Montgomery County sentinel., 1956-11-22

Rockville groups which were rep
resented at the dedication of the
Potomac Area Camp Fire Girls
fiber glass teepee at Forestville,
last Saturday, and those which
participated in the Festival of
Giving" Sunday at Montgomery
Blair High School, Silver Spring.
pied with World War II, college,
and the Korean conflict.
While awaiting discharge from
the Army after the Korean War,
Mr. Gascoyne met a winner of the
Fisher Body contest for automo-
bile model makers and "the fires
of model making were lighted
anew"
That he would model trains in
stead of airplanes, boats, or cars
was assured when, after dis
charge, he took job as investi-
gator with the Civil Service Com
mission and was assigned to
Charleston, w. Va, a center of
the Chesapeake and Ohio Rail-
road.
His Investigations often took
him to railroad yards where ne
had to interview railroad men,
Frequently the conversation
turned to the subject of trains
and Mr. Gascoyne's fascination
with railroading grew.
He began taking pictures of To-
comotives and cars. Many have
since been scrapped and the pho
tos are invaluable when he is
building a model of the old piece
of equipment. Helpful also is a
complete set of blueprints for
most of the locomotives used dur
ing the last halr-century by the
c & o. The plans were given
him by a friendly railroader in
Charleston.
He even met a New York Cen
trail engineer in Bell, w. Va,
whose hobby was model railroad
ing!
Since returning to the Wash
ington area, where he's with the
u. S. Public Health Service, Mr..
Gascoyne has been gradually in
creasing hsi line. Almost all of
Mrs. Gascoyne's tiny locomotives
and cars carry the c & o name.
Model railroaders form a tight
fraternity( Mr.. Gascoyne CORE
spends with model makers in
Hawaii, Oklahoma, Ohio, Texas,
and Alabama.
One New York model shop lists
among it's customers Vincent AS
tor, Uruguayian diplomat Juan
Blanco, Gen. Carlos Romulo of
the Philippines, opera star Leon
ard Warren, Sen. Glenn Taylor,
Walt Disney, and Bing Crosby.
Model railroading has its share
of characters. One modeler in
New Zealand has his miniature
line set up in an old railroad car.
One lobbyist makes detailed
trains, then wrecks them and
photographs the shattered cars.
He even uses red paint to simu-
late blood!
Mr.. Gascoyne says, There's a
little bit of railroad in all men,"
Apparently there's a little bit
of railroad in at least some wom-
en-, too. Mrs. Gascoyne says she
hasn't become a railroad widow
because of hubby's hobby. I'm
stead of fighting him, 1 Joined
him." When Mr.. Gascoyne is at
his workbench, his wife, Jane, is
nearby ironing or darning. She's
even tried her hand at making a
model or two.
With pape's model trains in the
basement, every day is Christmas
morning for the two Gascoyne
boys, David, 4, and Daniel, 2.
The boys, however, have been
warned not to touch pops deli
cate models, and amazingly they
don't. (Just in case they're
tempted, the case where most of
Mr.. Gascoyne's locomotives are
on display is locked)
The Gascoynes have given Da.
vid set of toy trains (much diff.
ferent from model trains-just
ask a model railroaderl) and the
lad appears to be quite handy
with his hands.
Railroading has taught Mr..
Gascoyne a little about electrical
repairs, carpentry, and even his.
tory.
Mrs. Gascoyne adds, "It keeps
him home nights" In other
words the model railroader
spends more time in the round.
house than the doghouse.