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imageimageimageHello Tinplate World 

1906 you had mechanical clock work trains , live steam, and electric novelties . By far the king of the electric train world was Carlisle and Finch based in Cincinatti . C&F is credited with the first successful electric trolley fall of 1896 followed by an electric mining train ( mine engine pulling dump cars 1898) and first steam outline pulling a gondola and box car or two passenger cars in 1899. C&F were 2" , 2 rail DC... 2" gauge was the American "standard " for the first 14 years of electric trains , till a new "Standard Gauge" took the lead and cast 2" to a foot note in history books. 

At York I was fortunate to pick up a C&F #42 circa 1906 ... Add a bit of oil , clean the armature ... Dail up 6volts and 1/2 amp and she springs to life. 

C&F used bright shiny brass for the bodies of trolleys and their passenger cars , wood was used for bases. 

C&F is still in business today building searchlights .

Cheers Carey

 

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Hello tinplates 

thank you for your kind words ... C&F made a lot of these little trolleys ... " good value"

yes thus trolley is gear driven ... 1896-8/9 the first #1 trolley and the first version of the mining engine were both  band drive .. 

Testimonials in the C&F catalog of 1899 speak of how wonder the new drive ( geared) is over the old system .

Cheers Carey 

I have what I believe to be a vintage No. 42 Electric Railway trolley. The one I have has the gear drive. The wooden box that has the No. 42 Electric Railway label on it has handwritten across the top border of the label "Christmas 1898". Is it possible that this was from the first year of production of the geared version? I read somewhere on the internet that that started around that time.

The trolley has been used extensively in the past and has the body decorated with cartoon figures. 

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Hello all 

 

neat box and trolley ...date seems to be a bit off ....,. as the # 42 did not surface till 1902  ... the version you have is 1904 -08...dates per original C&F catalogs 

my track is old C&F track .... greenish ties and ribbon rail ...great fun .. 

yes the trains ran off of dry cell batteries .. or some areas had DC current ..and step it down for use ...or C&F sold various generators ...hand , hydro  ...

if you like C&F   you might enjoy seeing one of the oldest layouts in America ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ym8KWWm7PXw&t=6s

 

Cheers Carey 

 

Yes layout lived in an attic on the west coast for many decades ...now in PA



I miss Dick Hopkins. He only lived a few miles from me.

I bought and owned the 1950 Studebaker for many years that his father bought new.

While on vacation, Dick fell off a street car in China, or some such place,  and conked his head on a fire hydrant. Poor guy.

Last edited by RoyBoy

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