Table of Contents
Introduction
The revolution began here 4
The Virginian & Ohio led to dramatic changes in the hobby
Chapter 1 Beyond the basement 8
Allen taught us to think of our railroads as part of the continental rail network
Chapter 2 Linear layout design 20
Allen McClelland didn't invent it, but he made it practical
Chapter 3 Walkaround command control 26
In one stroke, Allen created the way we'd control our railroads in the future
Chapter 4 The development of Centralized Traffic Control 30
Running the V&O realistically meant wiring decks of rotary switches
Chapter 5 The debut of plastic models 40
Allen saw them as timesavers to better enable building a large, operating railroad
Chapter 6 Plausibility over showmanship 56
Modeling the ordinary made it easier to achieve a believable model railroad
Chapter 7 What's in a name? 64
The era of punny and whimsical names ebbed when the V&O debuted
Chapter 8 The "Good Enough" Principle 68
Set the bar reasonably high, and bring, everything up to that level
Chapter 9 The Appalachian Lines and subsequent V&O railroads 74
Tales of a model railroad merger and two relocations
Chapter 10 The McClelland legacy 84
Testimonials from modelers who were influenced by Allen
Chapter 11 Photo gallery 104
More V&O photos worthy of review
