Tinplate photos 📸 and videos 📽

First summer heat wave is on its way so it’s inside playing trains this weekend for me.. Hope to run the 1948 Maurlyn Clockwork Silver Chief set again this weekend..

Daniel: NICE engine and  interesting controller!

Nice find @Fatman!

https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/...3#152477233913387873

They are the later ROBILT (Hornby style) rolling stock from when Rytime took over the reigns and formed ROBILT-Rytime c1955 IIRC. Quite hard to find these and it looks like you got them at a good price to!!

@Jamie Thompson I was holding my breath for 7 days expecting to get blown out of the water lol

But every now and then you find something where others dont and you end up taking it home ...

On the more recent front the Ottmar Beckh has arrived at Dutchy Mates and has had a radical "Chimonectomy" where the offending bit of tinware was plucked from where it was shoved in a tense groundbreaking Dutch Surgery !

Gratuitous before and after pic !

Sooooo much sexier after her nose job!

@Fatman posted:

@Jamie Thompson I was holding my breath for 7 days expecting to get blown out of the water lol

But every now and then you find something where others dont and you end up taking it home ...

On the more recent front the Ottmar Beckh has arrived at Dutchy Mates and has had a radical "Chimonectomy" where the offending bit of tinware was plucked from where it was shoved in a tense groundbreaking Dutch Surgery !

Gratuitous before and after pic !

Sooooo much sexier after her nose job!

I find it interesting that the red tube has tabs on it, indicating that it was originally designed to be a part of something.  Somewhere, somebody is desperately looking for that part.

Arrived today, a Fandor Caboose from the 20s.

Looks very similar to the Bing Caboose, but was not made with the same tools.

Arne

Arne,

That Fandor caboose is in fabulous condition!

NWL

Well tinplate fans, I can tell you that I always take away from this post a wide variety of things that despite my years of collecting I have never heard of before.  Fatman - you continue to amaze with that Ottmar Beckh locomotive and cars,   Never saw nor heard of that make before, thanks for posting.  Jamie Thompson - Wow another first for me...a Maurlyn Silver Chief, another brand that is a first for me.  It illustrates how in the post war "boom" many manufacturers pushed out toy trains to satisfy what must have seemed to them an insatiable market.  I know I got my first set (Lionel) at 3 years old in 1947 (not sure it wasn't more for Dad and Grandad however )   Daniel - you are more brave than I , messing with that 220 V power for trains!  Wow I bet "mom" really loved letting her kids play with that.  Your mechanism for varying the power into the tracks however, was also used in the US.  In fact I have some pictures of a speed control using 3 or 4 light bulbs in a row and you could speed up or slow down the train by turning each bulb individually on or off.  By the way, Europe was not the only place where you could get somewhat dangerous toys, in the 1920's I have a Lionel flyer showing "kids" how to make a power source for their trains by creating a battery with glass tubes filled with sulfuric acid!

OK so what is my input this week.  Well first of all its not tinplate...although it could be used with tinplate trains and in the more common versions of this kit many of us had this item on our layouts.  To me it is a bit of a mystery.  It is what I would have called a "Plasticville" Red/white Cape Cod house, very similar to the style of houses Steve Eastman showed back on 11/17 but all plastic not metal.  The mystery comes from the packaging and the box not the contents.  As you will see, nowhere on the box does the word "Plasticville" appear and even the maker ,  referred to in tiny letters on the bottom of the box (would not be visible in a picture) as "Bach Bros"  (likely a shortened version of "Bachman"?).  In addition, although the house is clearly sized for O-gauge toy trains, nowhere on the box does it show the toy being used that way nor does any of the advertisement relate to toy trains.  In fact it clearly markets itself as a "construction"type toy and also somewhat unique for the time period shows BOTH boys and girls having fun playing with it.  It does mention "Christmas Gardens" which is an old term for decorating under the tree but emphasizes "year round play".

Here is the top of the box, somewhat worse for wear but fully complete.  You can see it is being marketed to both boys and girls who are BOTH building the house (unlike toy trains at the time which always showed "brother" running the trains and "sister" watching ) and emphasizes "construction" and of course the fact that it is "educational" .  Looking at the clothing outfits the children in the illustration are wearing, I would guess the 1930's or so but its hard to be definite.  If you look carefully at the open circle at the lower right, you can see it is stamped "red" .  We know this kit came in several colors so I expect that the box would be the same except a different color stamp used to differentiate between the kits.

Side of the box - again the theme is "construction".

top and bottom of box - "Build a House" is the theme.

Here are the contents of the box.  You can see it is more or less the ordinary Cape Cod house that we all know from the Plasticville line - note missing the chimney.  This is the least interesting part of this antique store find to me.  It was the box and its unusual advertising that caught my attention.  If any of you Plasticville collectors can tell me...is this an early box, before the marketing of plasticville to the toy train community ?? or is it a late box when the manufacturer tried to broaden the appeal???

Well, that is my post for this weekend.  Keep hunting everyone!!

Don

This week a completely new item, just arrived in the mail today.

A seemingly unremarkable set, 3188 locomotive from 1931 with no reverse, log, gondola, box, and caboose.

Only thing that is slightly rare is the dark blue log car.

However, the set came in its original box, which is what makes it interesting.  The set is labeled for Nation Wide Lines.

The artwork is slightly off from the set, as the artwork shows the Old Dominion set of 1930-1931, which features a 3195 engine and smaller tender (as shown in the artwork, but not found in the set)  The artwork for the Old Dominion set is below

As you may have guessed from my username Nation Wide Lines, I like these sets made for JC Penney.  The early set labels are shown below.

These set labels were used from c. 1929 to c. 1930 and featured sets that were lithographed with JC Penney's store brand "Nation Wide"  similar to set 126/2 below.

However, as the Great Depression went on, the fortunes of JC Penney declined and they no longer were able to get specially lithographed sets.

The later NWL sets appear to be from c. 1931 and had differing labels.  The big difference is the labels showed the individual sets (or a reasonable representation of the set) and all of the sets were standard American Flyer items.

Set 128/1

Set 128/11

NWL

@Don McErlean the art on that box reminds me of an English construction set available about the same time and right up until the 60's the Bayko Construction sets

Although they were a different method of constrction , many UK train modellers used them . They were a bit like Lego but instead of interlocking pieces the bases had holes in the into which rods were inserted and the pieces all had holes which then slid onto the vertical rods , much like building a besser or breeze block wall in real life

While I might find obscure things ( or in effect not limit myself to one country or continent) embracing all manufacturers of clockwork  @Arne or Frenchy @FRENCHTRAINS always trump me in finding hard to find stuff in really good condition. I am like the junkyard dog picking at the scraps comparatively LOL!!!

Ottmar Beckh is the firm who bought out Adolph Schuhmann ( thanks to the Nazi Party yet again ) in 1939 and continued trading til 1973 ... they did Ogauge directly after the war but managed to semi succesfully board the HO train craze later with mainly battery powered sets in the 1960's

My Dutch friend has decided to let me have the ADRIA consist as well as the Spring drive railcar so kindly identified by @Arne via @sncf231e that we bought the other week , so some more rarities head south ... Again not great quality , but find me better ones LOL!

So this brings the ADRIA collection to in total one loco, 2 tenders and FOUR carriages

the "new " ones

I think @Fatman that we all learn from each other; we do not all collect the same thing and not all have the same possibilities to find stuff.  The forum covers three continents and it allows a lot of opportunities and discoveries of all kind. Some stuff is more common in a place than in another one, many of the trains you present are not easy to find in France, except maybe on auction sites, for me I prefer hunting in flee markets and shows. For the moment it is nowhere due to pandemic restrictions so no many new discoveries actually.

@Don McErlean  using high voltage for trains was a common practice a long time ago, as live steam models, chemical experiences also.... some very hazardous experiments have been made by young boys in those times, security was a little different, today we are subject to too many rules of all kinds, but it is just my opinion. It was a way to learn the basics of electricity and mechanic.

Today i will just run a classic Lionel model in standard gauge of the Baby State set, original one of course. I am still missing the #310 railway mail car in the same condition, if someone has an extra one for sale do not hesitate to contact me....

Daniel

Fatman and French Trains / Daniel :  Thank you for your comments and information.  Fatman I agree that the art work on the Bayco toy certainly resembles the artwork on my "House Construction" Toy.  The marketing is similar as well, emphasizing the construction aspect of the toy not what you might do with the house / structure after its built.  I like that both toys show BOTH boys and girls playing together in the construction of the house.  So many of the Lionel ads I have show sister (and sometimes Mom as well) looking on while Dad and brother get to play with the trains.  Daniel - wonderful set, I always liked the "baby state set" as its size seemed somewhat more reasonable to me.  Beautiful set for sure.  I also agree Daniel that I miss the "hunt" at local flea markets and train shows.  We have not had a train show in our TCA Division since last January!.

Best Wishes and good hunting

Don

Finished my American flyer Wide gauge NYC Pacemaker caboose. It looks good with my Pacemaker box car and And Gray 4644. Now  I need a few more cars that would be typical for a NYC freight train.

The one thing the caboose is missing is a second ladder. I tried Port Line Hobby but he's out. If anyone has ( the rounder top type) that they would sell please let me know.

Ron Fox’s latest item in his “Fox for Ferris” range is a cable flat car. Mine is the black sheep of the family as I ordered mine with Hornby couplers and not the usual Ferris couplers so I could run it behind my Hornby and ROBILT locos.. The chassis is in crinkle black replicating the finish Ferris used on some of there C38 locomotives.

So Arne, now you will have to start the hunt for the New York members of the Fandor caboose club. 

Hello,
this week, I have found a curious Issmayer loco with a lever outside the cab.

The front wheel part was missing, so I had made my own.

The lever is for start and stop.

I also found the locomotive in Michael Bowes' Issmayer book, but in green (page 159).
But the lever seems to be missing in place, at the point of the shaft you can see a slightly rusty spot, as if the lever had broken off.

Since the tender is missing, she got a temporary replacement, which is the wrong color, but I think it was made in the same time.

Greetings
Arne

Weathered Tinplate

    One of the many details scale modelers attend to when building their railroad empires is that of giving rolling stock and line side details a weathered finish.  Not including basket cases in need of restoration, weathering is not something one normally associates with tinplate. However, it is something that at least two manufacturers of toy trains took into consideration with some of their product.

  A number of years ago I saw my first example of a hand painted Bing Kalkwagen (lime transport) in what one might charitably describe as "poor" condition.  In addition to it's beat up shape I noticed someone had splattered white paint across part of the top and ends of the car.

  I happened to mention the paint splatters to a collector who specialized in Bing and he told me it was the standard paint treatment for that car. The idea being to give the impression of lime dust - weathering tinplate style.  Time passed and I managed to find and purchase a nice hand painted example (car on right) which I added to the collection.

   A couple of weeks ago a lithographed version of this car showed up on E-bay with a buy-it-now...so I bought it (car on left).

  As you can see, the lithographed detail includes the lime dust weathering.  The litho car is simpler in construction - litho has replaced the need for side embossing and instead of being a separate piece of metal the roof is now a single hinged hatch.

   The only other tinplate fresh-from-the-factory weathered look of which I'm aware is the un-named Ives O gauge set #476 offered in 1929.  It was described as "gray with black mottled effect simulating an alkali dust-covered train having passed through the Mojave Desert." Collectors call it the Mojave Desert Train.  I've never seen a real life example of this set but on page 66 in Robinson's book "Made in the Ives Shops" there is a small picture of the engine and the observation car.

The formation of the German Deutsche Reichsbahn (German National Railways) in 1920 foretold a major change in the Marklin line of model trains that was to commence in 1928. The introduction of the Model HR Pacific (4-6-2) steam loco model in 1929 represented what some consider the pinnacle of Marklin’s steam locomotive modeling. The HR was offered that year in four versions: two in 0 gauge (live steam and electric,) and two in gauge 1, also live steam and electric. They were lacquered in green and black with trim lines in red. This video shows a first series Marklin 1 gauge HR 64-13021 (1929-31) pulling two Marklin CIWL (Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits) Marklin cars. The cars are: first, a 57cm Marklin 1942 J Speiswagen (diner) 1934-42; and second, a 53cm Marklin 1947 J  Schlafwagen (sleeping car) 1930-37. (Reference: Technical Toys in the Course of Time, Vol. 9, The Golden Twenties.)

@Carey TeaRose posted:

Cannot remember if I shared pic(s) recently of the still-a-work-in-progress American Flyer O Gauge area (I lovingly refer to it as American Flyer Litho-Land) on the new layout... please forgive me if I'm being redundant. A few new items have been added recently.

Love the original "passenger shelter".

@Jim Kelly-Evans posted:

The formation of the German Deutsche Reichsbahn (German National Railways) in 1920 foretold a major change in the Marklin line of model trains that was to commence in 1928. The introduction of the Model HR Pacific (4-6-2) steam loco model in 1929 represented what some consider the pinnacle of Marklin’s steam locomotive modeling. The HR was offered that year in four versions: two in 0 gauge (live steam and electric,) and two in gauge 1, also live steam and electric. They were lacquered in green and black with trim lines in red. This video shows a first series Marklin 1 gauge HR 64-13021 (1929-31) pulling two Marklin CIWL (Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits) Marklin cars. The cars are: first, a 57cm Marklin 1942 J Speiswagen (diner) 1934-42; and second, a 53cm Marklin 1947 J  Schlafwagen (sleeping car) 1930-37. (Reference: Technical Toys in the Course of Time, Vol. 9, The Golden Twenties.)

Jim, the items in your collection and your knowledge of them is amazing, and seeing them in operation is phenomenal.  Thank you for taking your trains off the shelf and putting them on the rails.  I always enjoy your posts.

I hate to be morbid, but I hope that your information is being cataloged so that future generations of train buffs can take advantage of it.  The details which exist only in the minds (and basements) of a few talented individuals such as yourself needs to be saved.

@Mallard4468 posted:

I find it interesting that the red tube has tabs on it, indicating that it was originally designed to be a part of something.  Somewhere, somebody is desperately looking for that part.

Your smokestack looks like one from the smaller Lionel powerstation.

Scott Smith

Arne: That is ONE FINE Fandor caboose! Also like Daniel's "Baby State" set! Of course, JKE's exquisite Marklin engine is the proverbial "cat's meow"!

@Mallard4468 posted:

Jim, the items in your collection and your knowledge of them is amazing, and seeing them in operation is phenomenal.  Thank you for taking your trains off the shelf and putting them on the rails.  I always enjoy your posts.

I hate to be morbid, but I hope that your information is being cataloged so that future generations of train buffs can take advantage of it.  The details which exist only in the minds (and basements) of a few talented individuals such as yourself needs to be saved.

Thanks, much appreciated. The historical aspect has always enhanced my enjoyment of our hobby. I've tried to share what information I have freely with fellow hobbyists.

Some little clockwork models by JdP-JEP, dating from around 1928. The first one is a complete set with accessories.

And three variations around the same model. the green one is stamped GN on the tender sides, model for export in Great Britain. The two other ones have a more french look.

Have a nice weekend and take care, Daniel

So much goodness above!!! ^^^^^

Sometimes fate is a marvellous thing .... I have been striking out a lot and not finding too much lately within my tightarse means ... so much so that I actually deviated the other week and picked up a Vintage Danish Tekno motor as a kind of therapy ( lol ) However it can be used to run tinplate accesories so it counts right ?

Very dirty but I see no reason why it will not run again with some TLC .

But then fate stepped in and presented to me something I have been wanting for a very long time , and usually I could never justify the spend, as for what they are they cost a bit, but here was a lonely soul looking for a new owner and it had a LOT of value added upgrades, which many say are necessary, and the start price was pretty much the cost of the upgrades ... I sat on it for a week with no bids .... then with 24 hours to go of course it got one ... and I was 100% knowing I could not justify a bid war ... so I waited for 10 seconds to go and hit it with my very upper limit , expecting failure ... and it closed with a $5 premium on the opening amount ... The dude only bid the exact start bid ???

So yep coming is ...

Soooo...it's a Mamod SL-1 Steam Locomotive runs on O gauge as a narrow gauge style locomotive ... and the best part it's been converted to gas-fired boiler, and full radio control ( speed & reversing)

So, its not VINTAGE vintage, indeed its probably the latest timeline loco I own but man I wanted this all the way back in the 80's .. Forty years later ....

@Fatman posted:

I have always wanted a Mamod too. Please post a video when you get it fired up.

@Fatman posted:

So much goodness above!!! ^^^^^

Sometimes fate is a marvellous thing .... I have been striking out a lot and not finding too much lately within my tightarse means ... so much so that I actually deviated the other week and picked up a Vintage Danish Tekno motor as a kind of therapy ( lol ) However it can be used to run tinplate accesories so it counts right ?

Sorry Fatman, again no. This motor was made by Trix in Germany. Was an accessory for an metal construction kit.

Arne

Nice @Fatman   Mamod has made a very good loco and it was my first live steam engine also... "some" years ago and I still have it. The one i have is a basic model but yours have been greatly improved and must be nice to run.  The only problem with those locs is the flanges of the wheels are not very deep and that is a problem to use it on classic tinplate tracks; it also is sometime a speedy model.... and derails easily but that is part of the fun.

Daniel

@Arne posted:

Sorry Fatman, again no. This motor was made by Trix in Germany. Was an accessory for an metal construction kit.

Arne

Aha .. I looked at the fact it might be Trix .. but some Trix ones I have seen had TRIX stamped into the horseshoe magnet pole ?

Tekno must have got them from the same manufacturing plant lol ( most likely Trix as you say)

So its either a Trix without the stamping ( which further searching now shows me is possible) or a Tekno with the sticker removed Both firms had red and green variants

But based on probability you are probably right in it being Trix

Always living and learning !

Oh and for some AWESOME building work .. check out the Tekno built log mill I found on Youtube

Powered by SIX of these type motors

Fatman,

sorry was a missunderstanding, it´s all made by Trix, but in Danmark the sets was sold by Tekno under the own trademark.

Here a history of the Trix motors.

Trix

Arne

Video from last night.

Scott Smith

@Fatman nice find- as usual. You have been bringing great tin to this thread. I’m now both “jealous” of your life down under And tin! How I wish to get back to Australia some day

@scott.smith great video- awesome layout and wonderful tin! Great job of intermingling different scales!

here’s my Tinplate pick-up from the weekend, besides the unique Arts Caboose and Lionel 804. Bing water tower:

Also, some tootsietoy trains from my collection- in addition to the midgettoys trains I posted last week. A Santa Fe consist. These are longer than the midgetoy

Also, a station I’ve had my eye on- have no clue as to the maker. Anyone recognize this? Above the top clock it says “A.D. 1898”

The station above was At the market where I acquired the Bing water tower. If I knew more about it, I think I’d buy it. OTher items were the Flyer circus set in the box, Lionel 671 loco with set, Lionel 254 set, and Lionel standard gauge set and other cars. The Flyer set below is something in which I am interested. I would’ve bought one of the aforementioned items or the items below had I not just purchased other things at the meet.

American Flyer clockwork. I believe the engine was 13?

Hornby Mecanno station. Priced a bit too high but lookedgood nonetheless

The station was made by Issmayer but was sold through the Carette catalog.

Roland

@rdigilio thank you very much for your answer- much appreciated! I saw it months ago and was finally able to get a picture this time. The lack of markings was frustrating. I greatly appreciate your help

Glad I could help

Roland

A little morning action down by the freight house...

@StevefromPA posted:

Also, a station I’ve had my eye on- have no clue as to the maker. Anyone recognize this? Above the top clock it says “A.D. 1898”

Steve,

the station is similar to the Issmayer stations but was made by Karl Bub. This is model 184/II from Bub catalog 1902.

Was avaible in Carette catalog 1911 too. The most cheaper trains and station in the Carette catalog was made by Bub not by Issmayer.

Here a catalog picture from the Bub 1902 catalog.

Arne

I finished my Polar Express #318 this week.  I bought this old 318 shell and I already have a gray MTH #318. I won some unpainted 300 series cars at the Cabin Fever MTH auction.

Scott Smith