Ives 50-series

From the Greenberg Guide we have the following:

Boxcar: No. 53

Gondola (Gravel Car): No. 54

Stock Car: No. 55

Flat Car with lumber: No. 57

Caboose: No. 56

  According to Greenberg the flat with lumber was almost an afterthought and it was the last car added to the 50 series cars.

Robert S. Butler posted:

From the Greenberg Guide we have the following:...

Flat Car with lumber: No. 57

...

  According to Greenberg the flat with lumber was almost an afterthought and it was the last car added to the 50 series cars.

i guess that also explains the number higher than the caboose.  some of the wood load is oddly shaped/ sized, but the consistent patina definitely indicates age so i'll stay as is.

i've seen at least one different color of the gondola (Gravel Car? ... really?  was that the Ives term? ... i know Flyer liked to use Sand Car for their gondolas) and many color variations of the #56 caboose, but this set is closely matched in condition.  probably originally pulled by an Ives clockwork locomotive, it looks good behind my Flyer cast iron, too.

thanks for the info! ...gary

for a size comparison, here is the 5" frame #53 boxcar alongside a 4½" frame JoyLine boxcar.  coupler heights match up very closely...

That #54 gondola is interesting. It's a dead ringer for a British 4-wheel mineral wagon. Usually they had drop doors in the sides, but some had "cupboard" style like the Ives 54.

you're right, that is pretty unusual for a US production gondola.  nice wood grain detail...

That's a nice looking set of matching cars. Your cars are a later set due to the worn stamping on the car frames. Earlier cars have much crisper spring detail. More info including color variations, etc can be found on the Ives Train Society website. Here is the link.

http://www.ivestrains.org/CD/MainMenu.htm

Ed

thanks, Ed... i now remember having that link years ago, but forgot about the site.  i believe you are right in that there is every indication these cars were all in late production.  i've never even seen examples of many of the earlier series and color variations.

well, i edited the title so i could include in this late version of the three car passenger set that starts off this 4wh series; the #50 Baggage, #51 Chair Car & #52 Parlor Car...

fun stuff!...gary

overlandflyer posted:

you're right, that is pretty unusual for a US production gondola.  nice wood grain detail...

Strange to say, on the full size beasts the bracing would be steel. There, finally we have a tinplate rivet-counter