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Scott awesome video. I had been planning to add to my existing table, which is post war/Super O, accessory focused running two trains. The second tier would be standard gauge and the third would be an O gauge elevated prewar tinplate trestle figure eight loop. I wasn’t sure how that would all look, but after seeing your layout/video I’m now sure that it will fantastic and provide me with enjoyment of running a larger variety of my toys. Thanks again for posting.

Reefers With Asymmetric Advertising - American Flyer Style

  American Flyer's 4 wheeled Morris Reefers can be found with six different ads for Morris products on their lithographed sides.  According to Greenberg's book on Flyer the sides were cut and stamped to shape and delivered to the assembly line in containers.  The people who assembled the cars took two sides at random from the containers and assembled the car bodies.  The end result was a total of 6!/(2!*4!) = 15  possible reefers with different combinations of ads on the car sides.  If we add in the possibility of having the same ad on both sides that gives an additional 6 and, for their Nationwide Line, Flyer also made a Morris car with Nationwide markings giving a total of 22 different cars.

   So, if you really just have to have it all this would be the series to think about collecting.  Of course, if all you care about is having one of each of the car sides with different advertising you could do it in 3 cars.  Add in the Nationwide car and the total would be 4.  I'm still looking for an acceptable Nationwide version of the Morris Reefers and, while I wasn't able to do the 3 car minimum, I did manage to get all 6 sides with 4 cars

Morris Reefers - Side A

Car_AF_Morris_Side_A

Morris Reefers - Side B

Car_AF_Morris_Side_B

    All toys, to some extent, will have elements of the real thing they are representing.  For me, the asymmetric nature of the Morris car ads is particularly interesting because they represent a not too well known practice of advertising seen on the sides of some of the real billboard reefers of the period. As far as I know, the Flyer cars are the only cars to highlight this advertising practice.

  By way of illustration - consider the Atlas Model of the Cudhay Reefer

Cudhay side A

Car_Atlas_36_Cudhay_1

Cudhay side B

Car_Atlas_36_Cudhay_1a

The Cudhay reefer is a little more extreme because it has ads for two entirely different types of product  on its opposite sides, however, there were a number of real reefers with asymmetric advertising for different products from the same manufacturer in the fashion of the Morris reefers.

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Chris Lonero posted:

Let’s see your tinplate! 

0AA914A4-84BD-41BE-BD9C-C7F26FBEE151

Chris, this is an interesting photo... it reminded me of a picture that I have of my paternal grandfather.  It was taken in 1921 in Osnabrock, North Dakota.  Grandpa had just started working for a farm equipment dealer, and is getting paid.  Grandpa is facing the camera, and the man in the bowler hat is his boss.  Of course, in my photo, the tractor (a Wallis, I believe) is loaded on a four-wheel wagon behind the flatbed truck, and it appears the truck is carrying a plow.  Note the hard rubber tires on the truck, as well as the unpaved street.  In this day and age, where we have amazing trucks and equipment to carry machinery, it is fun to look back and see how much used to be done with such light equipment...

GpaPekarek1921

(In light of the copyright problems the forum has experienced lately, I want to state for the record that this picture belongs to our family and I do have the right to post it here).

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