The current fast-paced world frequently obscures how impressive our great Nation really is! Despite the urban clutter that we move through daily, cities, suburbs, country side and beyond offer awe-inspiring vistas that we frequently take for granted. The fact that we have so much to admire beyond the magnificence of Nature is due in part to the hard work and intelligent efforts of men and women in all professions that have contributed to that success. For those reasons we feel it fitting to celebrate Labor Day 2024 with focus on scenery, a critical element to serious model builders.
Careful examination of most cities reveals not only a wealth of architecture styles but also unique street patterns, elevations, bridges and the confluence of various types of transportation infrastructures. That mix is frequently enhanced by renovated, restored or repurposed historic structures that thankfully, have finally gained some respect after decades of being ignored or worse, being demolished. Such structures add a great deal of color and interest to our environment and are tangible reminders of the hard work, skills and talents of the generations of workers that have proceeded us.
The effort to create perfect communities surfaced after 1900 with good reason. That was the height of the industrial age and many communities east of Chicago were congested, smoke-filled caverns that lacked spacious green space. Those conditions prompted the concept of planned communities. Early examples include Roland Park in Baltimore, Maryland and Shaker Heights in Cleveland, Ohio. Both communities, and other similar efforts near New York City and Boston, feature a wealth of signature architecture, attractive and intriguing, tree-lined street patterns, plazas and gardens.
Such efforts extended to the New Jersey shore as well, where supposedly they influenced the manufacture of one of the earliest model railroad scenic accessories. The community of Margate City, south of Atlantic City, was designed with wide boulevards, plazas, fountains, gardens and landmark residential homes that instantly found favor with the well-to-do that frequented that nearby, raucous, seashore resort. It was the era of unlimited prosperity, liberal entertainment options with Enoch “Nucky” Johnson, the notorious political boss of Atlantic City – inspiration for the epic Boardwalk Empire – presiding over all of it.
Toy Train Baron Joshua Lionel Cowen was at the top of his empire in the late 1920s, favored the lively world at the shore and accordingly, frequented that seaside resort. Those trips introduced Cowen to the arresting beauty of the seashore’s finest train, the Blue Comet of the New Jersey Central Lines (later – Jersey Central Lines) that was inaugurated in February 1929. Lionel quickly introduced their own version of that train in 1930 which became one of the signature trains of the Lionel Corporation as well as toy train collectors everywhere.
Local legend has it that Cowen visited Margate City on those trips and that similarly became the inspiration for the three-section Lionel Scenic Park, a fully landscaped accessory that appeared in the Lionel Catalog by 1933. The two -story houses on the 85-inch-long scenic park were replicas of the homes of Lionel Executives Louis and Mario Caruso. Most families struggled during the depths of the Great Depression and the $35.00 price tag proved to be as salty as the Atlantic Ocean for most households and as such, the miniature parks were not great sellers. Lucky are those who latched on to one of those original model parks however since the current market value for one of those 1930s gems frequently exceeds the annual real estate taxes on a full-sized home in Margate today! Ditto for original Blue Comet train sets. Images of select urban landscapes, Margate City and the storied Lionel Scenic Park accompany this article.
Fortunately, model railroaders of today have a mind-boggling assortment of structures, bridges, trees and other landscaping materials and paint that in both quality and variety, greatly exceed that referenced world of 90 years ago and most significantly, are affordably priced. Please take time to review our currently sale. Above all, take time this weekend to honor the American workforce past and present!
Frank Wrabel
modeltrainstuff.com