World War II
Before the war, Allen and his brother visited an uncle living near Oakland, who had a model railroad. He became interested in working on it. When the US entered WWII, Allen's brother Andrew joined the military, and Allen offered his services as a photo analyst. Visiting his brother, Allen saw Monterey, he partnered with Weston Booth, opening a shop on the main street doing a brisk business photographing servicemen.
In 1946, John sold his business, invested the money and retired.
He said that he got into model railroading just before the end of the war. Due to a limited supply of hobby materials, began building things from scratch. He spent a lot of time studying and observing railroads in operation, and how the prototype is built. During this time Allen built models, then meticulously arranged and photographed them. In July 1946 the first of many photographs by Allen appeared in Model Railroader magazine.
Read more about this topic: John Whitby Allen
Famous quotes containing the words world and/or war:
“People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don’t believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can’t find them, make them.”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)
“Many of our German friends before the war would come as our guest to hunt wild pig. I refused to invite Goering. I could not tolerate his killing a wild pig— seemed too much like brother against brother.”
—Joseph L. Mankiewicz, U.S. director, screenwriter. Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Countess (Danielle Darrieux)