Carlisle & Finch #42 circa 1906

That's really a neat little C&F trolley! It really runs a like a champ for 111 years old! Thanks for sharing!

nice find Carey

Wow ! Amazing little trolley and running like made yesterday. I really like that guy.

Very nice! 

A major collector here in Music City had one, which I was lucky to hold and inspect the "gum band" drive mechanism but I never saw it run! Truly a historical model!

Your model obviously has a gear drive so I guess his was an earlier version?

Hello tinplates 

thank you for your kind words ... C&F made a lot of these little trolleys ... " good value"

yes thus trolley is gear driven ... 1896-8/9 the first #1 trolley and the first version of the mining engine were both  band drive .. 

Testimonials in the C&F catalog of 1899 speak of how wonder the new drive ( geared) is over the old system .

Cheers Carey 

Carey - nice one - did the track come with it? You must have had a full car going back home!

Jim

I have what I believe to be a vintage No. 42 Electric Railway trolley. The one I have has the gear drive. The wooden box that has the No. 42 Electric Railway label on it has handwritten across the top border of the label "Christmas 1898". Is it possible that this was from the first year of production of the geared version? I read somewhere on the internet that that started around that time.

The trolley has been used extensively in the past and has the body decorated with cartoon figures. 

Beautiful. What is your track, Carey? Homemade?

Both of the trolleys shown are great. Love to see those old motors running. 

I'm wondering...were those old dry cell batteries offered in the catalog rechargeable ? How much run time would they supply? That had to be a serious consideration when buying one of these sets if the batteries had to constantly be replaced. 

Hello all 

neat box and trolley ...date seems to be a bit off ....,. as the # 42 did not surface till 1902  ... the version you have is 1904 -08...dates per original C&F catalogs 

my track is old C&F track .... greenish ties and ribbon rail ...great fun .. 

yes the trains ran off of dry cell batteries .. or some areas had DC current ..and step it down for use ...or C&F sold various generators ...hand , hydro  ...

if you like C&F   you might enjoy seeing one of the oldest layouts in America ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ym8KWWm7PXw&t=6s

Cheers Carey 

Always loved the rather quaint term, "gum band", rather than rubber band! LOL!

@Carey Williams posted:

 

..if you like C&F   you might enjoy seeing one of the oldest layouts in America ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ym8KWWm7PXw&t=6s

 

Cheers Carey 

 

Wow that layout is something else. The old track and switches are as neat as the rolling stock,  must be very hard to find.

Is this the layout McComas & Tuohy describe in the book 'Great Toy Train Layouts of America' that was originally attached to the floor of an attic?

Chris

Yes layout lived in an attic on the west coast for many decades ...now in PA 

If I recall, wasn't it initially acquired by a professional photographer who once did catalog work for Lionel?

I recalled that layout from an old McComas and Tuohy video - and found this web article about the layout, originally owned by Elbridge Russell and then inherited by photographer Fritz von Tagen. Really cool stuff.

@Carey Williams posted:

Yes layout lived in an attic on the west coast for many decades ...now in PA

I miss Dick Hopkins. He only lived a few miles from me.

I bought and owned the 1950 Studebaker for many years that his father bought new.

While on vacation, Dick fell off a street car in China, or some such place,  and conked his head on a fire hydrant. Poor guy.

@MPC1974 posted:

I recalled that layout from an old McComas and Tuohy video - and found this web article about the layout, originally owned by Elbridge Russell and then inherited by photographer Fritz von Tagen. Really cool stuff.

I remember that too! 🙂 Very cool old stuff...

Mark in Oregon