Help on ID of a Bing set?

Hi Eddie

I would say that set is circa 1930,i have an electric set with the same picture on the lid from that period.Also similar sets are shown in both the English and German catalogues  for 1930.At the time it was the cheapest gauge O set in the range,so i would say to find one 83 years later in that condition is fantastic!

Mark

I agree with Mark.  It looks like it is almost an exact match for set 11/324/0 from the 1930 catalog.

It is the economy passenger set for the English market (note the LNER initials for London & North Eastern).  It is quite similar to set number  61/3742/03 from an early 1930s catalog.  But, it doesn't have a dome on the locomotive. Perhaps the catalog artwork was incorrect.  The 1928 Bing catalogue for the UK shows the "Minerva" train which also is quite similar, especially the cab.(Set number 3704/03)  Once again the catalog shows a dome.  I do not have Bing's last catalogue (1932-33).  It is conceivable that as an economy measure they removed the dome. If so, you own one of the final sets produced by Bing, which was once the largest toy train manufacturer in the world.

Lew Schneider

Thank you so much for the information so far!  This is amazing to learn about Bing, which is one of the makers I've always admired, could never find something affordable, and knew only a little about before!

Would anyone be able to scan and email me or post on here a copy of a catalog page where the set appears?  I love seeing the set in its original years of offering; it kind of puts the train in its era.

Here's the close match.

The close match shown above is the continental rather than the English version.

I still haven't found the domeless English set.  I am attaching a page from a Bing

English market catalog from the early 1930s.  Unfortunately the cover is missing, so I don't know the exact date, but I know it is somewhere between 1930-1933 because

of one item it contains.  Lew Schneider

These are fantastic!  Thank you so much!  Of course, this set is only going to serve as my entry into wanting more Bing!

If don't already know about it you might want to check out Overlandflyers thread on Bing in this section of the forum.  Currently it is over on page 2.

Unfortunately the published literature on Bing is poor in comparison with Lionel, Flyer,

Hornby, Marklin, and Bassett Lowke.  Your best starting point is Claude Jeanmarie's

Bing Modellbahnen--Granddad's Model Railways.  It has many pages of catalogue reproductions and a bit of text (German) plus a group of interesting black and white photos.  You might check my website as well--www.lewrail.jalbum.net.  Be warned. High end Bing can be very expensive.

Lew Schneider

Lew,

Thank you for the link to your site!  I'll give it a look!  Also, I've started looking for that book, and have a couple leads to copies of it.

My aim won't be for the high end Bing, at least not now.  I want to see what I can find in the smaller O, and go from there.  A few years ago, I remember my father and I finding a Bing electric set in the station shop at the Wanamaker, Kempton and Southern, and we bought it.  It's the PRR with the "Pennsylvania Lines" passenger cars and the Pennsy-decorated, almost S-motor style engine.

those PA and NYC electric outline passenger sets, both as 4 and 8 wheel, were apparently very popular as they are easier to find than most Bing.

i'd sure like to see a better picture or scan of that box label.

looks to be in great condition & Bing had some nice artwork.

nice procurement.

cheers...gary

Thank you, Gary!  When I get it here (it's coming from a woman in the UK, who was excited to tell me that the train was going on a plane!), I'll get some closer shots of the train and post them on here.

This with my Hornby clockwork set will form the basis for a small tin layout I want to make, and it will be just based on the clockwork trains.  I want to try and recreate the vibe of what a working or middle class boy would have had in that period.

Eddie,dont worry about that woman getting excited about it going on a plane,some folk this side of the pond need to get out more!

I like your idea of a layout replicating what a boy of the period might have had,truth is though,very little.I have known a number of collectors and non collectors who had O gauge before WW2(alas,most of them gone now)and just a set like that was good going!One of the guys would recall how his older sister would take his to look in the toyshop window,on a Sunday when it was closed,and he would stand there licking the window!

Mark Carne

Ba-da Bing!

Great find on the Bing set Eddie!  I'm really looking forward to seeing progress on your layout, too.  Clockwork layouts are few and far between, and ones trying to recreate a layout of that vintage are even more scarce.  The trains and accessories are simple to figure out (notice I didn't say easy to acquire, just simple to figure out) - if it was made in that era, it is appropriate for the layout.  My question would be regarding scenery, or perhaps a lack thereof.  Are you thinking a boy from that time would be able to find green paint for the layout board, or perhaps just leave it bare?  Would he have been resourceful and ambitious enough to glue down sawdust dyed green for grass?  I think any of those options would be appropriate to the era, and maybe the guys can chime in with other vintage scenery techniques.  Regardless, it will be a neat project. 

I do have to caution you, not only are the clockwork trains addictive, but clockwork train track can also become an obsession.  I have a difficult time resisting the urge to buy any obscure piece of two rail O gauge tinplate track I happen to find!  There are all kinds of wonderful track, switches, turntables and crossings available from Hornby, Marklin, Bing, Ives, American Flyer, Marx and even Lionel (which is hard to find).

You have been warned... 

Thank you for the encouragement!  Actually, I've always loved clockwork trains (and my one Hornby set has a mechanism that's beautifully elaborate and even runs smoother than some of my Post WWII or modern electric trains!)  The craftsmanship and look is irresistible!

My thinking is that the platform (which will only be large enough to hold the track, nothing gigantic or extra - this is to demonstrate what a boy (or girl) would have done had they the ability to put the train onto a board and make a little layout from it.

I've always loved the thoughts of that period, where you only had a few things to choose from, and the imagination took it from there.  So my idea is to have some things present, but not be a showroom layout.

It may not be painted green or have any grass surface on it at all, since a boy in that time frame (nor his parents) may not have had the resource to get a whole can of green paint just for a train platform.

Just a thought, but if anyone has ideas for scenic tips, let me know!

While we're all sitting around waiting to see your box cover art I thought you might like to see some other Bing box covers.

 

ca. 1914

 

 

 

ca. 1920's

 

 

 

Early 1930's

 

Both the 1914 and the early 20's are from sets exported to the U.S.  The 1914 logo in the upper right corner has the BW script and the word "Germany" underneath whereas thee 1920's has the word "Bavaria".

Hopefully it should only be a few more days before the set arrives from the UK, and the waiting is killing me!

Thank you for posting the box art!  My favorite has always been that 1914 one, with the lettering written in the snow.  To me, it encapsulates the imagination of the train in the box being out on a run that snowy night, getting passengers to their destination.

another Bing boxtop i can add.  not sure of the date, but it does have the 'Bavaria' indication.

they shore had some purdy artwork.  cheers...gary

The wait is over!  I got home today and a package from England was waiting for me!  Inside, very carefully packed, was the Bing set!  I can't believe how good it looks!

Here is the box art for the set, with some incredible detail!

Here is the set itself, which runs like new!  I love the slightly banked track!

Here is the locomotive and tender:

Here is a closeup of the Bing mark and a number by the base of the cab:

...and here is a shot of one of the coaches.  I love the work and detail for the cars, especially the woodgrain look!

Very Nice!  Thanks for the photos.