John,
Have you ever seen the
Western Railroader issue from June, 1956? This is the one with the story by G. M. Best about Traveltown and how it came about. Mr. Best does not mention Norman Clark at all in this story.
IIRC, Clark was the man behind getting the Hawaiian equipment at Traveltown. He wrote to the Oahu Railway/Dillingham on behalf of the Southern California Chapter of the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society to get the train. When the SCC-R&LHS got word of this shipment was coming its way it the first that that the Chapter heard about it; and had to scramble to find a home for the train!
Another story is that Clark had an idea about creating an all-in-one railroad display elsewhere in the greater Los Angeles area. When this idea was published as fact, it was a surprise to at least one of his intended participants.
So maybe there is some truth to the story that you heard. And a reason for Mr. Best not mentioning Norman Clark.
Brian Norden
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/04/2016 10:47PM by Brian Norden.