A Visit with Lewis Pruneau May/2010
Lewis Pruneau and i have been good friends for 30 years. We talk regularly on the phone, but the last time I saw him was at the last Mastercon in St. Louis in September, 2006. It was great to see him again, although he has lost a lot of weight. He said he just wanted to lose it so it was on purpose. He is 6′ 4″, I am 5′ 11″ and I now outweigh him by 15 pounds! We are both getting up there in age. Lewis is 64 and I’m 69! Where did all those years go to? He only lives about 90 miles from me. These were taken on May 3rd, 2010. Click on image to enlarge.
Showing him some of my latest on the laptop.
His hair is almost snow white! Click on image to enlarge.
The “Pruneau Dynamics” truck!
He had his latest dio in the back of his truck, so I took some shots of it. I only had Susan’s camera so the pics are not very good, but you can get an idea. Click on image to enlarge.
A German RR bridge blown up. Part of the trestle is in the water and the Trumpeter locomotive’s front end is off the track.
A shot from the front. Pardon the depth of field, this camera wasn’t made for close ups.
Click on image to enlarge.
Lewis made a sheet of stonework, then put it in rubber and cast it. The towers were made by wrapping a still warm casting around a piece of PVC pipe!
The blown trestle. Click on image to enlarge.
The overall size is about 4 feet by 30 inches.
Checking the damage from underneath. Click on image to enlarge.
We had a great time. He is coming up to see the museum sometime soon!
To be continued!
May 3rd, 2010 at 9:18 pm
Hi Bob,
It’s great to hear from you. I’m blown away, as usual, by the creativity and scope of Lewis Pruneau’s work. I’ve always found his art and personality a delight. I still remember meeting him at my first IPMS Nationals, back in Indy in the summer of 1985. I rode the Amtrack train from Los Angeles to Indiana with Duane Pfister, who said he knew Lewis and that he’d introduce me. I felt like I was going to meed a rock star. We all gathered at some Denny’s-like restaurant on a Wednesday or Thursday night and Lewis was charming, as he’s always been in the decades since. That was the year Lewis entered his Paris gun, a spectacular factory dio the likes of which I’d never imagined possible. Thanks for sharing his latest creation.
June 3rd, 2010 at 4:47 pm
Great work i wish i had the place for such a big dio.The Dio bring back some memories of the old Movie “Bridge from Remagen” But a amazing and inspirational work again like so much other Dio´s you build before .
Thx for sharing your work with us
Detlev Kaczmarek
Greetings from Berlin
June 3rd, 2010 at 5:03 pm
Thank you Detlev,
It always feels good to know others appreciate your work!
Bob