Levon John Kemalyan (24 February 1907

Fresno, California Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...

– 2 November 1976

) was a

model railroading Railway modelling (UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland) or model railroading (US and Canada) is a hobby in which rail transport systems are modelled at a reduced scale. The scale models include locomotives, rolling stock, streetcars, ...

entrepreneur. He founded Kemtron Corporation, a manufacturer of

model railway Railway modelling (UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland) or model railroading (US and Canada) is a hobby in which rail transport systems are Model building, modelled at a reduced Scale (ratio), scale. The scale models include locomotives ...

cars, locomotives, parts (especially for scratchbuilders), and accessories. In 1960 it was the world's largest maker of scale railroad kits, producing one million parts a year and selling them worldwide 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. Levon purchased the company with his brother-in-law in 1929. In 1935, he took over the photo-engraving company himself. Levon sold the firm December 26, 1962, to his brothers-in-law, Thomas N. Vartanian and Jerry Mootafian. Kemtron Corporation was founded and owned by Kemalyan. :Kemalyan started Kemtron in Fresno in the early '50s (possibly even 1948 or 1949), and he provided layout space for the Fresno Model Railroad club in the early '50s. In 1960, the Kemtron plant was with 15 employees. 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 was initially a sideline of Fresno Photo Engraving, which explains why common photo engraving materials were often used. In the mid-1960s Kemtron also produced a line of

slot cars A slot car or slotcar is a powered miniature automobile or other vehicle that is guided by a groove or slot in the track on which it runs. A pin or blade extends from the bottom of the car into the slot. Though some slot cars are used to model hi ...

and accessories. Lawrence S. Kazoyan (b. November 7, 1931 – d. April 15, 2000, Palm Beach), a retired aerospace engineer, acquired Kemtron in 1970, and moved it from Fresno to Los Angeles. T. Fredrick Hill and Wayne Lyndon, owners of The Original Whistle Stop Inc., acquired Kemtron in 1978 and moved it to Sacramento. The Precision Scale Company, Inc. acquired Kemtron as a merger in 1986. Former Kemtron employee John Anderson later went on to found Associated Brass Products, Inc., maker of the Cal-Scale line.

Honors

*1999 Model Railroad Industry Association Hall of Fame inductee *2001

O scale O scale (or O gauge) is a scale commonly used for toy trains and rail transport modelling. Introduced by German toy manufacturer Märklin around 1900, by the 1930s three-rail alternating current O gauge was the most common model railroad sc ...

Hall of Fame inductee

Family

Kemalyan was born and raised in

. He also died in Fresno. His parents, Coshocir and Yonepseper A. Coshocir (''née'' Chorbaji) were born in

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

. Coshocir was an engraver. Levin had three sisters, Flora (Flora Maroot; 1898–1978), Alice (Alice Nevart Thomas; 1904–1990), and Naomi (born 1910). On March 6, 1941, Levin married Roselle Arax Bezazian (1909–2008) in

Cook County, Illinois Cook County is the List of counties in Illinois, most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the List of the most populous counties in the United States, second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, C ...

, a pianist who graduated from

Oberlin Conservatory of Music The Oberlin Conservatory of Music is a private music school, music conservatory of Oberlin College, a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio. It was founded in 1865 and is the ...

. years ago (in 1961), Roselle Kemalyan was elected president of the Fresno Music Club. The club, this year (), is in its season. Levon and Roselle had two daughters: Constance R. ("Connie") (married to Gerald L. Wright) and Katharine ("Kathy") (married to Thomas Starbird).Newspaper Obituary and Death Notice: ''Roselle Bezazian Kemalyan'', ''

The Fresno Bee ''The Fresno Bee'' is a three-times a week newspaper serving Fresno, California Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the larges ...

'', March 4, 2008

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kemalyan, Levon American people of Armenian descent People from Fresno, California Rail transport modellers American people in rail transportation 1907 births 1976 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople

Companies owned

Honors

Family

See also

References