For those interested in Larry or the history of S, I'm repoeting (with
permission) David Hussey's note about him from the STMFC.
"This discussion about Larry Jackman got me digging through my files. I first
met Larry through Ed Ryan back in the late 1980's. Ed was working in the
Seattle area and somehow had been introduced to Larry (I think it was through
Bob Hundman of Mainline Modeler). I went up to see Ed and he took me to visit
Larry. Talk about the mad professor/shade tree mechanic, his garage was full of
"stuff"
for making the parts he was selling under the Smokey Valley line. He had some
attachment for his drill press that heated plastic pellets that were then
squeezed into a mold that he just clamped in a mill vise. Very basic for small
parts. He had several molds that were made from the 3M Tartan process that used
a sintered metal powder to capture the detail off of a male master. Thru Ed we
became friends.
In 1989 Rail Power Products introduced their SD60 shell, and Larry had the late
Joel Berling tool him a three window cab to convert the SD60 into a SD60M. Ed
had moved back to Southern California and moved in with me. Larry asked Ed and
I to build him a display model for the Houston NMRA Convention for his display.
Later I wrote and article on the model that ran in the January 1990 issue of
Mainline Modeler. Later that year I had scratch built a Dynamic Brake Section
tomake a Phase II GP50 out of an Athearn GP50. At Larry's request I made
drawings for the dynamic section that I sent to Larry in June 1990. He had Joel
make the tooling for the dynamic and then also the Blomberg Type M truck side
frame.
Over the years we kept in touch and saw each other at shows, and he was always
after me for other ideas that he could make. After he sold Smokey Valley to Bob
Wright (Wright Track, who subsequently sold the Smokey Valley part of it to
Larry Burt) there was a period that he could not compete. I think this is when
he and his wife moved to Florida, and he got involved in S Scale stuff, and
later
back into HO with the switcher side frames. His connection with Joel was
fruitful for Larry and the hobby. Joel was one of those master "behind the
scenes" toolmakers who did projects for lots of small companies from Detail
Associates, Smokey Valley, Des Plaines Hobbies, PBL, Hi Tech Details, Wright
Track, and many others. He could work from sketches and photographs and produce
quality molds. Joel passed away in 2006 not long after Gordon Cannon. Without
Joel, Larry lost his toolmaker.
I last saw him at one of the Cocoa Beach meets a few years ago, but he didn't
spend much time as his wife was not doing well and he wanted to get back home.
Many of you only know him from his stories and/or rants on the various lists
but anyone who met him will remember him as someone with a lot of knowledge and
a will to share it.
Larry we (at least me) miss you.
Regards
David Hussey"
Pieter E. Roos
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