Levon Kemalyan
Encyclopedia
Levon John Kemalyan was a model railroading entrepreneur. In 1960, Kemtron Corporation — manufacturer of model railway cars, locomotives, parts (especially for scratchbuilders
), as well as accessories — was considered the world's largest maker of scale railroad kits, producing one million parts a year and selling them throughout the world to enthusiasts as far away as India and Australia.
. And, he died in Fresno.
Scratch building
Scratch building is the process of building a scale model "from scratch", ie. from raw materials, rather than building it from a commercial kit, kitbashing or buying it pre-assembled....
), as well as accessories — was considered the world's largest maker of scale railroad kits, producing one million parts a year and selling them throughout the world to enthusiasts as far away as India and Australia.
Companies owned
Kemalyan had ownership stakes in various companies; Fresno Photo-Engraving Company, U.S. Hobbies, Inc., and Kemtron Corporation.- Fresno Photo-Engraving Company was founded in 1903 by A. F. Kemalyan and carried on by Levon Kemalyan. Levon sold the firm December 26, 1962, to his brothers-in-law, Thomas N. Vartanian and Jerry Mootafian. Levon had purchased the company with his brother-in-law in 1929. In 1935, he took over photo-engraving company himself.
- Kemtron Corporation was founded and owned by Kemalyan. Kemalyan started Kemtron in Fresno, and he provided layout space for the Fresno Model Railroad club in the early 1950s. In 1960, Kemtron plant was 11000 square feet (1,021.9 m²) with 15 employees. One of Kemtron's product lines, photo engraved car kits, particularly the flats, often used zincZincZinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2...
(or a very high zinc content brass) sheet, as opposed to brass. The blue coating, was the photo resist that was not cleaned off. Kemtron, initially, was a sideline of Fresno Photo Engraving.
- 1970 - Lawrence S. Kazoyan (b. November 7, 1931 - d. April 15, 2000, Palm Beach), a retired aerospace engineer, acquired Kemtron, and moved it from Fresno to Los Angeles
- 1978 - T. Fredrick Hill and Wayne Lyndon, original owners of The Original Whistle Stop Inc., acquired Kemtron and moved it to Sacramento
- 1986 - Precision Scale Company, Inc. acquired Kemtron as a merger. Today, many of the Kemtron parts and some lines are still being manufactured by PSC. As the World War II generation of model railroaders passes on, Kemtron products are still actively sold around the world, especially on the internet (see Kemtron on eBay).
- Engineers at Kemtron pioneered the use of the lost-wax casting to produce finely detailed parts for model railroad kits. Kemtron also produced brass kits, primarily locomotives that were ahead of their time in detail and performance.
- The Japanese, after World War II, earn much of the credit for initiating higher manufacturing standards in the body detailing of model trains by adapting lost-wax casting systems.
- In the mid-1960s, Kemtron also produced a line of slot cars and accessories.
- Kemalyan started Kemtron in Fresno in the early '50s (possibly even 48 or 49), and he provided layout space for the Fresno Model Railroad club in the early '50s. One of Kemtron's product lines, photo engraved car kits, particularly the flats, often used zinc (or a very high zinc content brass) sheet, as opposed to brass. The 'blue' coating, was the 'photo resist' that was not cleaned off. Kemtron, initially, was a sideline of Fresno Photo Engraving, which explains why common photo engraving materials were often used.
- Associated Brass Products, Inc.John Anderson (Cal Scale)John Schow Anderson was a design engineer and entrepreneur in the model railroading industry....
, maker of the Cal-Scale line, and also based in Fresno, was founded by former Kemtron people, namely John Schow Anderson.
Honors
- 1999 Model Railroad Industry Association Hall of Fame inductee, Model Railroad Industry Association (MRIA); (Note: on July 1, 2005, MRIA became the Model Railroad Division of the Hobby Manufacturers Association)
- 2001 O scaleO scaleO scale is a scale commonly used for toy trains and model railroading. Originally introduced by German toy manufacturer Märklin around 1900, by the 1930s three-rail alternating current O gauge was the most common model railroad scale in the United States and remained so until the early 1960s...
Hall of Fame inductee, O Scale News, Gate VI Publishing Company (Elmhurst, IL), Thomas Howard Nixon, President
Family
Kemalyan was born and raised in Fresno, CaliforniaFresno, California
Fresno is a city in central California, United States, the county seat of Fresno County. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 510,365, making it the fifth largest city in California, the largest inland city in California, and the 34th largest in the nation...
. And, he died in Fresno.
- Parents — His parents, Coshocir and Yonepseper A. Coshocir (née Chorbaji) were born in ArmeniaArmeniaArmenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
. Coshocir was an engraver. - Siblings — Levin had three sisters, Flora (Flora Maroot; 1898–1978), Alice (Alice Nevart Thomas; 1904–1990), and Naomi (born 1910).
- Spouse — On March 6, 1941, Levin married Roselle Arax Bezazian (1909–2008) in Cook County, IllinoisCook County, IllinoisCook County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois, with its county seat in Chicago. It is the second most populous county in the United States after Los Angeles County. The county has 5,194,675 residents, which is 40.5 percent of all Illinois residents. Cook County's population is larger than...
, a pianist who graduated from Oberlin Conservatory of MusicOberlin Conservatory of MusicThe Oberlin Conservatory of Music, located on the campus of Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio, was founded in 1865 and is the oldest continuously operating conservatory in the United States. Students of Oberlin Conservatory enter a very broad network within the music world, as the school's alumni...
. years ago (in 1961), Roselle Kemalyan was elected president of the Fresno Music Club. The club, this year , is in its season. - Children — Levon and Roselle had two daughters: Constance R. ("Connie") (married to Gerald L. Wright) and Katharine ("Kathy") (married to Thomas Starbird).
See also
- John Schow AndersonJohn Anderson (Cal Scale)John Schow Anderson was a design engineer and entrepreneur in the model railroading industry....
- G scaleG scaleG scale is a scale for model railways, and because of its size and durability, G scale is often used outdoors. Such installations are known as garden railways.-LGB:...
- 00 scale
- HO scaleHO scaleHO or H0 is the most popular scale of model railway in the world.According to the NMRA standard S-1.2 predominantly used in North America, in HO scale, represents 1 real foot ; this ratio works out to about 1:87.1. According to the MOROP standard NEM 010 predominantly used in Europe, the scale is...
- HOn3 scale
- TT scaleTT scalethumb|right|250px|TT scale model railroadTT scale is a niche model railroading scale, whose name stands for Table Top.Its 1:120 scale and gauge sizes it almost halfway between HO scale and N scale...
- N scaleN scaleN scale is a popular model railway scale/track gauge. Depending upon the manufacturer , the scale ranges from 1:148 to 1:160. In all cases, the gauge is . The term N gauge refers to the track dimensions, but in the UK in particular N gauge refers to a 1:148 scale with track gauge modelling...
- Z scaleZ scaleZ scale is one of the smallest commercially available model railway scales with a track gauge of . Z scale trains operate on 0-10 volts direct current and offer the same operating characteristics as all other two-rail, direct-current, analog model railways...