@Don McErlean posted:@Lionelski - I read your article on the Fandor set and enjoyed it, especially liked the pictures showing details of the set. That set was indeed an incredible find. There is a good and quite complete history of Dorfan (the American company that continued the Fandor line ) in "Greenbergs Guide to Early American Toy Trains - Carlisle & Finch, Hafner, and Dorfan" The Dorfan section is written by Carlton Norris McKenney. According to this source, the key players were the Forchhiemer brothers who left Fandor in Nuremberg , Germany in 1923 and came to America and started Dorfan in 1924. Indeed it was their mothers, sisters Fanny and Dora who were the source of the name Fandor and subsequently Dorfan. The American company closed in 1936 due to the economic conditions of the Depression, although sales of existing stock continued until 1937 -1938.
Glad you didn't try the "light bulb" voltage reduction idea I have seen that before and I can't believe that we thought children could play with it, especially in Europe where line current was often 240 volts!
Happy Holidays and Happy New Year
Don
Thanks for the kind words and the info, Don
