Elderly curiosities by Keith Wills W
e collect different aspects of our hobby, different prototypes in miniature, and, by exten-
sion, their history. We collect toys made of cast iron, lithographed and enam- eled steel and cast metal, and, in scale, cast metal, molded high-tech plastic and handcrafted brass. Better Ameri- can toys were reasonably contempo- rary to their era. Die-cast zamac loco- motives were best represented by Lionel’s ¹/₄″ scale Hudson and PRR B6, plus American Flyer’s handsome ³/₁₆″ scale pre-war line. The post-war era saw Lionel’s GG-1, steam turbine, and plastic diesels from it and American Flyer. They were “now,” what was hap- pening, the latest. O and HO scale loco- motives of the 1930’s and after were for the most part made of bronze, brass or zamac castings for a variety of roads and wheel arrangements. The Japanese changed that. Domes- tic manufacture was pretty much locked into pre-war thinking. Brass im- ports made us re-think what was possi- ble. One could buy authentic late 19th century HO steam locomotives, electric outlines long gone from prototype use, steamers from Fallen Flag roads and streamliners which an earlier genera- tion of boys could have only dreamt of receiving for Christmas. Scale layouts incorporating transition from steam to early diesel reflect this phenomenon. Yet, miniatures of older European prototypes were not uncommon at the turn of the last century. In fact, some were rather elderly, like Geo. Carette & Cie.’s live steam, near-scale LNWR Lady of the Lake 2-2-2 Single. An 1859 prototype rebuilt in the 1890’s to add a protective semi-cab by the time Bas- sett-Lowke cataloged it in 1901, it had long been superceded by more modern express locomotives.
Early 20th century European items, some of which when new in toy stores, were already old in concept. By the late 1840’s, British and European coach de- signs became longer and heavier. Older two-axle, four-wheel designs gave way to include a third axle centered under the car, presumably for better tracking, support and comfort. In Britain, one was known as the Clemencen type in which a center bogie moved from side to side in relation to front and rear rad- ical-mounted wheels to control move- ment on curves. Swiveling four-wheel
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bogies did not begin to find usage until the 1870’s. Companies continued to manufacture models of two and three axle cars beyond 1900 because many were still fabricated for British and European branch and commuter lines. As small toys, they negotiated tight curves and were cheaper to produce
stock, some were not that far off the mark.
Two coach types seem quite outre to-
day. One was an outside gallery or ve- randa car with a side passageway pro-
BASSET-LOWKE TWO-INCH GAUGE DECAPOD BY TESSTED
BING CLEMENCEN COACH
than longer, bogie-equipped coaches found in larger, more expensive sets. Gamage’s of London 1902 catalog re- veals
Marklin four- and six-wheel
coaches still used in Britain and on the Continent. Better models were not un- reasonably compressed, though very low cost ones were. While looking strange compared to our larger rolling
tected by a railing and no opportunity to move from car to car. It was an ad- vance from earlier transverse compart- ment designs and a transition before enclosed corridors. They first appeared circa 1873 on a French line between Amiens and Treport. Eventually wiser heads prevailed, and safer, enclosed cars ensued.
JUNE 2012
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