What O gauge crane should I use for my tinplate harbor scene?

I vote for this one.

Northwoods Flyer

George S posted:

Hi all,

I am creating a tinplate harbor scene. It will have both O gauge and STD gauge track. I have this little tugboat.

I will make a small, non-descript barge to hold Lionel merchandise containers. For the STD gauge crane, I have this Dorfan.

 

I am trying to decide on an O gauge crane. I found this NBN crane for sale. It's clockwork. Very cool.

I also found this Joustra crane.

The Joustra looks like a lot of large seaport cranes. The NBN crane seems older in style and more like the Dorfan. The Joustra is a fraction of the cost of the NBN, but does it look too modern? There are several others, like GELY, but those are out of my price range right now. Maybe later... 

What do you think?

George

George -I also like this one better.

Will you restore it of keep it original?

Sean007 posted:

George S posted:

Hi all,

I am creating a tinplate harbor scene. I am trying to decide on an O gauge crane. I found this NBN crane for sale. It's clockwork. Very cool.

What do you think?

George

George -I also like this one better.

Will you restore it of keep it original?

The NBN crane looks to be in very good condition. I believe the silver is the original color of the structure. The litho looks excellent. There is a little rust or stain on the silver crane structure. I may see what can be done with it. I always worry that rust will expand to other areas. Sealing it with wax after a cleaning usually slows its progress. It is missing a bucket, but I don't think I will need that. The bucket would be used to transfer coal or sand from a barge. I will imagine this as more of a container operation. So, long story short, I don't plan to restore or change it other than cleaning.

George

I looked a little more closely at the NBN crane. It has a lot of rust on the boom and the wind-up key. I think I will try Evaporust on those. The enamel base and top have some scratches. I will use car polish to clean those but don't plan to repaint them. There is a little dirt and rust on the litho. I have a plastic cleaner that I use on litho. So, a little more extensive cleaning is in order, mostly to preserve it.

George

Is that a tinplate tugboat? I like it!

Tinplate Art posted:

Is that a tinplate tugboat? I like it!

Yes. It's a completely tin litho Marx floor toy. I have seen them listed for a lot of $$$ or less with missing pieces. I made an offer on this one and think I got a good compromise. I tested it with 3 D cell batteries after fixing a broken wire. The light shines and the wheels on the bottom spin! I don't expect to use it that way, but it is cool that it still runs after 60 years!

George

The seller in Amsterdam accepted my offer on the NBN crane, so it will be headed to a new home (mine). 

Thanks for the input! I was leaning the NBN way the whole time but needed the push.

When I get this setup, I will post pictures!

George

How about biller?

Something Big! Bing or Marklin! 😎

Dennis Holler posted:

Something Big! Bing or Marklin! 😎

My Dorfan one is pretty big. The Bing ones I have seen look small. I did see a Marklin. It was pretty intricate looking, and very expensive.

George

Jim O'C posted:

How about biller?

The Biller is cute. I was unaware of it. It's a little undersized for my application though.

George

Dennis Holler posted:

Something Big! Bing or Marklin! 😎

These are still available. I'm not sure the size.

This Marklin one is listed as Standard scale but seems more like O when comparing to the door in the background.

This is a Bing. Looks like the same door and seller.

Not quite what I'm looking for.

George

another style Joustra

Kibri

Gely are they the same as NBN?

Dennis Holler posted:

Something Big! Bing or Marklin! 😎

Something small like CR:

Regards

Fred

There are a few GELY cranes listed. Several look the same as NBN. One has much more detail but the litho is a little more whimsical. GELY stands for George Levy of Germany founded in 1920. I just found that George Levy sold his foundry company and die in 1934 and NBN Nuernberger Blechspielwaren was formed. So, yes, same heritage, but GELY would be older. 

George

George Levy (GeLy) had to sell his company and emigrated to England, because he was Jewish, in the dark years in Germany before WW II.

Regards

Fred

the one I have  fs on bay,,,hahahahaha

Neat cranes & neat idea George. I came across this picture and was thinking it would make for a great scene on my layout ; never seen them mounted like that. 

May give you some ideas.

sncf231e posted:

George Levy (GeLy) had to sell his company and emigrated to England, because he was Jewish, in the dark years in Germany before WW II.

Regards

Fred

That figures and is a very sad testament to the time. Thanks for the history lesson.

His cranes survive and are wonderful. This one is really nice and available.

George