad mentioned Sam Posey, former race car driver and sports commentator. Not only did he have an extensive layout, but he also wrote a book about it. It is called "Playing with Trains" (Random House 2004). The book is very well written but it only has two pictures in it, and that is including the dust jacket! For those of us who need pictures, his railroad was featured in the February 1995 issue of Model Railroader.
Jerry
Didn't Michael Gross have something to do with a real shortline?...Santa Fe Southern or a similar name???
Grand Moff Tarkin (Peter Cushing) had an extensive collection.
Phil Collins used to have a large HO scale American railraod in his basement when he lived in Sussex in the UK.
This all came to an end when his wife filed for divorce, the house was sold and Phil moved abroad with a early 20-something female model...... he should have stuck to the 1:87 modelling - would have cost him a LOT less!
Cheers,
Stephen.
I've heard somewhere that Paul McCartney is a rail fan. I don't think they mentioned if he was a modeler as well.
Michael Palin, of Monty Python fame, is a huge railroad buff. He started as a kid with the British hobby called "train spotting" and has spent a lot of time riding the rails all over the world.
I read that Frank Sinatra had someone build him a life-size replica of a lionel frieght house and that is what houses his lionel train layout.
JSMVM
I can't believe someone mentioned Zelionople.
I'm from St. Louis, but lived in NY. One time, my roommate (RIP) and I were going to St. Louis to visit and we had a flat at the Zelionople exit.
I'll never forget that. We used to make fun of that name all the time after that, just because it's a weird name.
Like "Careful we don't end up in Zelionople." Or "You want me to ship you off to Zelionople." ;D
Dear Terry,
Small world, "ain't it?" I think the French say, "N'est pa."
http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=192937
Hope your experience was not too traumatic! Western PA can have some strange areas, as I think our beloved first President found out in the Whiskey Rebellion.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whiskey_Rebellion (for the younger crowd).
This is off train topics, but if you ever get there again, the town has an absolutely wonderful pizza shop. It is square cut, with exquisitely crispy crust, and a melding of flavors that will leave one in a euphoric state and wanting to come back for more! Sorry to wax poetic, but I have to get the wax out somehow!
Best Wishes,
Jack