Gilmore Reid, 88, known for train art rich in authentic detail; Journalist Ernie Pyle wrote of him
Hoodini
He spent his career painting them
By AMY RABIDEAU SILVERS
Jan. 7, 2007
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Gil Reid described himself as "a train-watcher first, an artist second."
Quotable
When he got word overseas that it had been printed in color in a
railroad magazine, he felt he'd practically reached the zenith of his
heart's desire.
- Ernie Pyle, World War II journalist, ,
on Reids reaction to the success of one of his paintings
Gil Reid loved trains all his life, and painted them for Kalmbach
Publishing.
But as a railroad artist, he was second to none, earning an
international reputation for his artwork of anything and everything to
do with trains.
"Gil's watercolors did more than capture the excitement of fast-moving
trains," said Kevin P. Keefe, publisher of Trains magazine. "He also
had an uncanny feel for the people of the railroad, all those
engineers and conductors and station agents who made the railroad come
alive.
"He was a hopeless train fanatic, like all of us," Keefe said.
Gilmore Reid died of congestive heart failure Tuesday. He was 88. Reid
long lived in Elm Grove and Brookfield.
Born in St. Louis, he grew up in other places, too. Reid would credit
Lionel and American Flyer toy trains for sparking his lifelong
fascination with all things railroad. As a boy, he used a Brownie box
camera to take train pictures. He got into trouble when a teacher
found him sketching trains in his school books.
If he wasn't hopelessly hooked already, a ride in the cab of a
Pennsylvania Railroad K4 locomotive in Richmond, Ind., pretty much did
the rest. Reid was 15.
He attended art school - the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts and Miami
University - before and after serving with the Army Corps of Engineers
during World War II. Fortunately for the railroad community, a wound
to his right hand did not threaten his career as an artist.
Journalist Ernie Pyle included Lt. Gilmore Reid in his book "Brave Men."
"Young Reid was an artist and also a railroad hobbyist," Pyle wrote.
"He studied railroads with the same verve that some people show in
collecting stamps. He once did a painting of a freight train at a
small Midwestern station, and when he got word overseas that it had
been printed in color in a railroad magazine, he felt he'd practically
reached the zenith of his heart's desire."
Trains magazine first published Reid's work in 1940. He was officially
hired in 1956, joining the art department at Kalmbach Publishing in
Milwaukee. There he produced countless maps, illustrations and page
designs for Trains, Model Railroader and Kalmbach books.
Reid became known for train art rich in authentic detail.
"But I also strive for effect," Reid said. "I like to put movement
into my pictures."
Altogether, he produced cover art for more than a dozen books by
Kalmbach and other publishers. One of his most famous was "Roaring
Through Rondout," a depiction of the Milwaukee Road's Hiawatha, for
the cover of "The Hiawatha Story" by Jim Scribbins.
From 1977 to 1993, Reid was commissioned to do paintings for Amtrak's
annual wall calendar. Other commissions included a watercolor of an
old steam locomotive in Malaysia. Other work sold as Christmas cards,
original art and prints.
In 1978, he retired as assistant art director at Kalmbach. He went to
work full-time on his railroad watercolors.
As he began looking for studio space, a friend suggested a building in
Elm Grove, near what is now the Canadian Pacific track through the
village.
"Say no more," Reid declared.
The second-story studio proved to be the perfect spot to stick his
head out of a window and watch the trains go by.
"Every time I hear a train, I have to check it out and get it through
town," he would say.
"He was a great railroad painter," said Chris Burger, now 66, who
became a friend. "I grew up loving railroads and my parents gave me a
print, 'Noonday Water Stop,' when I was 15 or 16."
Burger spent his career working with railroads, including as manager
for the Wisconsin division of the Chicago & North Western Railroad.
The Reid print came along as he moved, hanging in his railroad
offices. He first met its artist in Madison in 1968.
Reid liked to joke that he was a multi-faceted person who was
interested in one thing.
"That's all he talked about," said his second wife, the former
Lorrayne Woodford, with a laugh. "I found that out."
They married in 1994. His first wife, Ann, died earlier.
Reid continued working at his studio until 2003, when his health began
to decline.
"What I do is a depiction of the way I feel about railroads, the way
they go," Reid said.
"There is a sense of orderliness to a railroad," he said. "It is still
the most fantastic thing that man has ever brought out. . . . You talk
about automation in this modern world - we have had it all along in a
railroad train."
Survivors also include daughter Sara Kaploe, grandchildren and his
step-family. A son, Gilmore Jr., died earlier.
Visitation will be held at noon Tuesday at Brookfield Presbyterian
Church, 1485 N. Brookfield Road, Brookfield. The memorial service will
follow at 1 p.m.
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