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When ordering from the US, parcels may be subject to import tax and duty charges, which the buyer is responsible to pay. ToyTrains of Yesteryear
byCase Kowal
This is a NEWBOOK (not used).
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Book is wrappedand mailed in a top-quality, durable container.
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Order before3:00 pm (ET) for same-day postal mailing.Bookis a collection of articles reprinted from ToyTrains Magazine,covering early manufacturers, train sets and more.
The earlytoy train makers:
* Lionel
* Ives
* American Flyer
* Bing
* Dorfan
* Howard
* Weeden
* Knapp
and others are featured from 1900-1939.
Photos of rare old toy trains.
The Trains of Yesteryear putsinto one book many of the fascinating toy train collecting articleswritten by Case Kowal for Toy Trains Magazine during the early 1950s.The issues containing these articles have since been out of print andthe rare back issues of Toy Trains command collectors’ prices whenthey can be found. At the request of countless collectors, this 2ndEdition has been produced.
Toy train collecting has come along way since the early 1950s, during which time the TrainCollectors Association was organized (1954). Many items manufacturedin the early 1950s and later have become sought after collectorsitems in themselves. Restoration, once looked down upon, became ofage and is recognized as an important tool for the legitimatecollector when properly done. Train meets are regularly heldthroughout North America.
While all the articles in this bookhave been completely reset, the publisher has not changed theoriginal articles in any way. They are reprinted just as theyoriginally appeared insofar as the text is concerned and withoutapology.
For greater reading pleasure we have redesigned thepages and added new illustrations.
In 1906, Lionel introduceda new line of model trains that ran on track with a width (betweenrails) of 2.125 inches. In order to power the electric locomotives,the track included a third rail in the middle, which conveyedelectricity.
Aftercoming up with a slogan that proclaimed LionelStandard of theWorld, Lionel named the design Standard Gauge and filed atrademark. Lionel derived the name from an incorrect interpretationof a gauge defined by the German toy company, Mrklin. WhereasLionel measured width between rails, Mrklin measured the width fromthe center of one rail to the center of the other.
Infact, this standard gauge was decidedly non-standardEuropeanmanufacturers had settled on two inches, as had Carlisle & Finch,the company that invented the toy train. The No. 1 gauge was muchsmaller, at 1.75 inches. But standard stuck and, moreimportantly, implied the sizes of other brands were, in fact, thestrange ones.
Regardless,Lionels standard gauge trains became exceedingly popular,especially in the 1920s, when the companys care and attention todetail helped it dominate the market. Models like the super-realisticState-series passenger cars and the huge Shasta locomotive (thehighly prized No. 381 E) thrilled kidsnot to mention collectorstoday.
But Lionels trademark didnt prevent othercompanies from producing their own 2.125-inch trains, which theygenerally called wide gauge instead. American Flyer, Ives, andDorfan all entered the market, often with success.
Founded in1924 by German immigrants Milton and Julius Forchheimer, Dorfanspecialized in wide- and O-gauge trains. Whereas Lionel promoteditself as the standard, Dorfan pitched a slightly different angleitstrains, the company proclaimed, were easy to disassemble andreassemble. Accordingly, the company encouraged its young users to dojust that as a way of learning about the trains design andinner-workings. Like Lionel, Dorfan also pushed for increasingly highlevels of detail, including illustrations of passengers in theirtrain windows. Like many other businesses of that era, Dorfan couldnot survive the Great Depression.
Dorfan locomotives arehighly valuable today because of the copper-zinc alloy the companyused to manufacture them. This metalnow known as Dorfanalloywas prone to impurities, which caused the locomotives tooxidize, expand, and crack. As a result, very few have survived ingood, original condition.
Anotherproducer of standard-gauge trains was Ives, which began as a toycompany in 1868. Buoyed by its famous slogan, Ives Toys make HappyBoys, Ives was making toy trains early on. In 1921, it introducedits own line of wide-gauge trains to compete with Lionel, perhapsmotivated by a fierce personal rivalry between Harry Ives and J. L.Cowen of Lionel.
AlthoughLionel bought out Ives in 1931, Ives made an important contributionto the history of toy collecting in the 1920s when it arrangedexhibitions of its trains in New York galleries and showrooms. Manyhistorians believe these shows sparked an interest in old toys ascollectible objects.
AmericanFlyer was another player in the wide-gauge market, producing itsfirst wide-gauge trains in 1925. Unfortunately, within just a fewyears the size began to fall out of fashion. As it had done withIves, Lionel eventually bought out American Flyerthatconsolidation occurred in 1967.
Oncea mighty fad in the 1920s, wide- or standard-gauge trains were killedby the hard times of the Depression. Instead, companies shifted to Ogauge trains, which were smaller, and therefore cheaper, tomanufacture.
EvenLionel, the inventor of the standard gauge, discontinued its own linein 1940, although it reproduced its standard-gauge trains in 1990sfor collectors eager to own a piece of the past.
Contents:
Carlisle & Finch
KnappTrains
Weeden Live Steamers
Howard Trolleys
HowardTrains
American Flyer’s Unsuperstitious No. 13
American Flyer’sDeluxe No. 3020
American Flyer’s Wide Gauge
Bing of theTwenties
Bing Clockwork
Early German Clockwork
Lionel’s No.33
Lionel Electrically Lighted O Gauge
Lionel’s Big No. 22
TheLionel Armored Train
Dear Mr. Ives: No. 17
Ives No. 1Gauge
Ives Economy Models
Made in The Ives Shops: WideGauge
Limited Vestibule Express
Ives Streamline TrainDesigns
Dorfan and Die Castings
Softbound,8.5×11, 52 pages, includes text, 95 b&w photos w/extensivecaptions, and illustrations.
ebay Seller’s Note:
You may also be interested in the following hard to find NEW books which may be found in our ebay store:
* Toy Trains of Yesteryear
* Lionels Standard Gauge Era
* 150 Years of Toy Trains
* Complete Layout Plans
Visitour ebay store to view other books of interest.
Wesell books: Railroad, Aviation, and Modeling books of theGolden Age Era.
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Category: Collectables:Model Railways and Trains:Books and Guides:Magazines
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