@scott.smith posted:Building a round tinplate high rise (in progres
I still need to paint and add windows.
Scott Smith
Very innovative use of materials.
A few questions: What did you use to secure the seam? (I'm guessing CA glue.) What do you plan to use for window glazing, since it must conform to the curve, and how will you attach it (without smearing glue everywhere)? What kind of prep will you do for painting?
Thanks.
@Mallard4468 posted:Very innovative use of materials.
A few questions: What did you use to secure the seam? (I'm guessing CA glue.) What do you plan to use for window glazing, since it must conform to the curve, and how will you attach it (without smearing glue everywhere)? What kind of prep will you do for painting?
Thanks.
Still working on the windows. I am considering clear plastic shower curtains or very thin plexiglass. I wrapped bungee cords around it and left it to help conform the shape. I have JB weld for the seam. I will use spray primer and then paint.
Scott Smith
The weekend seems to be very quite.... Not a recent find but still in as is condition and in need of restoration, a French train set made by SIF, before it became part of JEP, this one is around 1910 and needs to be completed, missing set of wheels and two couplers, the mech also have missing part so I need to find a junk one to restore....not an easy challenge...
Have a nice weekend, Daniel
Well I have nothing as early as Daniel's beautiful SIF/JEP train posted above. However you might like to see one of my oldest American O-gauge trains. Like Daniels, it still needs some repair as it has a zinc pest ruined drive wheel and is missing the drive linkage on the non shown side. However, it is by my reckoning an American Flyer type 11 from 1923 or so. It came to me as a set with the cars shown but alas no set box cover, so it is a bit of a mystery. Anyway here it is, for your review and comment if you have more information.
Here is a close up of the engine (cast iron) and her sheet metal tender. Obviously from the key, you can tell its clockwork powered (which works fine by the way). This is her best side, as on the other side she has a drive wheel where the hub is broken out due to zinc pest and she is missing her drive rod.
Here is the full consist, one pullman and one baggage.
Here are the cars, an American Flyer 1205 baggage and 1206 pullman
This is how the set came to me, partially boxed but no set box cover.
Best wishes for a great weekend to everyone. Our weather here in Savannah, Ga, USA is very rainy so I hope you are doing better!
Don
Waterman Loco Works STD Gauge McKeen motor car.
Steve
Don, your AF set is very nice, wish I could find one here in that condition. They are uncommon in France and never imported except maybe by collectors since the internet is used? Wish you could find spare parts to restore that beauty.
Kind regards, Daniel
@Steve "Papa" Eastman posted:Waterman Loco Works STD Gauge McKeen motor car.
Steve
"Cool" does not even begin to describe it.
I hope that @Jim Waterman brings a completed one to the SGMA meeting at York; IIRC, he brought a work-in-progress last time.
Hope you can make it to York, Steve.
Daniel, thank you for the complement. I too hope to find the spare parts to restore the loco as the cars/tender are almost perfect. However, I will also likely need to find someone more skilled than I to put that wheel back on even if i can find a wheel.
Arne - your finds are just beyond fantastic. Thank you for sharing.
Steve - motor car is really cool.
Don
Don, there was a set just like yours which sold within the last couple of weeks on e-bay. The set was complete with the set box cover and the set number on the box was #15.
Don Mc, can you post a pic of the broken wheel side
John
Robert Butler: thank you for the information. Now not only do I know the set number but I have confirmed that it was indeed a set
beardog49: I cannot at this time as I am away on vacation and will not return to home for about 3 weeks ( the picture I posted is from my photo album in my computer). However the sides are identical. The drive rod missing is identical to the one shown and the broken wheel is the rear driver and it has the hub part of the casting broken out from the rim.
Don
I'll look thru my junk box, Don
@FRENCHTRAINS , @Arne , @Don McErlean, @Steve "Papa" Eastman , all wonderful finds , I dont know who to be more jealous of lol ... but for me Frenchy tugged on the heartstrings , I love early French tin !
The practical stoic side of me LOVES the GBN boxed set , and the Kid in me wants to play with Don's AF set !
Steve's Waterman makes me want to put on a leather flying cap and goggles !!! Capt Nemo Inspired !
Interestingly Australia imported a few McKeens but they couldnt handle us rough tough Aussies very well and only ran a few years before being declared too costly to operate and within 6 years were demotored and run as passenger carriages until they were totally scrapped 15 years later ! A very expensive experiment ... not one survives here as far as I know ...
Pic is one in Wodonga ( Victoria/New South Wales Border ) brand new in 1911
Now up until last night I had nothing at all to share with you wonderful folk, but then the generous hand of the Toy Collecting God opened his mighty closed fist and pointed at a little "Something Something " in Italy 
Now it comes with a completely incorrect box ... which just happens to be the box for the Height Changing Device I showed here a month or three back LOL! ... so although not for this particular set , its very welcome indeed !
So the set teased at in the above Pictures is a Johann Hoefler Small Tower Railway ( or Spiral railway)
Complete apart from one section of straight ( which I can steal from another oval set I have if I set it up temprarily) However I think it can be set up without the straight anyway ... Will depend if the exit track from the loco house is long enough to clear the bottom curves ( mebbe not? )
@Fatman , Nice, I have never seen one, good find. Did you received my mail Simon ?
Nothing new actually, just some pictures of the JEP n°7 clockwork set. Made during a short period, 1935-40 and the biggest that that JEP has offered. The tender has a compartment to put a battery which allows the loco to have a front lamp. It's the only French model using this system. The set is complete except the key, it will be added in a short time.
Have a nice weekend, Daniel
@FRENCHTRAINS, I was sure i had replied , but obviously not lol .... well I HAVE now 
Yes Hoefler is not all that common I was lucky to find it, and very affordable too
Beautiful JEP !!! 
All wound up and ready to roll .... morning in the Ophir & Oblivion freight yards.
@Fatman : Thanks for your compliment on my AF set, of course playing trains is always an option should you find yourself in Texas (LOL) - as well as a pint or 2! @ Frenchtrains - the JEP set is beautiful, thanks for posting. @ Robert S. Butler - what a line up, might you provide an ID for those pictured? Thanks!
Well Daniel, to augment your beautiful JEP set, let me post a VERY much more humble French Hornby Set. The MO line likely from the 1930's but I don't have a definite date. Here is the set in the box alas I do not have the box cover.
Here is the loco and his tender.
Here is the full consist, showing the passenger car - only one in this set.
Best wishes everyone. Enjoy the weekend and for us Americans the Monday Holiday!
Don
Can do Don - from left to right - Bing live steam ca 1908, KBN clockwork ca 1919 , and C. Rossignol ca 1905. Most of the freight cars in the background are Bing, either hand painted or early litho, dating from around 1908 - 1920's
Hello Don, thanks for your comment on my JEP set, your humble Hornby set is not bad at all also. Nice condition, the box cover would have been helpfull to geave a production date. Those set have had a long production time of thirty years beginning in 1933. If there is no Hornby trade mark on the top of the roof of the coach it is a post 1952 model otherwise more detailed pictures are needed to be more exact.
All my best wishes, Daniel
Robert: thanks for the run down. These are fascinating trains and I really enjoy knowing their maker.
Daniel: thanks. I will look for the trade mark or it’s absence when we return to Texas next month.
Best wishes everyone
Don
The Blue Comet! MTH 10-1062-1 on the way to Atlantic City! Happy 4th everyone!!!!
Oops I did it again ....
Looks like myself and Tuco the Moustache Parrot will be on rations again for another week ... ( who am I kidding , I get the rations and she gets her usual fresh fruit and veg daily and premium pellet supply! )
Soooo after thinking my spending was done for a bit after the above Hoefler combo from Italy ... some lovely lady lists a Low Volt Bing loco (4Volt) in what looks rather good condition ... sighhhh ok here we go again ... it was a right little battle fought bravely to the very last second , but I managed to score it at ( what I think ?) was a very decent price ... so its coming south for the winter
First glance I thought it was fairly early , but then noticing the BW ( Bing Werke) trademark hiding under the front boiler step rivet ... well that places it in the c1919 on period ... I havent been able to find a resource on the web to definatively date it but I am happy regardless ( Waits for @Arne with the catalogues to school me lol! )
Nevertheless I am more than happy
oh .. you want pics ? Silly me babbling on and onn and onnnnn ...
OK
( lol ) waits for imaginary drumroll..... ( just teasing ...)
Lovely little thing @Fatman You must bee proud of it, perfect condition is a great plus.
I think Arne will be better than me to exactly geave a production date but here is what I think, 1929 catalog so perfect period logo which must be a little later than what you think. Anyway I love that thing.... please take care of Tuco the Moustache Parrot... and the loco also...
Very best, Daniel
Fatman - really neat little locomotive. I was wondering about the lithographed notation below the cab window "O=35", this seems rather strange to me, do you know its meaning?
OBTW Fatman, a while ago I posted a little Hornby type 30/31 coach in crimson and cream . It was a first / second class coach and was one of only two variants that Hornby made. You posted the other one, the 3rd / guards van version. I am very happy to say that I have now acquired this version as well (3 rd / guards) and it has arrived from AUSTRALIA !! I am away from home at the moment but when I get back home I will post some pictures of this little fellow.
Best wishes Don
@Don McErlean posted:I was wondering about the lithographed notation below the cab window "O=35", this seems rather strange to me, do you know its meaning?
I was wondering the same thing. O scale is 32 mm. I don't suppose Bing at that time measured their track to the centre of the rails or the outer edges?
for Don Mcerlean: I searched my parts for your wheel, all I have left have zinc pest too. Search the bay for a seller
called svhoneybee, I have sold him a lot of parts like this in the past. I found him by looking for american flyer wheels.
Good luck
@Don McErlean and @O Gauge Guy Early on manufacturers like Bing and Marklin who were around and "formalised" the gauges were measuring to the Middle of the rails themselves ...and they used 3mm rails .. hence O was 35mm ( 32+1.5+1.5 ) and Gauge I was 48mm (45+1.5+1.5 ) ... now that was well and fine when THEY were making it as they had control over rail diameter etc so the inside measurement was consistently 32 ish However there was nothing to stop another manufacturer going out and making wider or narrower individual rails which of course meant the wheel flange spacing might not be right for that particular rail ... Hence O guage was then standardised by the INSIDE ( or wheel flange spacing) measurements However Bing and Marklin and Karl Bub on occasion loved the O-35 and I-48 , maybe a twinge of nostalgia or perhaps a cheeky little nod to others that they were originators of the process?
Fred has a great e-book on the subject of all common gauges
http://sncf231e.nl/wp-content/.../Gauge-and-Scale.pdf
This particular issue gets a guernsey @ 3.1.2 section
@ don .. I really hope our postal service was much kinder to you than yours is to us LOL!
Australia has a good selection of Hornby ( albeit usually valued more than in the UK dollarwise) so if you cant source it in the UK , you just might find it here ... Hornby was the staple of post war O Gauge here in the 20's to 50's period for toy tinplate .
@frenchy Yep I was very lucky it looks to be in such great condition ... I did see the 1929 catalogue listing but those ones all had splashers etc that this little loco doesn't so I suspect its before '29 and after '19 ...
There is not a lot of info out there about the low volt models .. probably because they were the poor cousins, sold to the yokels in the hills without electricity LOL !
"Here , have a battery, and pretend like you are modern citizens ... " 
Thanks @Arne I have read that the "BW " trade mark occured after Ignaz Bings death in 1919 when the company officially changed to Bing Werke , but like you I have also seen 1923 as the date of change from diamond logos ?
I do agree with what I have found since that the loco is likely 1924 on , but like you had also seen very similar locos in the 1912-13 era , but 100% its not from there due to the "BW" I am left to wonder ( and thats a BAD thing when trying to figure out what happened 100 years ago lol ) if perhaps Bing had the 1912 tooling sitting there when someone said:
"Well ze country is a bit of a mess Zanks to d'ose ****zen Britischers bombink efferrywhere, und ve haf lotz of places mittout deine electrisches! Zo zerefore ve vill remake ze early Battery Power version for zem ! I haf noticed zere ist eine larger bocks out ze back from before ze war und it haz zome pieces ve could use ! "
( of course they were speaking in native German and didnt have the comical accent above , but the story is better for my purile attempt at humour .... no? )
Interesting historical aside ... this is Georges Carette in the Bing Factory , one side the ladies are assembling steam engines , the other side of the table has tin train track assembly
What would we give to walk thru this factory at that time ?
So it is likely this lovely little loco I found is somewhere 1923-6 ?
wow, three women working and two men to supervise...........
@@Bear dog thank you for looking for the AF parts. I appreciate the lead and will try that. Thanks again.
@Fatman well it seems the Australian postal gods have smiled on me. My little Hornby coach arrived after only 3 weeks. I will post some pictures in the future
Don
@Fatman posted:Thanks @Arne I have read that the "BW " trade mark occured after Ignaz Bings death in 1919 when the company officially changed to Bing Werke , but like you I have also seen 1923 as the date of change from diamond logos ?
So it is likely this lovely little loco I found is somewhere 1923-6 ?
Fatman,
the BW logo was made in 1919 with the change from Gebruder Bing to Bing Werke, but it was used in 1923 first. The copyright as registered trademark for the BW logo is from 1925. The diamont logo was used after 1923 too. Here a Bing bill from the end of 1924 with both logos.
Arne
1932 Hornby France produced his first station in French style, the previous ones where typically British. They where named for French towns, this one is Dijon. The wall litho is nice with passenger displayed but unfortunately the litho on roofs is damaged due to a long period in an attic without any protection, when I got it the dust was solidified and there is rust, impossible to do a better clean without more damages to the litho.
Have a nice weekend, Daniel
@Fatman here's what I have used as a quick reference when attempting to date trains or accessories made by Bing.
Bing Trademark history Canadian Toy Trains
It breaks down the timelines for the embossing on the frame, a bit on trucks, as well as the lithographed "The Bing Miniature Railway System"(and its variations) at the top of the body on the ends of some cars(mainly found on passenger cars).
@Arne it goes with what you said but having your expertise in validating this resource would be appreciated
I did recently come across an "oddball" in terms of the litho on the body. A PRR 250 Observation, 4 wheel trucks, GBN on the bottom, but "ade in Bavaria" litho'd under the awning on the observation end of the car. Hope it proves helpful!!!
@FRENCHTRAINS very nice station! What a beaut! Love that lithograph and that it's French Hornby as well. You did a great job cleaning that! Looks display case worthy, like straight out of stations I saw at the National Toy Train Museum in Strasburg this past Sunday!
If you don't mind- what did you use to clean it? And here's an open question for everyone- what do you use to clean your lithographed trains, accessories, buildings, etc... I've heard that Marvel Mystery oil helps to get rid of some of the rust and gives the item a fresh look even after removal
Thanks Steeve. To answer your question there is many ways to clean a litho piece and I do not think there is a really good one, no magical product exist.
What I do first is a very soft cleaning with fresh water and dish-washing detergent product, using a very soft paint brush. After rinse with fresh water and a little heating with an hair dryer to remove humidity. After I pass a light coat of very fine oil to stop the rust and after one or two days is remove all the excess oil with a very soft cloth. I do not use wax or anything more. That's the way I have cleaned that station and the result is not too bad, of course there is still some rust on the roofs but it will not rust anymore.
One very important thing is always to try in a hidden place to see what happens, litho parts are made from ink and so many surprises are possible that you have to be careful. When it is damaged it is too late to make something good.
Very best, Daniel
Thanks @StevefromPA, yep that page is one I reference regarding Bing , but one thing I have learnt from researching many makes and eras, is that no one page is ever fully correct So I try and base my conclusions on the sum of the total gleaned, so much of the early history of the things we love went undocumented at the time because they were simply toys , here one day, to be replaced the next by something newer and brighter, or when manufacturing technology advanced . The Canadian site you linked is good because the fellow there has done the collating for us and best presented it with his opinion on the timeline .
It's rather sad that many living memories of these wonderful toy companies in the early years went undocumented , in some cases even those who lasted into the 50's or later. Imagine how resourceful that first hand knowledge would be to us, instead we debate and pass on our individual thoughts on things today and try and narrow things down. Catalogues etc remain the best way , but sadly they were designed to sell a product rather than accurately document the progress of different models , so even they can be fallible on the nuances and year to year changes of "unimportant" details ..
I think thats part of why I love my little eclectic collection , the journey it takes you on when you are trying to find the elusive and then once you have , try to figure out its place in the world and its journey .
None of that is important to the future, it will never cure cancer, it will never address climate conditions, but its a tangible part of an often intangible world that can teach you a little bit about where we came from
Wow! what depth hey lol ... I didnt see that coming when I started the post
Perhaps this Train Collecting is a bit of an analogy for life, so many things out there we have little influence over, but when you find that little part of it you can , run with it, in whatever direction makes you happy, and if you are very very lucky, you will meet others who will help you on your journey ...
@FRENCHTRAINS , Marvellous Dijon Station ! I concur 100% with your cleaning , just light soapy warm water , testing first , and a light oil wipe to preserve
While not strictly train related I had a play with my little Lutz-Hielschler steam tricycle today ... so kinda sorta fits here ?
Video not mine (manufacturer ) but same same 
at the time billed as the smallest Steam Coach in the world lol
Fatman I really enjoyed seeing the Lutz-Hielschler tricycle today. Like many of the things on this post, I have never seen such a thing before and live steam ! You know your comment about how collecting might be an analogy of life. I sometimes feel that on that rare occasion when I encounter an early train or toy that somehow I can transport myself back to being that young boy in the 1920's or 30's at Christmas fascinated by what Santa left and absolutely thrilled that it is something I can make "go around".
Oh well, maybe too serious for a beautiful summer Sunday
Best to all
Don
Fatman,
The correct Name is Lutz Hielscher without the L. I have visited the shop of him some times, but it´s closed for ever about his age.
Arne
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