Hello Everyone! I picked up this great little trolley a few weeks ago at a swap meet. It is made for 3 rail track. Looks to be about the width of s gauge. It measures 5 1/4 × 1 1/2 × 3. It runs very well on dc power. It has a key cutout on one side.
Anyone know who made it and when? What track would work with it since it has that large drive gear on the wheel? I'm thinking I might have to fabricate my own.
I don't see any Mark's on the trolley, just "Germany" on the bottom.
Well hello again tinplate fans. I thought I might post an acquisition that I made back in January but I simply have not had the time to post it. It is a Brimtoy and I believe it to be a Number 273 signal box and I have found it illustrated in Mike Foster's book number 3 with a George V locomotive that he dates to no earlier than 1930. I have seem reference to the #273 in earlier catalogs but the illustration looks different than my building. Anyone with more information on this is most certainly welcome to comment.
Well here is the signal box, front view. I will tell you that unfortunately the standing signal which mounts to a hole in the right front platform is missing on this example. It was a manually operated semaphore type signal mounted on a vertical pole.
The rear view with the Brimtoy logo shown in a prominent place
The side view with the faithful switch tender hard at work showing the detail lithography of the access stairway.
A bit of a close up of the interior of the switch box showing the lithographed interior detail and a more full view of our operator.
Just for fun, I posed the new switchbox on the layout with my two Brimtoy locomotives. The Brimtoy Silver Streak # 2509 from 1936-1937. The Wells - Brimtoy "Britania" red locomotive from 1956
Well that's it for me today. Best wishes for a good weekend.
Don
More train running lol
@Tinplatetraincrazy posted:
Anyone know who made it and when? What track would work with it since it has that large drive gear on the wheel? I'm thinking I might have to fabricate my own.
I don't see any Mark's on the trolley, just "Germany" on the bottom.
Interesting- particularly the embossed arrow on the roof. Are you saying it's O gauge? Please post a pic of the ends
@Tinplatetraincrazy posted:Hello Everyone! I picked up this great little trolley a few weeks ago at a swap meet. It is made for 3 rail track. Looks to be about the width of s gauge. It measures 5 1/4 × 1 1/2 × 3. It runs very well on dc power. It has a key cutout on one side.
Anyone know who made it and when? What track would work with it since it has that large drive gear on the wheel? I'm thinking I might have to fabricate my own.
I don't see any Mark's on the trolley, just "Germany" on the bottom.
The trolley was made by Karl Bub. In the 1910 catalogue of Ullmann & Engelmann there a few different sets with them as clockwork.
This trolleys were made as 0 gauge 35mm size and a smaller 30mm size.
In the early 20s, Bub has changed a few sets from clockwork to low-voltage engines. Unfortunately no Bub catalogs are known from this time.
The large gears are typical for these low-voltage locomotives. the motor goes directly to the wheel, so you could save on a gearbox.
Arne
Fantastic @Arne I tagged you in on the original post but you must have gotten lost ( lol )
I was reminded of the similar direct wheel set up as my Bing Low Volt locomotive ( although it has a gear between both large cogs to drive both sets of wheels ) but the armature connects direct to the front gear wheel with no secondary reduction .
Thanks again for sharing your amazing breadth of knowledge Arne ! 
Thank you Fatman and Arne! I love the catalog excerpt Arne.
I measured about 20mm between the wheels. If I could only find some track.
Arne, were these powered by a battery set up or some kind of low voltage dc transformer? It runs very well on a dc H.O. transformer.
My Bing is a 4 Volt dc motor ... I would presume the Bub to be similar ? Is it operating at the low end of the transformer ?
Yes it runs very smooth at 4 to 5 volts. I put a little synthetic oil on all the appropriate spots which made it run even better. The only real noise is from the gear.
Should be fine then ! @Tinplatetraincrazy 
Running it from batteries using a rheostat is a safe option as that way an errant slip wont see you overpowering it too much ( or even better a set lab power supply where you can set the voltage and observe amp draw )
It amazes me everyday that these 100 year old things still run fine in the most part I have a another later 1920's Bing locomotive where the battery fits in the tender , made that way from the factory ... loves running on 4Volt , I have a single 4.2V lithium 18650 rechargeable cell in there these days 
As you can see .. no pickup required ..
Switch on tender ...
Thats a beautiful little engine. Isn't it great that we can still play with these old toys?!
Our Bing got a workout on the Christmas display this year:
Well tinplate fans, I thought I might post some interesting finds in the HO area. HO? What do you mean this is an O gauge forum, well actually any gauge can participate and I have found two HO sets that are, remarkably, tinplate! Lithographed tinplate for sure and they provide some great freight wagons and locomotives.
The first set is from Germany and likely dates to the 1960's and its by Karl Bub. The freight cars are completely lithographed tinplate however the clockwork engine is almost all plastic (except the drive and frame). It is a version of an 0-4-0 steam tank engine of classic German outline. The cars however are fully tinplate including the frame and body. Here are some pictures.
Here is the Karl Bub German HO engine in the classic 0-4-0 tank engine style. Its power is clockwork and amazingly it came to me with its KEY!!
A side view showing the brake lever on the side and the space for the key. Note engine is about 3 1/2 " long and is HO gauge (I tried it on American HO track).
The BUB fully tinplate box car, the wheels are the only plastic component car is fully lithographed. The box car is about 4" long
Again, fully tinplate BUB gondola about 3 1/2 " long.
In my opinion the best looking of the cars is this fully tinplate, lithographed Shell tanker. The platform upon which the tank rests is about 3 3/4 " long and the tank itself is about 3 1/4" long.
Here is the full train
The box car seemed so small I was not sure of the scale/gauge so I tried it in comparison with US equipment in HO scale. The gauge is exact match and the cars roll easily on HO track. AS you can see however the scale may be different OR it may just be that European box cars are smaller than their US counterparts.
Now for the second set, which is a bit more of a mystery. It is, like the first set, HO in scale and gauge. In this case the upper bodies of the cars are beautiful lithographed tinplate however the frames and 4 wheel trucks are all molded in black plastic. The locomotive shown below is clearly a box cab electric. I bought this set in Spain at a small village flea market about 10 years ago. Its maker, as stamped on the underside is "TRENEX" although I tried various sites on the internet I could get no historical data on TRENEX although several sets were for sale in the secondary market. It is clearly marked "made in Spain" in fact it is marked that in both English and Spanish. The power source of this locomotive is a mystery. I checked and it is not battery powered but the wheels being plastic do not appear to pick up power from the track, so I am unsure of its power source. It is also marked "SEINSA" which as best I can determine is a manufacturer of brake systems and "PEQUETREN" , now part of this word, TREN, is train but I cannot translate the first part. I did find that today, TRENEX appears to be making trains under a name of TRENEX BERTREN so perhaps they have combined with another maker in the interim years. This engine is about 6 3/4" long.
Here are the two very colorful tankers, again the tanks themselves are beautiful colorful tinplate but the 4 wheel frames are black plastic. The tanks are about 5" long with the frame extending about another 1/2 " on both ends
Here is what I think is the coolest car in the bunch. It is a dynamite car!! clearly labeled "TNT" and lots of warnings about "NO FUMAR" (no smoking) and "Explosivos" (Explosives) and with the emblems for "UNIDAD TACTICA" which is likely the Unified Forces of Spanish Defense Force. Again, the lithography is beautiful and very colorful and detailed. This is the longest car in the group and is about 61/2 " long.
Here is a picture of the full set. The caboose is just molded red plastic so I didn't feature it above.
Well that is my two tinplate HO sets for today. One I acquired recently (BUB) on e-bay and the other I acquired about 10 years ago in Spain (its a Spanish set). They are both lithographed tinplate and that lithography allows them to be both detailed and colorful.
Best Wishes
Don
@Don McErlean posted:...Now for the second set, which is a bit more of a mystery. It is, like the first set, HO in scale and gauge. In this case the upper bodies of the cars are beautiful lithographed tinplate however the frames and 4 wheel trucks are all molded in black plastic. The locomotive shown below is clearly a box cab electric. I bought this set in Spain at a small village flea market about 10 years ago. Its maker, as stamped on the underside is "TRENEX" although I tried various sites on the internet I could get no historical data on TRENEX although several sets were for sale in the secondary market. It is clearly marked "made in Spain" in fact it is marked that in both English and Spanish. The power source of this locomotive is a mystery. I checked and it is not battery powered but the wheels being plastic do not appear to pick up power from the track, so I am unsure of its power source. It is also marked "SEINSA" which as best I can determine is a manufacturer of brake systems and "PEQUETREN" , now part of this word, TREN, is train but I cannot translate the first part. I did find that today, TRENEX appears to be making trains under a name of TRENEX BERTREN so perhaps they have combined with another maker in the interim years. This engine is about 6 3/4" long.
Here are the two very colorful tankers, again the tanks themselves are beautiful colorful tinplate but the 4 wheel frames are black plastic. The tanks are about 5" long with the frame extending about another 1/2 " on both ends
...
I googled PEQUE; it means small, so "small train". Makes sense.
Can you tell if there is anything inside the loco? Maybe it's just a push toy?
I especially like the tank car liveries.
Nice finds.
@Mallard4468-Yes I took off the cabin and looked as I thought it might be a battery power. It definitely has a motor. In addition there is a 2 position switch on the top which could be on/off or fwd/rev I can’t tell.
Don
@Don McErlean love the little Trenex set ... had a google on my fave spanish buying site and found this example ... does the back wall of your loco unclip to reveal a battery compartment like this one ?
From some catalogues searched on the site it appears this set was distributed( or made/commissioned ) by "Model-Iber S.A." which as you pointed out became Ibertren which before it died produced more upmarket HO model trains
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibertren
The website is still active @ http://www.ibertren.es/index.php but naturally no mention of these earlier toy-type versions ... As I cant see the underside of your model in any pics , but as it is fitted with a motor undoubtedly it was once powered! Maybe a previous owner gutted the battery sled ( if there was one) for some strange reason , maybe it stopped running and they kept it as a push train lol .. Can you post pics of it with the top open ?
Interestingly enough there is still a version of ours still for sale .. but upgraded with a light now !
https://www.juguetilandia.com/...uetren-303-99561.htm
Here is a pass version of yours ( I like the freight better !!! )...
https://www.todocoleccion.net/...ver-fotos~x232865560
And "Pequetren" is literally .. "Little Train " lol
lots of versions .. and all very cute !
Sadly I could find none with the battery compartment exposed 
@Fatman_- WOW what a lot of information on a brand that I was mostly unaware of even existed. I checked all those links and while there was none with the battery compartment open, there was one that showed an electric box cab type just like mine although with different lithography. It had the same plastic roof with the switch and it mounted a panto graph on one end. Since this was all in plastic, I doubt it could transmit power HOWEVER as I dragged out my high school Spanish book I was able to interpret the writing on the box that clearly stated it was battery powered. So there must be a battery compartment somewhere.
It does not have a compartment that unclips like your diesel unit however so I will have to do further work to discover where it lies. As I looked through the links however the sets seemed pretty reasonable so I might try to add to my "collection"...oh yes in one of the pictures I also saw (price 12 Euro) the two tank cars that are in my outfit.
Fatman - thank you so much for this info. It was fun trying to sort this out. I will have to do down to the trainroom and try and find that battery compartment
Best wishes
Don
Yep Don Spanish "Pilas" = Battery ! nearly the same in French " Pile " although modernised they also use Batterie and Accumulatuers
Since collecting my knowledge of various languages has improved significantly lol .. traveling the world one Pequetren ( little train) at a time ! .
Bit of a cool pick up today , and much thanks to @Don McErlean , because his post above caused me to go back and look at something I have had an eye on for a while , and tipped me "over the edge" as it was not your usual O gauge collecting item
Soooooo.....
I pulled the trigger on a "trade box " of Matarazzo wind up trains ... originally meant to have 4 trains in it .. this box comes with three, as the original toy shop must have sold one back in the 50's ... Ima not care , because " Where else you finda one Ey! " (<-- bad Argentinian accent included)
So made in Argentina in the 1950's and sitting here in Australia for many years since then ...
Sometimes its good to be not too serious about what you collect
Here is a reference to it from the San Isidro Toy Museum In Buenos Ares Argentina
https://www.museodeljuguetesi....olio/tren-patagonia/
( english translation of the website below )
Patagonian train Until the '50s, Argentine industry, Tin toys, Toy vehicles3 March, 2023 This colorful wind-up lithographed tin train representing a freight railway in Patagonia was manufactured by the Matarazzo firm in the mid-20th century. The Patagonia Train is made up of a single piece, although visually divided by the stamping, into a locomotive machine and three wagons: two freight and one passenger. It moves thanks to the wheels that it hides in its base. In each of the train carriages the load they transport is indicated: "Fruta de Río Negro" and "Correo", and in the last carriage -passengers- it is stamped "Patagonia". It also has on the locomotive, stamped in black, the characteristic "M" of Matarazzo y Cía, symbol of one of the most important toy factories in Argentina. In the Museum rooms you can find this nice Patagonia Train, we invite you to visit us and discover it!
From another site it appears this was made from 1945 to the early 50's
@Fatman- What a great find, fun, colorful, and part of our hobby's great history! Hard to beat that. Oh yea, as far as "tipping you over the edge" - well, my friend, always glad to help . OK, going back to our series of posts on my TRENEX HO engine, I have finally figured it out. Yes, as per the box that Fatman kindly posted, this is a BATTERY locomotive. I took the engine apart and found the battery compartment, not really all that hard once you know where it is, UNDER the grey plastic roof. What I was calling a "switch" in the center of the roof is actually a "latch" which when slid forward, locks the roof in place. By chance I slid it backward and lo and behold, the roof came free revealing the battery compartment. It takes a lot of power...Two (2) R-6 1/6V cylindrical batteries and a single 6F-22 9 volt battery. I also opened the locomotive body to reveal the motor and a very complex (to me) circuit board. By following the wires, it does appear that it was possible to run this off of catenary by using pantographs. There is a metal contact that is wired to the motor under the plastic pantograph mounting. What I find is that this is a reasonably sophisticated locomotive much more complex than I imagined at first.
Here is the cab raised off of the frame to reveal the motor. Note the rather complex circuit board and the blue/yellow twisted pair go to the base of the pantograph. Another smart design feature is that the motor, quite heavy, sits directly over the driving axle providing extra weight for traction. Smart design.
Here is the roof removed showing the battery compartment. The two 1.6 Volt batteries sit in the middle and the 9 volt sits in the left end. The metallic "button" appears to be a contact that would allow the pantograph to provide power to the motor.
Well folks, that's it for me today. Best wishes to everyone.
Don
@Don McErlean I think you might be surprised once you power it up ... what you refer to as a "metallic button" is , I think actually a little speaker assembly !!! I am gonna point out I dont KNOW this .. but thats what it looks like to me ... if ever you needed encouragement to try it out with batteries , you will now LOL ! .. I am furiously googling currently but I reckon I am onto something .. it being a rudimentary 1980-ish sound file on those chips .. which would also be why it needs a separate 9V battery , the two 1.5V cells would do the motive power and the 9V to run the little circuit board ...
Prove me wrong LOLOLOLOL
OK the search is narrowing !!! .. I found the set here ( with pass carriages)
the wording on the box ... " arranca y para silbato con estación que habla" translates to start and stop whistle with talking station so I was incorrect .. the metal disc is indeed a MICROPHONE ... with which I presume you can start and stop the train with the whistle !!! ( is there a whistle in your box ? )
This would have blown a kids mind back then LOL !
Fatman! Start and Stop the train with a whistle, now I am going to have to try that!
Thanks...Don
As a child, I had a similar whistling train too, made by Lego in 1968.
Found a movie on Youtube.
Arne
@Arne-Beautiful!! What a fabulous find!
Don
Hi folks,
Not much new here, been busy with work mostly the last few weeks. One item I did pick up was this large Bing signal. The only problem is she tilts like the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Looking at her, she does not appear to have been bent or damaged. I wonder did they come out of the factory like this? 
To be honest I do not like the idea of trying to straighten her out. Naturally I could put some shims under the base, but I am open to any and all suggestions. Miketg
Thanks Arne! Greatly appreciated!
My knowledge of early German tinplate manufactures is something that is still a work in progress. Also it feels like the base is full of small lead balls for weight. I’d that correct?
Miketg
I keep trying not to buy stuff ( Still waiting for new car to arrive , shes anchored offshore the last couple of weeks because our stupid quarantine at the ports is all backed up lol )
However a local auction here in Aussie came up with a quite reasonable buy it now , so I pulled the trigger !
Something I have wanted for a fair while as I already have several carriages and a tender in the collection . This was optimistically labelled as a "Marklin" lol but as soon as I saw it I knew it to be .... Pionerexspressen ( Denmark) and even better its the No.1 loco set with a first model Freezer wagon and stamped passenger carriages , only missing the tender , which as I said I already have , so this makes it a complete rake ... Woot Woot!
A little bit "Ruff n Ready" but you know this doesnt rule me out
Although over the years in collecting I have never had the need for powered 2-rail track ... now I do ! ( bugga!) ... I might see when it gets here and convert it to run a battery tender instead and just use it on the clockwork loop ?
That is rather fantastic, FM, as is that station Arne tracked down. Lithographed pieces are a favorite here, so the photos/descriptions are very much appreciated.
Not much happening here. Picked up a few odds-n-ends at the April York meet...here's a sample:
I sent the two Lionel 2620 searchlight cars purchased last year to a mate in Missouri, so rounded up one more, this in need of some work (a new lens, rewire, and a good polish). The Lionel 2657 cab was in near mint condition, so I couldn't leave that behind. The two "UNCOUPLE HERE" signs were new to me...not sure of the manufacturer. Maybe Marx?
PD
@pd posted:That is rather fantastic, FM, as is that station Arne tracked down. Lithographed pieces are a favorite here, so the photos/descriptions are very much appreciated.
Not much happening here. Picked up a few odds-n-ends at the April York meet...here's a sample:
I sent the two Lionel 2620 searchlight cars purchased last year to a mate in Missouri, so rounded up one more, this in need of some work (a new lens, rewire, and a good polish). The Lionel 2657 cab was in near mint condition, so I couldn't leave that behind. The two "UNCOUPLE HERE" signs were new to me...not sure of the manufacturer. Maybe Marx?
PD
Signs are definitely Marx.
Steve
Kinda figured that, given the way the bases are made. Thanks for the info.
PD
Hello everyone, just picked up a couple of small items this week. The two small windmills and well are French, but I cannot identify the taller windmill. Any ideas? Thanks, Miketg.
@Fatman_- What a great set. I have the one Pioneer-Exprssen red coach like your foreground set with the "automatic" couplers and a "Kole Vogon" in white but with black lithographed lettering and what appears to be lithographed simulated wood slat sides (really just very light vertical black lines in the white) . I picked up both in a "antique" store in Denmark while on a business trip there quite awhile ago (1980's by my recollection). My Kole Vogon has the tab/slot type couplers as yours does. Since you labeled yours a "first model" I assume that mine must be a "second" model or later. I have never even seen a locomotive before much less had any chance to acquire one. But to me, the great find is the catalog. That is just priceless. Best of luck mate, what a GREAT find.
Don
Thanks Don ...
Heres a few more pics of the engine from the sale ... Set is still in transit ..
Other pages of catalogue
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