Victor Shattock
Birth, Life in England
Victor was born in Culmstock, Devonshire, England on December 20, 1886 one of five children of James and Lavinia Shattock. Victor was born in “Bridge House” located on the river Culm immediately next to a railroad track. Possibly a sign of what the future would have for the young infant, James worked as a station master on the Great Western Railway for some 47 years (1878 - 1925). He worked at a number of railway stations but the two that he was predominantly at the longest of his career were DUNBALL and DURSTON. His brother Harry Shattock (Vic’s uncle) was an Inspector on the GWR Exeter Branch. When Vic was still in his teens, he started working in one of the Engineering Offices of the GWR and stayed with them for approximately three years. He was eventually trained as a Tinsmith (plumber) by his maternal uncle John Smith.
In September 1906 Victor married Maude Alice Drake, the oldest of eleven children who lived in the Hornsey district of London, England. Her Father Josiahs, was a local shop keeper and cabinet maker who “was very proud of his tools” and would not let just anyone touch them. No one, that is, except a young Victor Shattock.
Marriage, Move to Canada
After they got married Vic and Maude started their family. Two sons and a daughter were born in England. Around 1911 the family made the decision to set out for a new life in North America and they decided to settle in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Victor set himself up in the plumber’s trade and some years later would own his own shop in the farming community of Nanton, some sixty miles south of Calgary. Three more daughters were born to Vic and Maude during their years of living in Canada. During those very early years, Vic tried to find whatever time he could to devote to his hobby. He built model steamboats and scale models of stationary traction engines. In 1913 he built his first live steam locomotive model and had it running on a short test track in his backyard. His wife Maude was not always pleased when he tinkered with his models on her dining room table. When World War I began, he enlisted in the Canadian army and served in France in a division of the Canadian Expeditionary Forces known as the 8th Railway Troops. While there he was instrumental in repairing railroads that had been damaged during the fighting by the Germans. He helped to build a railroad that was approximately two-foot gauge (60 cm).
First Model Layout
When the war ended Vic came back to his family in Canada but began to hear of greater job opportunities, and possibly a better life, in California from his longtime friend Walter Melvin. The family made the decision to move in 1923 and they settled in the Suisun-Fairfield area of California, several miles southwest of Sacramento. Once there, Vic started working for the Southern Pacific Railroad as a “Water Service Helper” (a glorified name for a “railroad plumber”) and was required to travel in an “Outfit Car” around parts of the railroad’s Western Division, fixing most anything requiring the services of a plumber, tinsmith or HVAC repairman. While living in the Outfit Car (SPMW #417), Vic built a 2 ½” gauge live steam railroad that ran up and down on a piece of track inside his Outfit Car. When the car was set out on a siding in various towns that it visited, Vic would have guests over to see the wonders of steam railroading in action as he demonstrated what his models could do when put to the test. In the late twenties the family was stationed at Niles in what today is a historic district of Fremont, California. About 1930, the State of California put on a big Agricultural Show at Davis, California and set up a large display tent for exhibits. S.P. carpenters were used to lay a runway on which Vic built a track for demonstration purposes. This display was a great success and was seen by an estimated 10,000 people during the course of the event.
Basement Layout
During the thirties, Vic moved his residence several times, with each move hoping to find a place where he could build a railroad and have room for a nice workshop. Finally in 1934, he found a house in the Fruitvale district of East Oakland which he could build the railroad empire he had always dreamed about. The house was a two-story Victorian built sometime in the late 1800’s, with the living quarters on the second floor and the basement located actually on ground level. The basement was quite large at 32' x 45' and with the notable exception of the heating furnace and the laundry tubs, it could be entirely devoted to steam railroading! The house was located near the corner of 38th Avenue and Foothill Blvd right next door to a Signal gas station. The track ran all the way round the basement walls and included an electrically operated model of a 110' turntable built to prototype Southern Pacific standards. The official address of Vic’s residence was 1877- 38th Avenue, Oakland, California. This address graced the club’s letterhead stationary for many years.
By this time Vic had three or four engines which were fired up near the turntable adjacent to where the water tank was located. Denatured alcohol was used for fuel which burned with a terrific heat in a special vaporizing burner of Vic’s own design. A blower was used during the start up procedure, the fumes being directed up the nearby chimney. Once the first engine was fired up a test run was made. If successful, a freight consist was coupled to the engine and running would commence, sometimes single-headed and sometimes double-headed. These weren't passenger hauling runs of course, just free running alcohol burning engines. Although the club later moved to outdoor facilities, the basement track continued in use for twenty-seven years until the house was torn down. At that time the track was sold to a former club member in San Francisco who set it up in his basement and used it from time-to-time for many years. About 2003 most of this original basement trackage was sold to club member Kevin Lee who lives in Northern California near the town of Yreka. It is truly amazing that after all of these many years, a large portion of Vic Shattock’s famous basement railroad trackage still exists!
Formation of GGLS
Vic was not the only one using the track as many other steam aficionados frequently visited the basement railroad and brought their own engines to run. Folks like Fred Braasch, Al Forst, Ralph McChesney, Harold Collins, Fred Daly, Frank Dee, Charles Garbett and Walter Brown. There were plenty of non-live steamers too who came to watch the proceedings. Even the press got into the act where the concept of a scenic steam operation in someone's basement being the basis of several articles in the printed media. No television in those days, of course!
The number of visitor's questions like "How do you get started?", "What do they run on?", “Where do you get your Kits?” began to become somewhat overwhelming. So Vic Shattock, Fred Braasch and Charles “Budge” Garbett decided that the thing to do was to form a club and put out the requested information to help other interested hobbyists get started.
All of the publicity that Vic received from numerous sources over the years led to Vic’s basement becoming a magnet that attracted model railroaders and he conducted classes (clinics really) complete with a blackboard on a large easel. He used ordinary white chalk to draw out designs for making piston valve cylinders, check valves, pumps, boilers, mechanical lubricators, whistles and so forth. The floor of the basement was usually covered with a thick layer of freshly obtained sawdust from the S.P. wood working mill in West Oakland. Long wooden benches were spaced around the south end of the basement room for visitors and members to sit on. There was a large ornate ashtray on a bronze stand that stood in the middle of the floor as a courtesy to those who cared to smoke during the meeting. These were originally from an old railroad Pullman car.
Around July 1936 the Live Steam modelers in the area got together and started their own organization. Fred Braasch had a suggestion for the new club’s name: Golden Gate Live Steamers.
Shop Equipment
In a film made about his basement layout, Vic is shown working on his six-inch Atlas lathe which together with his Atlas drill press seems to have constituted the extent of his machine shop. Compare that to the shop equipment of some of our present club members! Whatever the lack of equipment may seem to imply, Vic turned out a series of beautifully built engines in ½" and ¾" scales.
Model Railroader Review
MODEL RAILROADER author “Boomer Pete” visited Vic’s layout and wrote about his visit in the January 1939 MR. He wrote that “All model railroaders are brought up to believe that live steam and model railroading are two distinct hobbies.” And went on to note, “But, I’ve just found out this is not always the case. I put in an evening last month as brakeman on a pike that really ran trains, did switching, included scenery in the layout and was in every way a true model railroad — but the motive power was honest-to-gosh steam.”
In these sentences, Boomer Pete summed up the unique quality of Vic Shattock’s layout.
“There were 12 turnouts, including a double-slip switch, all hand-laid with scale 110-pound rail specially made for Vic by the O-scale manufacturer, Lobaugh. There was a working turntable, a five-stall roundhouse, a ballasted deck trestle, one steel girder bridge, two signal bridges, one working water column, one working water tank, three tunnels and an automatic block signal system.”
Rolling Stock
Rolling stock included 22 scratch-built freight cars and a Harriman Coach. The wood bodies of the freight cars were made from Kraft cheese boxes and the tanks on the tank cars were from old carbon tetrachloride bottles. Vic’s Pacific Fruit Express refrigerator cars could keep your sandwiches cold if you dropped ice cubes through the working ice hatches!
Motive Power
The motive power was all scratch-built by Vic. There were six ½ inch scale, alcohol fired, SP prototype steam locomotives. Two (#3217 and #3254) were 2-8-2 Mikados and two (#2422-1, built in 1929 and #2422-2, built later) were 4-6-2 Pacifics (the number “2422” was Vic’s favorite locomotive number and he used it several times). There were also #2753, a 2-8-0 Consolidation and #1207, an 0-6-0 switcher. Locomotive #1207 was stolen from Vic’s basement in 1946 and has not been seen since.
These steam locomotives were manually controlled and fired by a vaporizing alcohol burner system of Vic’s design. The locomotives averaged about 42 inches in length and weighed from 70 to 80 pounds each. All were highly detailed scale models, had axle driven water pumps, mechanical lubricators and ran on 85 to 100 pounds of pressure.
Ken Shattock (Vic’s grandson) describes them as “works of art” and noted that to build them Vic had to know “… general machine work, tool and die making, pattern making, sheet metal work, woodworking, blue print and layout work, you name it.” He told Ken that he read everything he could find on the subjects he was interested in.
Exhibitions
Vic and his layout were often the subjects of local media reports and he and his layout were filmed by Movietone News. In October 1938 Vic took the train to New York City with one of his locomotives (SP #3217) where he steamed her up on the weekly “Hobby Lobby” radio program. He was involved with an exhibit at the 1939 - 1940 Golden Gate International Exposition on Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay and later loaned a locomotive as centerpiece for a luncheon meeting of the famed Bohemian Club.
GGLS Moves Outdoor
As interest grew it became clear that an outdoor track where larger passenger hauling engines could run was a desirable goal, although full achievement of that goal was many years down the road. In the meanwhile several temporary outdoor installations were built. One notable example was for Southern Pacific and the Yardmaster’s Association on 74th Avenue in Oakland. An 80 foot track was installed where an engine ran back and forth hauling children, succeeding at least in part to bring the existence of the club to the public’s attention. Club member Larry Duggan wore himself out lifting children on-and-off the riding cars.
In 1939, an “Industrial Arts Teachers” convention was held in downtown Oakland, California in the ballroom of the old Hotel Oakland at 14th & Alice Streets. Several members of the Golden Gate Live Steamers displayed their models and a portable track built to ½ inch scale, 2 ½ inch gauge was constructed in such a way to allow for one or two of Vic’s locomotives to pull flat cars to-and-from the hotel kitchen and return with plates of food for the convention delegates which was one of the special highlights of the convention. In the March 1940 Model Craftsman magazine there is a photograph of the live steamers who participated in this exhibit as well as a detailed listing of the locomotives and rolling stock that they had on display.
In 1940 club member Loren Thacker built an outdoor track in the back garden of his home at 1620 Walnut Avenue in Stockton, California. Loren used “keystock” for rails which were spiked down to the cross ties using finishing nails. This track was used not only by Loren, but was frequented by many of the other club members for it provided a venue where passengers could be hauled, something that was not possible on the basement layout. Once World War II started there was of course no opportunity to advance the club's plans to construct a permanent outdoor track so those plans had to be put on hold. Basement activities continued however, sometimes with an un-anticipated result.
WWII: Suspicion of Subversion
It seems that the suspicions of the police and other authorities had been aroused by the number of cars parked in front of Vic's house. During World War II the authorities were always on the lookout for meetings where subversive activities were being planned against the security of the nation. Every Friday night and other times as well, visitors were always streaming into Vic’s basement to see the trains. Usually they parked out on the street or in the back lot of the Signal gas station next door and walked down a side walkway to the back of the house, usually in the dark since there was no external walkway lighting. They would skipped the front stairs and completely ignored the operation of Vic’s door bell to let him know that any visitors were coming by. Perhaps it did seem like there were some subversives planning an insurrection or some sort of underhanded activity within! Vic then started noticing that a couple of strangers were too well dressed to be potential live steam enthusiasts when they started attending his Friday night meetings now-and-then. One night they arrived extra early before other visitors came and in a private meeting with Vic identified themselves. They told him that someone had reported the suspicious activity but after making several visits they admitted that they could see that nothing wrong was happening. They later made several more visits because they developed an interest in seeing Vic’s trains operate.
NMRA Live Steam Standards
During most of the 1940's, club members Vic Shattock and Walter Brown were co-chairmen of the Live Steam Standards Committee for the National Model Railroad Association (NMRA). In 1947, the NMRA held their annual National Convention in Oakland, California and on one of the group’s “Layout Tours”, the convention delegates were bused to Vic’s home so that they could see his famous layout in operation. So many delegates attended this tour that some had to stand outside the house and peer thru the basement windows at the live steam operations. As one old time visitor to Vic’s basement fondly recalled:
- “Open the Windows” --- “Light Off The Boilers” --- “Run Trains” ……
Yes, it was just that simple and sadly it is all gone today, with only great memories remaining!
Redwood Regional Park
In the mid-to-late 1940’s the search was on for a suitable piece of land on which a permanent outdoor track could be laid. Eventually the club got word of an area in Redwood Regional Park in Oakland, California that might be available for constructing a miniature steam railroad facility. It was located at 7861-A Redwood Road, a couple of miles east of the intersection with Skyline Blvd. Upon inspection, it was found that a lot of vegetation had to be cleared before a real survey could be done. But it was a suitable site and it was available for use by the club under the auspices of the East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) of the Park Department, whose intent was apparently to provide an entertaining spectacle for the public at large. The late club member Frank Dee was chiefly responsible for negotiating with the Board of Directors of the Park District.
Fundraising
But where was the money going to come from for all of the necessary materials to build a track at the Redwood Park site and how much labor would be required to build such a monumental project as initially planned? During the basement days of the club dues were ten cents a month (mostly for coffee and donuts) but often ran in the red, so dues were raised to one dollar a month or ten dollars per year. Even so, the coffers were hardly full by the time the decision was made to move to Redwood Park. So it was decided to use the basement railroad as a fund raiser and ask visitors & spectators to make a donation to the new track fund. Many would give a dollar or so, sometimes a ten dollar bill and occasionally something even larger. After a visit by a local scout troop, the lady in charge sent the club a check for $120, quite a sum in those days! Fortunately the club still had extremely good connections with many of the people at Southern Pacific which included some twenty-six managers who were Honorary Members of the Golden Gate Live Steamers. These connections were to prove invaluable later on.
Death
Victor Shattock died in Alameda, California in April of 1974 at the age of eighty-seven years.
Fact Sheet
VICTOR SHATTOCK’s BASEMENT RAILROAD
Oakland, California
Location: 1877- 38th Avenue, corner of Foothill Blvd; Fruitvale District—Oakland…
Total trackage: Approx. 400 feet.
Scale and Track Gauge: ½ inch scale; 1/24th full size; 2 ½ inch gauge.
(Known in the United Kingdom officially as “Gauge Three”)
Fuel: Denatured Alcohol (wood alcohol)
(Known in the United Kingdom officially as “Methylated Spirits”)
Burner Method: Vaporizing Burner of Vic Shattock’s personal design.
Boiler construction: Standard fire-tube boiler construction (all copper) using staybolts
Asbestos boiler lagging, and other accessories.
Boiler pressure (operating): 85 to 100 psi …
Feed Water: Axle-driven pumps; Horizontal feed water pump, steam operated.
Lubrication: Steam cylinder oil via Mechanical Lubricator
Direction of travel: Standard johnson bar in the cab on engineer’s side.
Throttle control: Manual… Throttle handle extended just a little thru the cab roof.
Radio Control: NO… Not available…
Locomotives:
TWO (2) 2-8-2 “Mikados” : # 3217 and # 3254
TWO (2) 4-6-2 “Pacifics” : # 2422 I and # 2422 II (# I built in 1929)
ONE (1) 2-8-0 “Consolidation” # 2753
ONE (1) 0-6-0 “SP Switch Engine” # 1207 (Stolen from basement in 1946)
Rolling Stock:
Twenty-two (22) freight cars of various types.
One (1) Central Pacific “Harriman-style” Chair Car (coach)
One Turntable: SP 110-foot common standard (55 inches long) containing 2500 rivets.
Three tunnels
One ballast deck trestle
One steel girder bridge
Two signal bridges
Three two-track stub end yards
Twelve turnouts plus One double-slip switch
Roundhouse with Five(5) stalls and electrically operated turntable.
One water column standpipe (operational)
One water tank with spout in Roundhouse (operational)
Fully automatic block signal system
Notable Guests and other visitors:
Various Southern Pacific Officers
Various Southern Pacific Division Managers
Al Kalmbach, Publisher, Model Railroader
Linn Westcott, Editor, Model Railroader
Bill Walthers, The Walthers Company
John Allen, Gorre & Daphetid RR, Monterey, CA.
Eddie “Rochester” Anderson (Jack Benny Show)
Walt Disney
Dick Bagley, Publisher, The Miniature Locomotive
Whit Towers, Editor, NMRA Bulletin
Bob Bast, NMRA
Various civic, school district, and other community leaders
News Media (various)
Movietone News
Lloyd Combs, Professional film maker…
Ray Maker, Amusement Park Train builder
Billy Jones, Los Gatos
Louis McDermott, Overfair Railway builder
Charles “Budge” Garbett, local oldtime modelmaker
Rollin J. Lobaugh, Model Railroad Manufacturer
Jack Collier, Jack Collier’s “Toys for Men”, Oakland.
Walter I. Brown, founding member, Eastbay Model Engineers Society
Plus hundreds and hundreds of other visitors.
All railroad locomotives, rolling stock and accessories totally “scratchbuilt” from raw
materials in Victor Shattock’s workshop… No kits of any kind were used…
Notable Events:
Founding location and Headquarters: Golden Gate Live Steamers (1936)
National Convention Layout Tour (NMRA)-- Oakland, CA. (1947)
Radio Appearance: The Old Craftsman, KFRC, San Francisco (1938)
Radio Appearance: Hobby Lobby, New York City (1938)
In the 1940’s , Victor Shattock and his friend and fellow club member, Walter Brown,
were National Co-Chairmen of the NMRA’s “Live Steam Standards Committee” …
Victor Shattock was employed by the Southern Pacific Railroad for thirty-six years !
(1923—1959)
Within the railroad’s maintenance of way department (Western Division) he was the “Water Service Foreman” (railroad plumbing//HVAC) ,
responsible for anything on the railroad having to do with plumbing, HVAC, tinsmithing, train and ferryboat fueling, and so forth.
He was a member of the Brotherhood of Maintenance-of-Way Employees (BMWE) and was Secretary—Treasurer of Subordinate Lodge #407
at West Oakland. He was also Division Grievance Chairman and Asst.Chairman of the Pacific Federation.
Bibliography
- "An Alcohol Burner for Live Steam Locomotives" by Victor T. Shattock, The Modelmaker, Feb-Mar 1939 --- Page 87
- "A Denatured Alcohol Burner” for 2 ½” gauge locomotives operated by Steam" by Victor T. Shattock, The Miniature Locomotive, Mar-Apr 1953, Page 19
- "Piston Packing" by Vic Shattock (‘’Out in the Tool Shed’’ Dept.) The Miniature Locomotive, Jan-Feb 1954, Page 22
- "Mechanical Lubricator" by Victor T. Shattock, The Miniature Locomotive, May-June 1952, Page 19
- "Helpful Hints" by Vic Shattock; “Split Smokebox” access, The Miniature Locomotive (date unreadable), Splitting the smokebox so that the top half is removable for better access to piping and feedwater/ superheater appliances
- A great photo story on Vic running in FOUR consecutive issues of Live Steam Magazine, December 1973, January 1974, February 1974, March 1974
- "The Models of Victor Shattock", A spectacular photo story about Vic (SIX pages), Narrow Gauge---Shortline Gazette Magazine, March/April—2007
- "Denatured Alcohol Burner", by Kenneth V. Shattock, Live Steam Magazine, March/April 1976
- "Vic Shattock and the Golden Gate Live Steamers Part 1", Kenneth V. Shattock, Live Steam Magazine, Dec 1973
- "Vic Shattock and the Golden Gate Live Steamers Part 2", Kenneth V. Shattock, Live Steam Magazine, Jan 1974
- "Vic Shattock and the Golden Gate Live Steamers Part 3", Kenneth V. Shattock, Live Steam Magazine, Feb 1974
- "Vic Shattock and the Golden Gate Live Steamers Part 4", Kenneth V. Shattock, Live Steam Magazine, Mar 1974