Countries that Produced Trains Before the Second World War?

Yes, there were many more countries were trains were made; have a look at this list: http://www.tcawestern.org/manufacturers.htm

And I can recommend the book by Pierce Carlson if you want more answers: https://www.amazon.com/Toy-Tra...arlson/dp/0060156147

I do not know which of these trains show up on American markets; you are closer to that than I am.

Note that the beginning of standardization of toy-trains was done in Germany by Märklin.

Regards

Fred

They were produced all over.... Russia, Spain, France, England, Germany, Italy, USA, Japan, Austria, and I believe Brasil (?) or somewhere in Latin America...

The design asthetic is quite different from country to country but the motor concept (universal serial wound, 3 pole, electromagnetic field, etc) was generally similar. Most prewar was stamped tin plated steel that was painted or lithographed. There were other methods of construction (wood turnings, cast iron, die casting etc) . These were the toys of an age, and typical, production cost reduction drove larger manufacturing concerns to new materials and methods.

Many German companies imported toy trains in to America in the 1900-1915 era ....  Bing set up their own showroom in 1911 (NYC) ...and offered their trains with American road names ... till WW1  shut down the imports ....American manufactures were thrilled to have the whole market to themselves  sans competition...till the early 20's  when German imports returned ..but never to the degree they had prior to WW1  

I would not believe that whole tale about Lionel having the tooling made for the 700E in Italy ..it makes no sense .. to have tooling done on the other side of the Atlantic to be used on machinery in NJ .    Local tool and die workers would have been used  to test and re test tooling near by so production would work smoothly .  

Cheers Carey 

Yet it seems quite plausible that Mario Caruso could have had the right connections in Naples for setting up La Precisa. Revisionist history is tenuous at best.

There is and was quite some small metal industries in Italy, however this is and was all concentrated in the norther region (Milan, Turin) and certainly not in Naples. I do not think you could find even a lathe in Naples then (and now).

Regards

Fred

The La Precisa connection is one I've seen documented well in about everything I've ready about Lionel history.  If I am not mistaken Caruso was with Cowen for years, and they probably made a lot of their sheet metal stamping dies there long before the need for die casting dies etc.  Labor was cheaper there then as it is in China now.  Same Principle.

Funny, Marx's influence was just the opposite, starting here in the US and then branching outward to Britain, Mexico and Japan. At last count, I have seen 27 different pressings for the Marx Superchief/Lumar Lines friction floor train from as far away as India.

Walt Hiteshew's photo