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I recently have been lucky to find a Spanish model on Ebay.   It has been made by a company named Electrotren and it is still in existence today in HO gauge product.  The O gauge range have been made during a very short time beginning in 1951 near Barcelone and in 1954 the firm changed it's location to Madrid and stopped O gauge products.

Well made model in heavy steel, a classic three rail O gauge but fun to notice that the pantagraph is functional even if Electrotren never produced the system neither tracks which where Paya products.

With the loco was this freight car , maybe a little Marklin inspired of..... but with Spanish markings. A wide range of freight has been produced but they are not easy things to find outside their original country. Except Paya, Spanish models are hard to find, expensive as quantity produced was very low.

Daniel

@Fatman- thanks for the comeback Mate, I agree its a "maybe" we will probably never be able to confirm.

Don

Fantastique Electrotren Daniel !

@Fatman posted:

Fantastique Electrotren Daniel !

Thank's Simon, and for thirty Euros what to ask more ???

Daniel

Holy French Froggies Frying on a Friday !!! 30 euro .. a bargain my friend ! ...

Ok I will give you 35 for it ....

( seriously that's a super buy Daniel! )

Fantastique!

Tom

@FRENCHTRAINS - 30 Euro!!  Daniel, where did you get the gun to hold on him to get that price!

Fantastic price and a beautiful train

Don

Well Tinplate fans, I thought I might follow in the lead of Fatman with his Japanese "Penny Toy"...my latest acquisition in the inexpensive tinplate line is this streamlined steam locomotive and tender by Karl Bub.  It was listed in the e-bay auction at opening bid of $4.25 and I bid an outrageous $10 max and after a bit of back and forth with another bidder won the auction at $11.40. It is marked with the "Bub" name and the notation..."made in Western Germany" on the tender, there are no markings on the loco.  IAW Wikipedia, this notation, i.e. "western..."  followed the "Zone" marking and preceded the full unification of Germany.  Assuming the marking is correct, this means it was made between 1949 and 1990.  In my opinion, given plastic driving wheels I would guess this is from the 1950's -1960's.  It most certainly would have been an inexpensive toy.

Here she is in her red/silver paint scheme.  Labeled for the "Great Western" she has a distinctive, almost 1930's shape.  She is clockwork and the motor operates fine and the lever on top is a brake. The loco is about 5" long and the tender another 3".   Yes, I know the tender's wheels / axle's are missing, that is a problem for another day.  

Here is a front end view, showing the lithographed treatment on the boiler front.  She has a bit of surface rust, especially on the far side, but that might come off with some treatment.  Hey! on the display shelf you can only see one side anyway

Here is a view looking from the rear of the tender, you can see the locomotive cab is more or less just empty. The motor is forward only and has no speed adjustment, just a brake to hold it in place prior to release.

Well I hope your week is going well.  Best wishes everyone.

Don

Like the old tin plate. Found this at the Carolina Pickers show today. Does anyone know what Mfg? There are no marks that I can see. Thanks for any help.

John

@John A in N.C. posted:

Like the old tin plate. Found this at the Carolina Pickers show today. Does anyone know what Mfg? There are no marks that I can see. Thanks for any help.

John

Joy Line, pre Marx

Steve

Cool Thanks Steve,

New today, a small train set made by Heinrich Fischer around 1930.

Arne

@Arne- what a beautiful set and it such great condition.  Thanks for posting.

Don

Lovely set Arne ... and you might have solved a mystery for me ... I have had a small loco very much like that , which I suspected of being Fischer but had no trademark on it I cant quite see in your photo, but usually they have the "fish" between the boiler and cab roof at the front ... which I cant see on yours ( might just be the light?) but if its missing it might be a brother of the one I have

Picked up another little Japanese floor train , which I suspect is pre-war by the litho simplicity , and its a maker that stubbornly refuses to be identified .. I even reached out to Kevin Dockerill in the UK and he kindly got back to me with the wonderful reply that HE'S never seen the logo either LOL ... So if anyone knows or has a thought feel free to pass it on

And a blow up ( shonky) of the logo .. appears to be an S in a circle with a red K overlayed , bounded by wings

Hi folks,

Well back online now. In the house and starting to unpack my piles of boxes, some not touched for close to 30 years. A few interesting and forgotten items to say the least. All the best, Miketg

@Miketg--Some boxes not touched for 30 years? I need to ask if we are related?

That sounds familiar.

Tom

@Fatman posted:

Lovely set Arne ... and you might have solved a mystery for me ... I have had a small loco very much like that , which I suspected of being Fischer but had no trademark on it I cant quite see in your photo, but usually they have the "fish" between the boiler and cab roof at the front ... which I cant see on yours ( might just be the light?) but if its missing it might be a brother of the one I have

Simon,

there is the Fischer trademark only on the box. Many Fischer models are not marked.

Arne

Good morning everyone!

Well, I finally have had the chance to start unboxing a few items. To be honest I just put them on one of the shelves in no special order. However, I like the result.

All the best,

Miketg

Well tinplate fans, I posted this on "boxcar Sunday" but realized that there might be some interest here as well.  Hornby was on about its last legs in 1957 but they gave O gauge tinplate one final try.  They revamped their line of freight wagons and brought out the #50 series of wagons.  It was a brave (and likely expensive) try and all the wagons were either re-vamped or at least sported new lithography.  It didn't work and the last of the #50 wagons was produced about 1962, the #50 loco's had gone in 1961.  All the other lines 20,30,40 were gone by 1969.

So reflecting on a happier era, I found this  #50 Goods Van practically New in the Box on an auction site and so it had to join my collection.  So here is the Hornby  #50 British Rail Goods Van from 1957-1962

A view showing the side opening "swing type" doors very different from US sliding door cars.

The nearly new box as well, the 42161 printers code on the box appears to be from the correct time period.

Best Wishes

Don

@Miketg posted:

Good morning everyone!

Well, I finally have had the chance to start unboxing a few items. To be honest I just put them on one of the shelves in no special order. However, I like the result.

All the best,

Miketg

Beautiful collection, Mike! I love it! Thanks for sharing!

Been so long since I’ve participated in this thread. i have more to add but for now…

Won a prewar o gauge, Marklin 1760 baggage car- something like that on eBay for a whopping $9(including S/H & Taxes).  The seller sent me the wrong item, gave me a full refund, and I didn’t have to return it. The item I actually received is this Bing, British-Market, 4-wheel, One Gauge GWR guard van.

Only markings are on:

one end “GBN” and “dep”- both common markings on Bing items..

And the early Diamond, GBN embossed on the bottom.

One side is in rougher shape- picture is worse than it actually is. Roof is incorrect and it unfortunately missing a wheel.

also got this small, single-sided lithographed Charles Rossignol station/passenger stop. Couldnt find a place for it on my layout, yet, but it’s a neat piece!

and as I primarily run o gauge, the Bing coach ended up in my bedroom..

…where it is displayed with a two gauge Carette for Bassett-Lowke GN ”Banana Van” & a hand painted o gauge Marklin gondola

With some old Britains figures on horseback- from my collection of toy soldiers, most of which are too large to display on my o gauge layout, but fine around these big behemoths!

@StevefromPA- Beautiful "consolation" prize for sure...I have 2 questions one serious one not so much.  1. The Charles Rossignol station, how big is it?  I won an auction some months ago for a similar (not same maker) station and when received I found it to be unacceptably small, although the original manufacturer did "label" it as 0 gauge.  I returned it and the seller without any problem graciously returned my purchase price.  2.  Why do you have what appears to be a baby shark in a glass in your bedroom?  (In case you are not sure this is the none serious question).

Best Regards

Don

@Fatman- Unbelievable!! Where do you find these things...doo da doo doo....

Best Wishes

Don

Hey Tinplate Folks, I just took delivery of an item that "doubled" my collection of JEP items (from 1 to 2 )  This is a JEP clockwork steamer, lithographed tin, likely from the 1950's but that is a complete guess.  It works great and the wind up motor is fine.  So here is my full JEP "collection"

Best Wishes Everyone

Don

Lovely little Jep @Don McErlean  very good condition too !

I to have a couple of Frenchy pickups to add to the mix ...

A Charles Rossignol CR.70 loco and tender ( not in as nice condition as Dons tho lol )

And also coming down South is a lovely little Louis Roussy " Montagnarde" 3-rail steeplecab , been after one of these for a while now .. not rare at all but for some reason I always missed out on them lol .

@Fatman- Hey Mate!  Thanks for the compliment on my new JEP loco. I loved the CR #70 Eclair and its #71 tender with coal pile.  The Roussy "Montagnarde" is a new one to me and Its really neat.  I do not have an SNCF steeple cab, the O-POE (electric) SNCF loco from French Hornby (circa 1948) is as close as I come.  Again, as is often true with your posts, I do not recognize the name "Roussy" and I thank you for posting new information.

Best Wishes

Don

Thanks @Don McErlean  Louis Roussy is often shortened to LR or marketed as Le Rapide .

I have a couple of locos in the collection ... Quite well made and hefty clockwork locos .

@Fatman- Thank You for the information on Louis Roussy, I appreciate your willingness to share your knowledge.  The Tank engine resembles the Hornby series of the same sort and those streamlined steamers are really great!

Best Wishes

Don

Afternoon guys:

I don't usually post anything on this topic, but I like to follow it religiously, especially when "Fatman" or Don McErlean has something to show or say!!!!

Anyway, I recently won this little tinplate Marklin "damplok" loco, with matching tender, and two carriages on my favorite auction site - Cabin Fever. What was I thinking!!!!!    Let's just say I got it at the right price.

I am a dyed in the wool Buco (Swiss) "O" gauge three rail tinplate tragic, and have never considered adding a German made train to my ever expanding Buco collection, but here we are!!!

Now that  it has come to live with me here in Australia, I must say I am not all that impressed with it. It runs sort of OK on my Buco layout, but I had to add a small coil spring to each of the pick-up shoes, as they just lay on the centre rail by gravity, and were very intermittent when it came to supplying power to the very strong open frame AC motor.

Adding the two small springs to the "spoons" improved it out of sight, but the stiff spring pick-up located under the caboose wagon (to supply power to illuminate the red taillights) made it de-rail going through the turn-outs (points here in Australia). I don't know if this is a "standard feature" of Marklin, or it has been added by one of its previous custodians.

Anyway, thought you guys might like to see it before it gets packed away, only to be run on "rainy days".

Peter.....Buco Australia 

Nice little set, Buco; I'm generally unfamiliar with Marklin electrics (had a few clockworks over the years). I wonder what the vintage of this is? Early postwar, maybe?

PD

I "Think" its a Marklin R 12880 ( should be marked on the side of the cab we don't see in the pics provided )

From the 1930's I believe ? C 1936-39?

From what I see I think its all from about the same period .. nice set Peter !

@Buco- Peter, what a great little set!!  I was following your comment on the power pick up on the caboose and when I looked at the picture you showed, I came away with the sense that this modification was "home made", the actual pick up being just a piece of sheet metal properly shaped.  You never know but it might be factory, always hard to tell with these old ones.  I did notice that (like a lot of my Marx pickups which are of similar design) that there was a distinct "groove" in the center from the 3rd rail.  Perhaps this is causing your periodic loss of power.   You didn't mention age, but this set is clearly pre WWII as it is marked on the front wall of the cab "Germany"  with no "zone" or "eastern vs western" notation so it would have to be either pre WWII or post reunification which was in 1990 and the set is clearly older than that. This observation would support Fatman's data that the set likely dates from 1936-1939.

One more question, I noticed the "crackle" in some of the paint.  I wanted your opinion as to whether this was an effect of aging or was part of the original finish.  Why do I want to know?  I have an American Flyer "Hummer" locomotive from around 1910 and the tender exhibits the same "crackle" like effect.  I have always assumed that this is an aging effect but I wondered what you thought as you looked at your train.

Great set, glad you decided to forgo your exclusivity with Buco and pick it up...especially glad you decided to post it!!

Best Wishes

Don

Fatman:  you are right on the money!!!! It is an R 12880 - see my latest photo.

It's a lot older than me, but I'm in about the same "running condition" as it!!!!

Don:  Still not sure if the baggage car/caboose pick-up is factory or "home made". It stands to reason that some form of illumination was necessary to shine through the red tail light lenses in the tinplate rear wall.

In relation to the "crackle" on the tender paintwork, I refer to it as "crocodile skinning", and is a result of the paint on the  surface of the metal shrinking with age. If I look closely at the finish on the tender, I believe someone in the past has tried to "preserve" the original paint finish by applying a "clear coat" over it, which has made it look a lot shinier than the loco.

I think it is this "clear coat" that has prompted the surface shrinkage, with the present result. (I was a forensic engineer in a past life)

The tender also has a strange "dynamo" sticker on the underside, which I also don't understand.

Finally, here are a couple of shots showing the pick-up spoon on the loco, and how I have retro-fitted some small springs to keep them in constant contact with the centre rail.  I cannot believe a manufacturer would just rely on gravity to make a solid electrical connection between the spoon and the track????

That's all I got folks!!!!

Peter......Buco Australia

@Buco - Great pictures - You know today, we would find it odd that anyone would go to the trouble of installing open light lenses and then not install illumination.  However I can tell you that with early Flyer and Lionel, the illumination "kit" was sometimes an extra added cost item and had to be purchased separately.  Hence the car, could be found ready for lighting but without it.  Marx did this as well.

In regard to the "crocodile skinning" (I love that term!!) I believe you are correct, which is what I too have always believed, that the effect comes from aging and not from a deliberately applied coating.  Shown below is the tender from my 1910 American Flyer (Chicago Flyer) "Hummer" locomotive.  You can see the effect clearly on the tender walls.

I am not sure exactly what a "dynamo" sticker is however the obvious sticker reading "128T" seems like an inventory sticker referring to the 12880 locomotive and the T meaning "tender".

You are absolutely correct in that not providing some means of maintaining tension in the power feed to the track is an obvious design fault.  What is more puzzling is that the maker, Marklin, is world famous for its products and making such an error by so prestigious a company is odd indeed.  I wonder if Marklin did indeed install a spring like you fabricated but at some point in its life these springs simply fell out or perhaps a young hobbyist just decided that he could "improve" things and removed them

All in All  a GREAT SET!  Best of luck with it Peter.

Don

@Don McErlean posted:

In regard to the "crocodile skinning" (I love that term!!) I believe you are correct, which is what I too have always believed, that the effect comes from aging and not from a deliberately applied coating.  Shown below is the tender from my 1910 American Flyer (Chicago Flyer) "Hummer" locomotive.  You can see the effect clearly on the tender walls.

---

Don,

Your tender likely dates to the late teens.  American Flyer did clear coat / varnish some of their trains and the clear coating can result in abnormal finishes as they age.  I have seen it on may early items from the mid to late teens, as well as items into the early 1920s.  Often the clear coating will yellow over time, but in some cases one gets funky finishes and lithographs that appear to have melted and ran.  I suspect that your tender may have some sort of additional clear finish that was applied to it when it was new. 

@Nation Wide Lines - Thank you for the information.  I agree, I have re examined my "Hummer" and as you said, it could easily be from the late teens as opposed to 1910 as I posted.  Its very hard to come up with a definite date as improvements often take place over a period.  Anyway, thanks for the great information.  I only have the engine and tender and this crazing does not occur on the engine...different sort of finish I expect.

Best Wishes

Don

@Don McErlean posted:

@Nation Wide Lines - Thank you for the information.  I agree, I have re examined my "Hummer" and as you said, it could easily be from the late teens as opposed to 1910 as I posted.  Its very hard to come up with a definite date as improvements often take place over a period.  Anyway, thanks for the great information.  I only have the engine and tender and this crazing does not occur on the engine...different sort of finish I expect.

Best Wishes

Don

Don,

The Hummer line was not introduced until 1916, so it simply cannot be from 1910.  The American Flyer line in 1910 consisted of 3, 4, and 5 window "Chicago" cars, freight cars on the Chicago car frames, cast iron engines, and 328 coal tenders.  These are the earliest production items of American Flyer and it was not until 1914 that the cars began to vary, with 102 cars, 120 tenders, 1107/1108 cars, and the 1104 Parlor cars. 

Once again a few news of the week.

The manufacturer Heinrich Fischer had made 2 different sizes of the Pullman cars in 0 gauge.

Now I had found a train in the bigger size. Made in the late 30s.

With a matching loco.

I like the very small trains. 3 cars made by Paya in Spain. From the 30s.

And new, a rare Bing watertower No 10/6170 made only 1930-1932.

Arne