Tinplate photos 📸 and videos 📽

@Don McErlean There are probably people with a much more qualified opinion than mine who can comment on Marx Motors , but I just think they are made simple and made well, clarifying here I am referring to the simple 4 wheel variants or double reduction ones  !  ... just a rudimentary design made well with no real adjustments necessary, about the worst thing that will happen to most people is the need for an armature clean and brush maintenance, which is really simple a trio of screws and 2 nuts and you are there in 2 minutes, rarely needs nothing more than a quick scrub with a fibreglass pencil and maybe a cotton bud with alcohol. Brush retaining springs are simple as and auto adjusting , even the e-unit if it has one is just a spray with contact cleaner, same as the manual reversing contacts

Just built well, non-complicated, nothing that needs gauging or finicky adjustments .. unbolt, clean , re-bolt, run !

9 times out of 10 even an old one just needs a drop of oil on shafts and it will run. I just like them because simple and well built beats technical and bean counter cost cutting every time.

Mr Marx knew what he was building and got it right early on and stuck with it basically

Change for change sake affects too many things in this world , I don't need a toilet seat that cost $10,000 and has user customisations and selections , I just need something to stop my bum hitting the water !

@Fatman - Thanks for your comment.  I agree completely !

Don

I grew tired of trying to find a nice Flyer no. 91 freight depot, so until one turns up, I made one:

PD

@pd- WOW that is truly amazing work!  Beautiful job.

Don

Well almost finished

Plated all brass and assembled the loco and tender

just have scratches to do and she is done. I have stop working on trains and focus on the Christmas layout.

@pd posted:

I grew tired of trying to find a nice Flyer no. 91 freight depot, so until one turns up, I made one:

PD

Why buy one?  From layout viewing distance, I'll bet it's hard to tell that yours is printed.

@Mallard4468 posted:

Why buy one?  From layout viewing distance, I'll bet it's hard to tell that yours is printed.

I scaled this up a bit from an original, probably about twenty percent larger. An original no. 91 would be the same size as a no. 90, but it looks dramatically undersized because the doors/windows/etc. are sized to fit the tin body, not the other way around. I scaled the no. 91 up so that the windows and doors look sorta correct by comparison.

I'd been looking for a nice original Marx West Side Warehouse for the layout, but those seem really scarce, especially one that doesn't look like Dad backed the family wagon over it Christmas morning. Ed Berg posted some nice scans of the WSW graphics on his site, so I think I'll just use those to make a paper version. There are some plastic bits (doors, chimney, skylight, etc.) that I'll have to fabricate, but shouldn't be too tough.

Until I can find nice originals of these things, the paper versions will serve as place-holders on the layout.

PD

Acquired a Marx Military Official Car recently to anchor the Marx military-themed train I'm assembling:

Has a few scuffs to polish up, otherwise in nice shape. Is it my imagination, or does that illuminated drumhead look a bit like the Rising Sun?

PD

pd:

Sorta looks like the "rising sun" to me as well, but I do think it looks pretty good for its age.

Enjoy!!!

Peter.....Buco Australia.

Yes the Marx drum head does resemble the "Rising Sun" symbol of Imperial Japan.  However in the late 1930's this was not as well known as after 1941.  In fact the US insignia on our aircraft had a solid red circle in the middle of the star, this was removed after '41 to reduce the chances of mistaken identification.  This car most likely dates between 1936-1946 with further dating based on the "tail" of the tab/slot extension.  Eyelet rivet 1936, twisted tail 1938, punched tail 1946

Great looking car, good find!

Don

Don: Thanks for the interesting history lesson on this Marx carriage, and what was happening before and during WW2 with regards "paint schemes".

I always enjoy hearing from you.

Peter.....Buco Australia

Rivet here, Don, so prewar production?

PD

@pd - Yes, that is the "eyelet" rivet which marks your car as one of the earliest produced , circa 1936.  It would have the rivet from 1936-1938 so your car is most defiantly pre-war! Great find!

Don

@Don McErlean posted:

@pd - Yes, that is the "eyelet" rivet which marks your car as one of the earliest produced , circa 1936.  It would have the rivet from 1936-1938 so your car is most defiantly pre-war! Great find!

Don

Thanks for the info, Don. I know very little about Marx, so any factual tidbit is an upside

PD

About 2 wks ago at a local train show, I was able to acquire this #2653 black, rubber stamped, hopper.  A late pre-war car from 1940-41 it was part of Lionel's effort to make their line more realistic.  They were removing the number plates and replacing the decoration with more realistic rubber stamping.  In addition, the older latch type couplers were being replaced by couplers capable of automatic operation, in this case electric solenoid actuated box couplers.  So here are some pictures of my "new" 84 year old hopper!

I must say that after 84 years, she is fully complete.  All the ladders and brake wheels are intact and the rubber stamping, while it has a few scratches is remarkably complete.  Her dump hatches still work and are properly actuated with the opening wheel on the side of the car.  In fact, I am 80 this month and I am sure there are many that would say I am not nearly as complete nor do I work as well...

Best Wishes

Don

A terrific find, Don, one of, if not the rarest, version of the 653/2653-series hoppers.

And hope you have/had a great birthday!

PD

@pd- thanks for your comments and the birthday wish !

Don

Happy birthday Don......and I'm not so sure about the comments of "not nearly as complete nor do I work as well".  You certainly impressed us (Sue and I) when we went to dinner with you at "The Olive Garden" a couple of months ago, when we were travelling through Waco, Texas.

Great little coal hopper wagon as well.....you sure can pick them!!!

Stay safe and continue keeping well Don.

Peter.....Buco Australia.

@Buco - Peter thanks for the birthday wishes and your response to my posting.  Our dinner together remains one of my great memories of contact with really great people.  Say hello to Sue for me.  All the best.

Don

Got the frame on the Flyer 3015 beaten back into shape, so she went into service this past week:

I gotta move a Lionel 270 bridge that catches the "automatic" direction-control lever when the 3015 passes through. Easy enough to move the 270 from the outside loop to the inside loop of the "mainline". Might replace it with a prewar Flyer girder bridge if there's sufficient clearance.

PD

A well-worn and incomplete Flyer Hiawatha set found at York:

Working on finding a tender.

PD

@pd - NICE Find!  Good luck finding the tender but its a great find as is...

All the best , Don

getting a lot of photos of my internal storage and came upon a lot of a past tinplate layout. Will post more over the weekend (because I still don't have a layout in the new house)

Nice photo!

Tom

Hello, fellow tinplaters I have a request for some help.  I recently acquired a German (it is marked "made in Germany") what the seller stated was a 1930'ish open slotted reefer.  The odd thing is that the car is labeled "Milk Traffic" and those words are in English, hence it must have been made for export likely to either UK or US.  It has a trademark printed on the bottom but I cannot read the name of the mfr nor does there seem to be any other reference to who made the car.  I am going to post pictures below, including one of the trademark.  I am hoping someone here can help me ID the maker and perhaps when it might have been made.  THANKS!

Here is the car, it is 4 wheel and about 5 1/2 " long, dark green, accented with yellow rivet highlights and obviously imprinted with the English words "Milk Traffic"  The trademark states "made in Germany" and you can see the European style couplers.

Here is the mystery.  This is the trademark printed on the bottom of the car.  The top words, which I can read in the actual mark say..."Made in Germany" but the words after the picture of the little 2 window house I cannot read.

Anyone who could help me out to determine the maker and when it was made would be most appreciated.  The seller claimed 1930's but who knows?

Thanks for your help

Don

That one is a mystery to me also Don.

Very nice looking wagon, and it seems well preserved for its age.

I'll watch the replies as well, as I am keen to know its maker too.

Peter......Buco Australia

@Don McErlean posted:

Here is the mystery.  This is the trademark printed on the bottom of the car.  The top words, which I can read in the actual mark say..."Made in Germany" but the words after the picture of the little 2 window house I cannot read.

Anyone who could help me out to determine the maker and when it was made would be most appreciated.  The seller claimed 1930's but who knows?

Thanks for your help

Don

Don,

a B lying in a W says "Bing Werke". The milk traffic car has the No 62/560, was made 1923-1928.

Arne

@Arne - THANK YOU!!  I really appreciate you responding and providing that information.  Thanks again!

Best Wishes

Don

Terrific little Bing Milk Wagon Don!

They also did it in the plain jane cattle car version

Not much new to report but I did find a little set I have been on the look out for years

You sometimes see the loco listed for sale , but to find a complete box set was a bonus indeed !

I "think" its c1950's and unsure as to maker but def UK origins

@Fatman- What a neat set.  It seems like an early version of those Japanese and other inexpensive toy sets that we saw awhile back from the 1960's.  Much more realistic, those later ones with their very bright livery, do not have the "look" for real trains even though they are fun.  I had never seen the maker "Sunnyvale" before, I wonder if they made any other train toys.  I also noticed some interesting stickers on your box.  One of them from "Walther & Steve ..." has a message that I cannot read but I was wondering what it said?  In addition, the handwritten note..."Packd"  was interesting even if misspelled (at least in American English if the work is packed.)  It's fun to think about what was so important to the long ago owners that they had to put those stickers and wording on the box?

Great set for sure!  Thanks also for the pictures of the plain cattle version of my Milk Traffic van.  I must admit I am still a little curious about why the words "Milk Traffic" are in English (even the 3 cars Arne showed in his picture are in English) and so I am assuming that these items were made by Bing for export to either UK or US.

Glad to have you back on the forum Fatman, great to hear from you again.

Best Wishes

Don

@Buco ...Peter, my friend, I am sure you have followed the above inputs on this thread.  I am pleased to say that Arne identified my little Milk Traffic van as Bing and the makers stamp as a "B" nestled inside a "W" for Bing Werke and gave it a year of manufacture of 1923-1928.  As you can imagine I am thrilled with that information.

Best Wishes Mate!

Don

@Don McErlean posted:

Great set for sure!  Thanks also for the pictures of the plain cattle version of my Milk Traffic van.  I must admit I am still a little curious about why the words "Milk Traffic" are in English (even the 3 cars Arne showed in his picture are in English) and so I am assuming that these items were made by Bing for export to either UK or US.

Glad to have you back on the forum Fatman, great to hear from you again.

Best Wishes

Don

Yes, was made for UK.

Here the picture from UK catalog 1928.

Arne

New in the collection.

A 100 year old train. Made by Heinrich Fischer in 1924.

Arne

Just extraordinary...thanks so much for sharing those pics.

PD

@Arne posted:

New in the collection.

A 100 year old train. Made by Heinrich Fischer in 1924.

Arne

Fantastic Arne!

Yes Don.....Arne is definitely "the man" when it comes to identifying European tinplate trains that have some age about them!!!

Fatman: Great to hear from you again.......we "boys from the bush" have to stick together. That is an unusual looking  "shunting engine" set, and it looks to be in very good condition....great find, and thanks for sharing!!!

Once again, Arne, you have sourced an incredible little train set that has survived 100 years almost intact. I sure hope I make it that far, and look half as good as it does at 100.

Played trains again yesterday with my neighbor's 5yr old son (he has Autism), and we had a ball. He is so clever using the transformer controls, hitting the bell and whistle buttons, and bringing the trains (yes we had two trains running at the same time - on separate tracks) to a stop, and then reversing them. That's what playing trains is all about......still have a smile on my face!!!

Peter.......Buco Australia.

Arne:  First thank you for confirming that my Milk Traffic van by Bing was made for the UK marked and showing me that catalog cut.  Now I have to find those Milk cans ! 

The train by Fischer is just great.  I love these old tinplate items although I have managed only to collect a very few of them, I still seek them out to add to my collection when I am lucky enough to find one.  Best of luck with your new train.  It certainly looks in far better condition than its 100 year old age.

Best Wishes

Don

Nice Bing milk car Don, there is many variations around those cars, i have a cattle car, very similar but with four wheels trucks so just a little longer

Very best, Daniel

As we are on Bing theme, here is my latest find, a lovely BING die cast loco for the New York Central from 1925-30. It is in good condition except that the commutator has exploded in three parts.... it is not going to be an easy fix and finding a replacement one is a dream so.... I have to do something to make it run again...

All my best wishes, Daniel

Wow Daniel, its great to hear from you again, hope all is well in France!  Your Bing cattle car was really neat to see.  I am afraid except for my Milk Traffic van I have no other Bing items, so I am very interested in what they offered as they are a very famous brand name and were very active in the US in the early part of the 20th century.  Your Bing locomotive is great.  Like my Milk Traffic van it too must have been intended for the export market from Germany as it is labeled NYC lines, in English.

By the way, it is really good to have you back on the forum.  Thanks for posting.

Don

There is another variant, a car for horses. the door opens downwards.

Bing 10/552 made 1920-1932

And another cattle car for small animals, loaded with pigs

Bing 10/586 made 1929-1932

Arne

@Arne=  WOW what can I say!  You folks have some really neat livestock cars for sure.  Arne the "horse" car and the "pig" car with their special accommodations are really interesting, I have not seen anything like that before. P.S. I love the pigs, did you actually find those with the car or are they a later find?   I just purchased an IVES cattle car (actually made by Lionel and lithographed with IVES name)  It was only available for one year (1932 I believe) than Lionel transitioned all the lithographed cars to the Lionel name but for some reason did NOT bring the cattle car across.   It should arrive in about a week and I will picture it when it arrives.

Here is my current 2 deck livestock car, its a Lionel "Circus" car from 1956-1957.  No where near the antique age of the cars Arne showed but I thought you might like to see it anyway, in case you haven't before.

Well till I get my Ives Cattle car I will see you then.

Best Wishes and great posts.

Don

A pre-transition Ives stock car:

If you can find an Ives 1678, Don, you've struck the mother-lode. Very rare and a very tough/expensive find.

PD

Don,

The pigs are original to the car. Unfortunately, the horses are missing from the horse car.

Yet another form of cattle wagon

For Germany

Bing 10/582 made 1929-1932

And the same for UK

Bing 62/603 made 1929-1932

Arne

Hello Don, many thanks for your kind words. I have left during some time but always have a look to the best forum. Bing has been a prolific train manufacturer and had a huge production, they made some specific items for Great Britain, France and USA.

Some models where not expensives as the littje clockwork locos, tender is lettered for the New York Central and Hudson River

And the matching passenger car, there is also an observation one that I still have to find...

More to come,  Daniel

Good to see you posting again Daniel (FRENCHTRAINS):

You have some very interesting Bing tinplate models. I don't think there were too many that made their way "down under" to Australia, but Fatman would be more knowledgeable on this than me.

Peter....Buco Australia.

Thanks Peter,

I even have got some Buco models, and many more things I will show in a near future,

Daniel

Daniel: Thank you for the photos of your Buco "Personwagon" and "Mailwagon". I also have numerous examples of these two wagons, being such an avid collector of all things Buco Spur O.

I have attached a couple of photos of a very special "Personwagon" I have in my possession.

All of the early Buco passenger carriages manufactured by the Bucherer family were all signed/labelled as 2nd class and 3rd class, but I have one of the very few later versions made that depict 1st class and 2nd class!!! They are rare and not easily found.

I believe they were manufactured by Fritz Krahenbuhl for a short time (early 2000) when he obtained all of the dies and presses from the original Buco Bucherer bankruptcy, and he continued on with the Buco legend for a few short years.

Peter.....Buco Australia.

Peter, interesting as I do not have any 1st class coach and was thinking Buco never made them.

I do not have many variations except that i noticed a different color in markings, old ones are yellow and  most recent white.

The paint on the oldest models have a tendancy to crack

Daniel

Daniel / Peter :  Wow, Buco is the one mfr that I have never been able to connect with.  Its super rare here in the US at least in the places that I can access.  They really are neat looking and thanks to both for posting.

Arne - the Cattle wagons by Bing are really neat, its amazing that the pigs are still with the car.  Those kind of add on items are so easily lost and we are talking quite a long time.  Daniel thanks to you too for showing those Bing items, the loco is really neat and made for the "New York City and Harlem" RR ...

I am expecting delivery of a "rare" (at least in my view) cattle car that I have ordered from e-bay.  It is the "Ives" (actually made by Lionel) lithographed #1708 Cattle car.  This was one of several lithographed sheet metal freight cars that Lionel made when they took over Ives about 1930-31.  They continued to produce these cars (All except the Cattle car) up until the War Production Board stopped toy manufacturing and re-did the lithography making over the IVES logo into the Lionel name but they did NOT bring across the Cattle Car (why? - who knows) and so the Cattle car was only marketed and available for one year, 1931.  As you might imagine this makes it quite unusual.  So when I get it I will post pictures.

Best Wishes everyone.  Glad to see you all back on the forum.

Don

After cleaning and repairs, the next one from Heinrich Fischer.

A clockwork train set made around 1930.

This set is probably unique, I don't know of any other manufacturer that has built something like it.

There is a 4.5 volt flat battery in the base of the lamp. After switching on the lamp, the track also has power.

The lighting in the signal box building and the front lamp of the clockwork locomotive are then supplied via the track.

Arne

Yes Daniel (FRENCHTRAINS)......the early manufactured Buco wagons had a "riveted" coupler connection (fine steel pin squashed at its end to retain the drop link coupler) where-as the more recent examples (from about the 1970's onward) had a small threaded pin and nut to secure the coupler. This is the easiest way to define the manufacture.

I believe it was in this change-over period that the lithograph lettering changed from yellow/gold to white, as shown in your examples.

Many spare parts are still available directly from Buco Spur O GmbH (https://buco-gmbh.ch/) as well as from Erich at Amiba Lokschupppen (https://www.amiba-shop.ch/Ersatzteile/Buco-Spur-0/)

Peter.....Buco Australia.

@Arne- that new set you acquired from Fischer is quite unique.  I really love how in the earlier days the manufacturer's all faced a similar problem.  How to get electrical power from the supply in the proper and safe voltage to run the trains and accessories.  Their varied solutions are interesting for sure.  I am surprised that more did not move to batteries since by the 1930's electric flashlights were common and the so called "D" battery was everywhere.  Lionel only experimented with batteries very early, back when many homes did not have electricity.  They pretty much abandoned this approach and never went back to it.  Interesting the decisions the various companies and their technical leadership came to.

Don

OH HAPPY DAYS!!!!!

I have just the other day been able to figure out why my Australian built "Ferris" O gauge 3 rail tinplate steam locomotive and tender would not track well around my Buco curves for nigh on 60yrs. I have attached a link to an article describing how the building of this great Australian tinplate train occurred, for a short number of years.

https://collection.powerhouse.com.au/object/44983

Here is a recent picture of my little baby that I have owned since brand new back in 1958'ish (I was 6 or 7 years old), when my father apparently (as the story goes) saw it in a local store, and offered the shop keeper a reduced amount to move it on.

OK, to start with, here is the original box it came in, now showing quite some wear and tare, just like its original human owner.

The loco is a 4-6-0 configuration, but the interesting thing about my particular model is that the open-framed and field coil motor is located in the tender, and this "drives' or "pushes" the loco around. Basically, the loco is a "dummy", with all the tractive power being supplied by the tender.

I have replaced the original roller pick-ups with Buco "spoon" pick-ups (I have kept the original roller pick-ups), to allow it to glide seamlessly through my Buco turnouts and crossings. You can see the worm gear on the motor meshing with the brass gears on the front axles of the tender. This tender had "traction tires" on the drive wheels way back in the late 1950's!!!!

The footplate (seen below) is the structural connection between the loco and the tender, and allows the power from the tender to "push" or "pull" the "dummy" loco around, depending on its direction. The tender also has an E-unit very similar to that in the early Lionel loco's, where a rod is pulled up and dropped down to rotate the cogged contact barrel, to get forward - neutral - reverse etc.

OK, the problem that has plagued this loco for over 60 years is.......if the loco is pushed moderately fast (not at the speed of sound) into a curve, it would rear-up slightly off the inner rail of the curve, and then it would de-rail, sometimes spectacularly!!!

For whatever reason, I had it out of the box last week, to give it a run on the "new" layout and, you guessed it, it de-railed rather spectacularly, at the top curve of the layout. Unfortunately it left the bench and "hit the deck", being the concrete floor!!!! This didn't happen as a kid, as we were relegated to running it on the lounge room floor.

Broke the spindle off at the body mount (behind the steam cylinders), where it secures the four wheel truck frame to the body, but no other damage, phew!! I needed to replace this broken shaft ( easy peesy), and while doing so, I decided to see if I could find the reason for the loco's erratic behavior going through curves......something my father tried on numerous occasions over the early years, with no real success.

What I finally discovered was the configuration and position of the front bogie wheels (leading truck wheels) was slightly off, and this was causing the flanges on the front set of bogie wheels to bind on the underside of the leading edge of the cast steam cylinders, when going through a curve.

What I did was carefully grind off/chamfer the front bottom edge of both steam cylinders with my Dremel, to obtain enough clearance for the front wheels to swing freely when going through a curve.

Who would have thought that after more than 60 years I have finally been able to get this loco to run better!!! I had to tell my father (he's still with us at 96 years young) and he could not believe it either.

Now it pulls my one and only Hornby mixed freight and passenger consist (of about the same age as the loco) perfectly around the layout, navigating 031 and 048 Buco curves perfectly !!!!  OH HAPPY DAYS!!!!

Peter......,.Buco Australia.

@Buco posted:

OH HAPPY DAYS!!!!!

...

OK, the problem that has plagued this loco for over 60 years is.......if the loco is pushed moderately fast (not at the speed of sound) into a curve, it would rear-up slightly off the inner rail of the curve, and then it would de-rail, sometimes spectacularly!!!

...

What I finally discovered was the configuration and position of the front bogie wheels (leading truck wheels) was slightly off, and this was causing the flanges on the front set of bogie wheels to bind on the underside of the leading edge of the cast steam cylinders, when going through a curve.

What I did was carefully grind off/chamfer the front bottom edge of both steam cylinders with my Dremel, to obtain enough clearance for the front wheels to swing freely when going through a curve.

Who would have thought that after more than 60 years I have finally been able to get this loco to run better!!! I had to tell my father (he's still with us at 96 years young) and he could not believe it either.

Now it pulls my one and only Hornby mixed freight and passenger consist (of about the same age as the loco) perfectly around the layout, navigating 031 and 048 Buco curves perfectly !!!!  OH HAPPY DAYS!!!!

Peter......,.Buco Australia.

What a great story, congrats on fixing it after so many years, and even better that you could share the victory with your dad.  I can understand how it would be difficult to diagnose, since one would never expect such a basic design flaw.  Based on the nature of the problem, it sounds like none of the other copies of that engine would have tracked properly - imagine all of the frustrated sons and fathers who owned one.   

@Buco - Peter what a great story.  Hard to believe that something so fundamental would be the wrong with the locomotive but great job in spotting the flaw (yes I know after 60 years but so what, a fix is a fix!!).

Thanks for posting

Don

New in the collection, one of Heinrich Fischer's first trains. The rails and sleepers were patented in 1903.

The train is not from Issmayer, or Bub. Various details make it perfectly identifiable as Fischer.

Arne

Great find Arne.

Saw your post on the Classic O Gauge Forum this morning.

That is an incredible train set in near mint condition, considering it is now 121 years old!!!

Thank you for sharing.

Peter.......Buco Australia.

Arnie: That set from Fischer from 1903 is incredible!  The condition is unbelievable for the age!!  What a super find!

Thanks for posting.

Don

Some new trains from France, they are from C R aka Charles Rossignol and have been made from 1928 to 1939.  CR products may be compared to Marx from USA, light tin clockwork models but they also produced some bigger models in electric mode and in O gauge 3 rail.

For the moment I just have cleaned two electric models and fixed the alimentation which is high voltage. Notice that the motors run well with a 20 volts transformer. I still have to clean the original oval of tracks and I will have another engine and cars at the end of the month.

The locos are representatives of the models running under catenary in that period in France, the grey one has been made with and without pantos and sometime presented as a metro model but it is not realistic; after all they are toys so all is allow....

You may find a good history of the brand on the TCA website here  https://www.tcawestern.org/rossignol.htm

Have a nice weekend, Daniel

@FRENCHTRAINS- Daniel, these locos are really fantastic.  When you say "high voltage" there are some early trains in the US which used voltage straight off the lines for power (hence 110 volts) is this the same thing.  It was before it became mandatory to meet safety requirements to reduce line voltage via a transformer BEFORE it got anywhere near the track.

Don McErlean

Lovely Daniel .. I have a soft spot for CR as you know

@Don McErlean posted:

@FRENCHTRAINS- Daniel, these locos are really fantastic.  When you say "high voltage" there are some early trains in the US which used voltage straight off the lines for power (hence 110 volts) is this the same thing.  It was before it became mandatory to meet safety requirements to reduce line voltage via a transformer BEFORE it got anywhere near the track.

Don McErlean

Hello Don, high voltage is 110 volts reduced to around 40-50 volts. They where prohibited at the end of the thirties in France as it may be "a little" dangerous.

Very best, Daniel

Whoa!  I agree with the French authorities,110 volts to the toy track is way too much power for children (and maybe adults too!)  Glad they moved to make things safer.  Still neat looking loco's though for sure!!

Don

Found these AA "Safety First" road signs at the local indoor flea market today:

While not specifically railroad-related, interesting scenic items for the pike.

PD

@pd  The signs are really neat, but I will admit that I don't know what the one that looks like an orange on a pole was for.  Do you have any idea?

While I don't have any sign posts, I did acquire an interesting piece recently. This road crossing and gate system came to me as part of a Brimtoy (U.K.) set that I acquired.  This is a typical road crossing in rural England and the gates are sometime automatic and sometimes must be moved by people interested in crossing the track.

This is what the crossing, treated as a set accessory, looked like packed with the trains in the set.  Note the short piece of track by itself.  That was used to made up the distance occupied by the crossing on the other side of the loop supplied with the set.

Well best wishes for a great weekend.

Don

It’s what’s known as a Belisha Beacon, Don. It’s a marker lamp that is positioned at each urban cross-walk in Britain. Basically a big flashing globe on a pole that alerts motorists to pedestrians waiting to cross the road/street.

my entry here

- walt

@pd - Hey thanks for the info, that is something I would not have guessed.

Best Wishes, Don

Well hi...tinplate fans, I just received a new addition to the collection.  Well not really fully new, its an early Lionel gondola and while I have one in my collection it is a different color, although none of these gondolas really had too much color.  This is a Lionel #901 LAKE SHORE gondola, a 4 wheel tinplate freight car from 1924.  Its a century old this year so please make some allowances for its wear and tear.  It has the name of the RR "LAKE SHORE" in black stamp on both sides and the number "#901" on one end, the other end is blank.  In yellow on the black frame bottom it has the Corporation Stamp for Lionel.

Here she is, I was trying to get a picture that make the "LAKE SHORE" stand out more so I took 2 , one with flash, but I must say its rather hard to make out.  Perhaps slightly more clear in the second picture.

Well that's my tinplate for today...I plan to find a second tab/slot coupler arm (its missing one) so I can pull two gondolas with my Lionel 152.  You can see my other LAKE SHORE gondola in a sort of brownish / red color in the picture below.  So soon she will have another vintage freight car in her consist.

Best Wishes

Don

Hi Don:

That wagon is gorgeous in its simplicity!!!!......and looking good for 100yrs old.

And yes, I can read the "Lake Shore" lettering on the sides.

Peter.....Buco Australia.

Well folks, sorry for not posting anything for some time. It seems my first year of retirement has been busier than expected, but in a good way. My wife and I have spent a lot of time visiting friends and family and setting up our new home.

Train wise I have been busy setting up my train room and have been concentrating on getting my two rail layout up and running.

Now that it is up, more time can be spent with my tinplate and in setting up my tinplate layout.

For now, I thought I would post a photo of one of my new, recently produced, Czech trains, a Zanka acid car made for the German State Railways.

All the best, Miketg

@Miketg posted:

Well folks, sorry for not posting anything for some time. It seems my first year of retirement has been busier than expected, but in a good way. My wife and I have spent a lot of time visiting friends and family and setting up our new home.

Train wise I have been busy setting up my train room and have been concentrating on getting my two rail layout up and running.

Now that it is up, more time can be spent with my tinplate and in setting up my tinplate layout.

For now, I thought I would post a photo of one of my new, recently produced, Czech trains, a Zanka acid car made for the German State Railways.

All the best, Miketg

On one hand, thank you for introducing me to a new manufacturer that I haven't seen before.

OTOH, curse you for introducing me to a new manufacturer that I haven't seen before.   

Thanks for the kind words. I have a soft spot for Czech trains. Over the years I have picked up quite a bit of ETS, Merkur, Zanka and PZ-Model.

My Czech highlight was a visit to the ETS factory in Prague in 2017. One of my all time model train visits!

@Buco- Peter, thanks so much for your kind words about my "new" Lionel 901 Gondola Car.  You are most certainly correct, it is very simple.  In fact it is part of Lionel's FIRST series 800 four wheel cars (why is it number 901 then?  Who knows!!).  While the version I displayed above is from 1924, that was near the end of this little cars run, which terminated in 1927.  Versions of this car, changed only in the color and stamping (Some Lake Shore, some PRR, some no name at all) date as early as 1917.  The one in my train picture, which is maroon, dates from about 1918.  I just love the simplicity and think about the youngsters whose imagination "filled in" all the details we seem to demand today and just had great fun with their trains.  Again, thanks for commenting.  Hope all is well there in Australia, Best regards to your Wife.  Happy Thanksgiving (yes I know that's an American holiday, but you are hereby authorized to celebrate this Thursday) !!

Best Wishes, Don

Thanks Don.....the turkey will be on the table this coming Thursday!!!!

Miketg.....I am in awe of your visit to ETS in the Czech Republic. I have an association with Suzanna at ETS, as I purchase their small circuit boards from time to time to convert my open-framed AC Buco motors to the more modern Maxon DC can motors. Their circuit boards are really good, convert the AC to DC, and are relatively cheap, even with the postage to Australia.

Peter.....Buco Australia.

Very nice cars Don and Mike, Zanka has made a good range of freight cars , I just have one, a special edition of the classic wine transport, it has been made for  friend who visited a train show near my town, only five where made. A typical french car..... Cheers !!

Daniel

@FRENCHTRAINS - Daniel...what could be "more French" than a wine car!! Beautiful car for sure, thanks for posting.

Here are two wine cars that I have from Hornby .  The first is the barrel car .

Next a wine car of a different sort...a tank car.

Thanks for posting Daniel, its great to hear from you on the forum again.  

Best Wishes,

Don

I am going to "double up" today and post a car that I have looked for continuously for many years.  It existed for only 1 year during the depths of the Great Depression.  This is the 1932 Ives Cattle Car.  The #1708 was part of a line of 9 1/2" lithographed cars that Lionel produced in 1932 and showed in the last IVES catalog ever printed.  Lionel had taken control of Ives in 1930.  The line showed a gondola, box car, cattle car, and caboose for 1932 all lithographed with the IVES name.  Then Lionel dissolved the Ives Corporation in 1933 and moved these lithographed cars over to the Lionel line, changing the name on the cars from Ives to Lionel.  However, for reasons not disclosed, they did NOT move the cattle car into the Lionel line.  Hence the Ives #1708 cattle car (really a Lionel design) existed for only one year 1932.  As a result this car is very scarce and very hard to find.  I was lucky enough to recently acquire an example of this one year car.

Best Wishes

Don

A little Flyer 3006 flat car, found at the local train show this AM:

PD

@pd- Neat little Flyer flat car.  Finding one with the load and the retention systems intact is really quite a find.  Thanks for posting.

Don

Once again Don you have found yourself another "little beauty" from 90 odd years ago. You sure can pick them, and this one also appears to be holding its age very well.

Congratulations on find this elusive link to our model railroading past.

I hope to be able to post something Buco rare I have been chasing for a long time. It should arrive in the post in the next week or so.

Watch this space!!!

Peter......Buco Australia.

@Buco - Hey thanks Peter for your comment.  I always look forward to your posts especially as we see so little Buco in my neighborhood.  Best wishes.

Don

@Buco     Hello Peter,

Just one picture for you, a mixed First and second coach, late version

Very best,  Daniel

Hey Daniel.......you found one of them!!!

Did you buy for your collection?? It could be worth some money in many years time??????

On another note:

IT HAS ARRIVED!!!!!!   The rare wooden wine barrel car from Buco.

What makes this wine barrel car so rare???......This is the only model Buco ever made of this car that had the actual wine makers name and shipping details lithographed on the side placard panels - front and rear.

Documented history on this specific model is a little sparce, but, to the best of my knowledge this wine manufacturer (SCHIESS A.G.) approached Buco (Bucherer) and asked if a "special Christmas run" could be made. They obliged, and I believe it was toward the end of the Buco empire (1956) that the wagon was released in very limited numbers.

All the other models of this car ever produced (hundreds and hundreds of them) had the standard "Buco" name and vague shipping details lithographed on the front and rear side placard panels.

I also have what I like to call another "special" Buco wine car. In all the years Buco have been making these double barrel wine cars, the catalogue number has never changed (8667), and has always been "burnt" into the end of each wooden barrel - at the bottom edge.

But I have a relatively new wine wagon built by Buco Spur O GmbH (the current successor producing the Buco products now) where the catalogue number has been "burnt" toward the top of the barrel, at each end.

The new production models all carry a "production number" engraved on the under-side of the metal chassis, and this one is #8667/3. I also have 8667/2 in my collection, being the second and third examples manufactured by the "new" Buco.

I have all the wine wagon variants produced by the different Buco manufacturers since 1947/48, to the latest company (Buco Spur O GmbH)

And then some

I think there are a couple more some where in other storage bins under the layout, and I will probably re-discover them when I go through the boxes looking for something.

Well that's it.....hope you tinplate tragic's enjoyed my "rare" Buco wine barrel car now relegated to the Australian Buco layout, and the rest of my Buco wine barrel cars already in service. DRINKS (wine) ARE ON ME!!!!

Peter.....Buco Australia.

Hello Peter,

Value for me is not important, I will keep this car with others and run it.

You have got a rare model of wine car, congratulations;  it makes me think that I have one since many years and never noticed that it was something special ......

here it is

It seems to be the same car you just collected no ?

Daniel

Well thanksgiving is our day to trim the tree and make the train layout. Here we are getting the trains out and testing the track. We will place the tree today and trim, after the trimming is done the kids will finish laying out the houses and train decorations. HAPPY THANKSGIVINGS !  and share your train traditions.

Tomorrow I’ll post the final with videos

special thanks to everyone who has help me on my journey in restoring my tinplates. What a great bunch of people you are. I am truly thankful for finding this forum. This hobby has helped me maintain a relationship with my kids and was at times the only link I had during those troubling teen years. No matter how heated life became we all-way came together for the Christmas train layout and tree trimming. I have learned to let them express themself and not to be critical of ideas and comments. It all works out.

Test runs, original 1930s and 1990s model  262 e

@Buco…The story of the barrel cars was great and congratulations on finding that very rare one. Best wishes and may you and yours have a “barrel” of good wishes this holiday season. All the best. Don.

Yes Daniel......you are also very lucky and have one of these "rare" Buco wine barrel cars in your collection. That is two Buco cars that you have that are "different" from the rest. Look after them and enjoy them!!!

Don.....the turkey tasted just great yesterday (it's Friday down here now). Please enjoy your Thanksgiving Day.

Happy Thanksgiving Day to all of my great American OGR Forum friends!!!

Peter......Buco Australia.

@Buco - Hey its Friday now Peter, so we are both equally "stuffed".  Glad you participated in Thanksgiving, even if only in your imagination.  Best to you for the holidays.

Don

Well its now December and we are deep into "Train Month" for we have always identified trains with Christmas.  I had a recent bit of luck, I noticed a Hornby locomotive (101 Tank loco) on E-bay and its condition seemed excellent.  This was several days before the end of the auction.  Just to keep getting notified of developments in the bidding, I threw in a casual (low) bid and then with all the Thanksgiving hulla-ba-loo I forgot about it.  Low and behold, I get a notice just after Thanksgiving that I have won the auction, with my very low, forgotten bid!  WOW, I received the locomotive last Friday and its everything I might have hoped for AND it came in its original Hornby box!  It only cost an amazing $26! This for a locomotive nearly NIB from 1950, as you can guess I am really pleased.  So here is her picture (she is clockwork like many Hornby trains).  I have her posed with some Hornby No 1 LNER coaches from the same time period, they date from 1951-1958.

Best Wishes and Happy Holidays to All

Don

Don McErlean  WOW, what a surprise! Congratulations Don.

As both a Frisco and Ives fan, I have been on the lookout for this Ives boxcar for a while.  The roof has been repainted, but that's OK, glad to have this car in the collection:

And another "little stunner" Don!!!  You sure can pick em.

Congratulations on yet another great find.....considering it came all the way "across the pond", and half way across the great US of A to find a new home with you.

Peter.....Buco Australia.

Really good catch's there @Don McErlean and James @WindupGuy

Christmas has come early for you both by the looks ?

I must not have been too bad this year because Santa ( My wallet lol ) has lined up a couple of "presents" for me this year too

A little Post War Karl Bub Animated Circus train set , please excuse the placement of the tender lol , ebay sellers just dont care in their photos

Not super rare but uncommon in very good condition ... they are very cheaply made this one is only missing one axle from the seal car but otherwise looks to be very good . The Clown driving it pops up at regular intervals and the animals sway back and forth driven by a lower tab that hits the track sleepers

A retake on the super rare 1930's version ( of which I also have the locomotive but no carriages )

Just a fun thing

In much nastier condition is an O Gauge Sakai Standard locomotive and tender I only won today, however it will go into the fixer-upper file for a repaint to match some really nice carriages I have owned for years that have been waiting for him to come along ... Super bargain at only 50AUD + post ( I think?)

Some days you have to accept what the train gods offer up to you

Aforementioned pristine carriages awaiting some motive power !

Hello Guys, it seems the season is excellent for many of us, that is really nice to see all those nice finds.

For me it has been also a really uncomon discover in France of an American Flyer train.  And believe me it is really exceptionnal, the only AF pieces you may find are post war S gauge models. So it came home with me for a low ball as Don, and it is in good running condition.

This one, not really sure if it could have been an original set is from, I think.... , 1921-22  ???

All my best wishes, Daniel

@FRENCHTRAINS- Daniel what a great find.  My reference material tentatively identifies your loco as the American Flyer 1101 Steeple Cab, black body, red window frames etc uncatalogued from..."the 1920's"  no more specific date.  It shows your passenger cars as #1201 "Lightning Bolt" cars which were also first catalogued in 1918-1919.  The red bodied cars came first with a later switch to brown.  Your baggage car, #1204 Lightning Bolt Baggage was similarly first cataloged in 1918-1919 but seems to have been only available in brown as yours shows.  

I have no further information on early AF "sets" however given the common dates for their production period, coming as a set would be most possible.  Nonetheless a GREAT find!!

@Jerry Williams & @Buco- Thanks for your comment on my new LNER locomotive. Appreciate what you both said.

@WindupGuy-Way to go!  That is a great boxcar and looks to be in really fine shape.

@Fatman- Thanks for your comment on my new loco and WHAT A FIND!!  I really LOVE that Bub animal train.  The lithography is fantastic.  So colorful and animated with action.  Really a super toy train.  I agree with your comment on being hard to find in good shape.  Toys like you found were normally inexpensive and when the children stopped playing with them, they were not carefully wrapped up and stored like expensive trains, but were often just thrown away.  Yours looks to be in almost perfect condition.  Looks like the Saki locomotive will be a project for sure, but its fun to finally find a locomotive suitable for those beautiful coaches.

Best Wishes for the Holidays everyone!!

  Don

@Don McErlean  Many thanks Don, very interesting, the number on the loco is 1201, not very easy to see on my picture as it is a little fadded.

American Flyer is not always easy to understand, so many variations.

Near the same guy I picked another set of AF cars, smaller than the previous ones. Maybe they are from the same period , unfortunately no loco to match with.   I was thinking maybe buying a small clockwork one to match those little cars but what model.....

Anyway I find them really beautiful and the lithos is great. Less spectacular than @Fatman circus train which is really wonderfull.

Very best,  Daniel

@FRENCHTRAINS - Daniel, the 1201 is virtually the same locomotive as the 1101 except it came in more than the red/black color scheme.  The 1201, an 8" steeple cab, was cataloged from 1920-1924.  Its first variety is the black / red combination of your locomotive.  Now originally the 1201 had no headlight and no hole in the body for one, however it is reported that some 1201's were modified at the factory to have a headlight.  The 1921version had the bell at the rear and the 1924 version had the bell at the front.  The other color is a dark green body.

Here is what I have on your 1107 cars.  Note this is just a guess as Flyer made many, many variations of these little passenger cars many of them numbered 1107.  Looking at your pictures these are the descriptions I found that seemed the closest and the dates that seem to match.  All passenger cars listed below are numbered 1107.

1. Ca 1918-20 Peachy yellow body with red and white details, black roof, dark green road name, herald and number.

2.Ca 1918 -20 Red body with yellow trim and yellow number. blue herald and black roof, door windows not punched out.

3. Ca 1918-20 Baltimore and Ohio, Ca 1918-20.  Blue body with red and yellow trim, black detailing and roof, yellow road name and number, door windows not punched out

4. Baggage Car, Ca 1918-20 , American Flyer Line on letter board,  American Express Co in white rectangle at left and right, Express Baggage beneath , yellow 1108 left and right, 5 panel yellow door.

Comment from reference: My reference is :  Greenberg's Guide to American Flyer Prewar O gauge by Alan R. Schuweiler, 1997

Ca 1917-1922 American Flyer offered sets with only 1107 passenger cars, as well as combining different color baggage and passenger cars so there are not always baggage cars that exactly match the passenger cars.

Sorry for the long message, I hope this might help.  I really enjoyed doing this little bit of research, you have some great cars and these little 1107 cars are some of the very early Flyer passenger cars.  Great Find!!

Best Wishes

Don