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Sometimes you just have to live with the dirt.

   Awhile back I purchased two #59 Lionel lamps which were complete, not only with their original main boxes but also with the boxes and their contents - two No. 40 light bulbs.

  When they arrived I took everything out, screwed in the light bulbs and looked them over.  The light bulbs were, to put it mildly - filthy. Both bulbs appeared to be frosted so I took the first bulb and gently scrubbed it with a damp cloth and mild soap.  The transformation was nothing short of spectacular.  The frosted bulb (on the left) went from dirty to diamond.

  While the bulb on the right might not look too bad in the picture - trust me - it looked a lot worse in real life....So, given the success with the first bulb, I took the second and started to carefully clean it...

  The end result is, as you can see, very clean and also very different from what it was

  It turns out at some point in time Lionel shifted from purchasing actual frosted glass light bulbs to clear glass light bulbs coated with some kind of VERY water soluble white paint.  Both bulbs came in boxes with identical markings so there was nothing to indicate there might have been a difference in the two No.40's.

  The bulb paint was so soluble that a single pass with the damp cloth stripped away a wide swath. Since that made the bulb look even worse I just went ahead and cleaned the whole thing.  It would be a simple matter to dip the clear bulb in some flat white, water soluble, latex paint but I'm going to leave it alone -  my own monument to being a bit too concerned with cleanliness.

@Robert S. Butler posted:

Sometimes you just have to live with the dirt.

   Awhile back I purchased two #59 Lionel lamps which were complete, not only with their original main boxes but also with the boxes and their contents - two No. 40 light bulbs.

  When they arrived I took everything out, screwed in the light bulbs and looked them over.  The light bulbs were, to put it mildly - filthy. Both bulbs appeared to be frosted so I took the first bulb and gently scrubbed it with a damp cloth and mild soap.  The transformation was nothing short of spectacular.  The frosted bulb (on the left) went from dirty to diamond.

  While the bulb on the right might not look too bad in the picture - trust me - it looked a lot worse in real life....So, given the success with the first bulb, I took the second and started to carefully clean it...

  The end result is, as you can see, very clean and also very different from what it was

  It turns out at some point in time Lionel shifted from purchasing actual frosted glass light bulbs to clear glass light bulbs coated with some kind of VERY water soluble white paint.  Both bulbs came in boxes with identical markings so there was nothing to indicate there might have been a difference in the two No.40's.

  The bulb paint was so soluble that a single pass with the damp cloth stripped away a wide swath. Since that made the bulb look even worse I just went ahead and cleaned the whole thing.  It would be a simple matter to dip the clear bulb in some flat white, water soluble, latex paint but I'm going to leave it alone -  my own monument to being a bit too concerned with cleanliness.

You could spray it with a glass frosting, which can be found in the window blinds section of Menards.  You will likely need a couple of coats, and would want to have the bulb in some sort of junk socket (to protect the part of the bulb that screws into a nice socket).

Very unassuming pick up this week from a cold and chilly UK

Well it tells the tale very much of a huge part of the German toy industry in the Pre WWI era ... On first glance 99% of train collectors will look at it and say " Nice Karl Bub locomotive" but it isnt?

( Correction from @Arne It was made by BUB , but had the G & C Added to the front beam for inclusion and sale by Carette )

Carette then for the next decade made bits and bobs for most of Germany's top tier toy-makers. After a time Carette realised there was far more money to be gained in making the actual toys himself , and because of his hard work and skill, he began to produce toys that outshone many of his former customers , in 1896 he travelled to the American Expo and demonstrated some of  the first electric trains seen there... As electricity was becoming less rare in the USA scientific toys such as trains became huge ... and with that introduction Carette reached the pinnacle of toy design innovating rather than copying, which set many of his toys above the crowd. But being a good businessman he still had the grace to remember his roots and still work with other firms making items for them to onsell as well

Then the First World War started rumbling , and despite being married to a German lady, he was still seen as "FRENCH" and had to go ... he fled Germany in 1916 and his company was liquidated in 1918 .. much of his tooling etc was snapped up by other manufacturers , which is why people think this little loco is a post WW1  Bub, Bing, or Issmayer ... but in reality it was made a decade earlier by a very clever man

JHZ,

What a great Christmas photo that is, of your dog watching the trains.  Should be on the front of your Christmas cards this year.

My dog goes berserk over the trains, and wants to catch and kill the locomotive.  (Thinks it is a rabbit.)  I have to lock him out of the basement before I run them, because he tries to jump up on the table.

Mannyrock

Fatman - What a great find and a super background story. Thanks for posting.

Don

Fatman,

your loco is a No 480L made by Karl Bub. Was made 1913-1924. Was only sold by Carette. Bub had made this locos with embossed name by request of Carette.

All cheaper trains in the Carette catalogs was never made by Carette, all was buyed by other manufacturer like Bub, Issmayer, Schuhmann and other.

Arne

@Arne posted:

Fatman,

your loco is a No 480L made by Karl Bub. Was made 1913-1924. Was only sold by Carette. Bub had made this locos with embossed name by request of Carette.

All cheaper trains in the Carette catalogs was never made by Carette, all was buyed by other manufacturer like Bub, Issmayer, Schuhmann and other.

Arne

Arne again your knowledge floors me , while I am piecing stuff together as I find it and hopefully getting things right , I can certainly accept correction and indeed welcome it !  I still love the fact this loco is a demonstration of the co-operation between factories at the time to provide a wide range of items ...

I can take it then that this loco IS of the earlier period as it must have been pre 1917 for Georges Carette to want the logo.

Fatman,

yes, was made before 1917.

Sometimes even the knowledge of the experts is not enough. here a car from the Carette catalogs 1911 and 1914, of which the manufacturer is still unknown. It's made too cheaply even for Issmayer.

And again news in the collection.

Bub electric loco from the 50s.

Issmayer tunnel around 1930.

Small Adolf Schuhmann coach for 28 mm gauge from the 20s.

I don´t have a Schuhmann loco in this size, here with a matching Bub loco.

Arne

Arnie - fantastic photos, thanks for posting.  I loved the Bub electric loco from the 50's and the tunnel with a zeppelin on it.

Just for fun, here is my MUCH NEWER Bub loco and train.  Likely from the 60's although I really can't say for sure but his drivers are plastic so that would say at least middle to late 50's probably later.

Here he is with his little train.

Here he shows his "Bub" logo on the front just below the boiler.

To go earlier, here is a Hornby M0 train in its initial livery, about 1930.

Best wishes to all...

Don

Back from an antique toy show last sunday, I returned at home with a little JEP set from 1931 in high voltage. Not a great model, entry level set with a very simplified steam engine, no linkage, handrails or anything, Hard to make more simple. Anyway I find a little charm of it's own to those little pieces.

Very best,  Daniel

That power supply is intriguing!  I think a very interesting collection could be made entirely of early power supply systems.

Daniel what an interesting set and the condition is just amazing considering its age.  The light bulb to change resistance and hence reduce voltage  as Palallin said, an interesting historical study in itself.   I can't imaging what Mom's of the day thought about their children playing with toys plugged directly into the 220 volt mains!!

Best wishes

Don

A few interesting news in the collection.

Only a box picture, but it´s Bing from 1898

Bing crane 9197, made 1904-1909

Karl Bub coaches 831W, made around 1910

Fandor coal car 1156, made 1935-1937 with tools from Bing

Arne

At the end of the year, i´m cleaning a couple of cars, today a few Bing observation cars.

Arne

Arnie. Quite a haul. Thanks for posting. I will keep your picture as a reference in case I spot something and can ‘t determine the mfr.  seems like there is little data on such makes as KBN, Bing, and others.
Happy holidays

Don

Dang Arne,

That's a beautiful set of coach cars, especially the smaller 4 wheelers.  They really embody the tinplate age.

Mannyrock

Far too quiet in here Folks !

Hoping everyone had a wonderful Xmas and that 2022 brings you much joy and happiness ( its a tad overdue I think?)

Been busy squirreling away some new finds with the awesome help of a few friends far and wide

A little Hornby Nord , Quite a cutie , sadly missing his other side wheel splasher ( which will be hard to find I think , he might have to do with something else for a while )

Coming with him is some nice little wagons .. A Nord Brakemans and a PLM Tarpaulin wagon

Also coming for a holiday in the sunny South are a bevvy of German beauties

A nice little post war HWN with brake and reversing

Some HWN freight and Passenger

Banana and Baggage wagons

Some lovely DSG Coaches in very good condition!

And a gaggle of assorted Bub !

But the stand out little beauty of the bunch is a Konrad Dressler Kranwagen ( I love a good Kran! )

I hadn't seen this set up before , but the actual Crane reminded me of something I had seen before on an over track accessory pillar crane , It looks to be the same unit indeed , but here it is on an actual  KD Chassis for track use

One handle for rotation of the whole crane cab , the other for in and out with the crane line ... Ima little in love

( picture below borrowed from our friends at cuccioloazzurro.com all rights to them )

Same same cab crane !

@Fatman posted:

A little Hornby Nord , Quite a cutie , sadly missing his other side wheel splasher ( which will be hard to find I think , he might have to do with something else for a while )

Coming with him is some nice little wagons .. A Nord Brakemans and a PLM Tarpaulin wagon

Hello Simon, sad to see this little Hornby without her right side splasher,   looking in the spare parts department and .... voila .... Any interest ???? Not new but it can be ship down under very easyly....

All my best wishes,   Daniel

Daniel you are a living Treasure !!!!

I was actually going to email you after the New Year ( to give you some peace over the holidays lol ) asking if you could look in your spares or keep an eye out for me for one !

I would most definitely be interested and thank you so much!

Just proves why @FRENCHTRAINS are best !

( actually he will fit in perfectly as the rest of the loco is no stunner ... its Period AND Patina correct ! )