Added play value by Keith Wills “A
dded play value” in the late 1930s meant remote control action cars with their atten-
dant accessories in sets for children. This was inherently more enjoyable than just running a train around an oval of track. In an earlier age, when wind up and electric trains were sim- pler, extras tended to be manual, more visual than action oriented. We will look at 1930s “added play value” trains, from the humblest wind up to the ex- travagant Wide Gauge outfits. First up is Hafner, a manufacturer of low priced, wind up trains with simple cast-iron locomotives and stamped, lithographed rolling stock.
What
makes this 1930 set different from sim- ilar, earlier ones is its cast aluminum locomotive. This was Hafner’s last and most detailed cast engine before it went on to make less expensive, stamped steam outline locomotives. Lighter weight aluminum was expect- ed to save on shipping costs. This outfit was typical for what it included: a sta- tion, tunnel, manual crossing gates, manual semaphore, diamond danger sign, clock and 58″×26″ oval of track. At $4.79, it was still affordable in the second year of the Great Depression. American Flyer, far larger in scope, manufactured trains from very basic wind ups, with or without play value accessories, to mid-range electric O gauge outfits, with or without acces- sories, to more elaborate Wide Gauge
HAFNER 1930
sets, equally equipped or not. A 1930 Butler Brothers wholesale catalog re- vealed sets across Flyer’s entire range. Flyer’s bottom level wind ups came as inexpensive, basic two and three car sets, packed a dozen per carton, while larger ones were one to a carton. But- ler Brothers prices were for retailers to add their mark-ups. Flyer’s two-car Panama Limited wind up passenger train came with a station, tunnel, manual crossing gate, semaphore, wig-wag banjo signal, clock and two danger warning signals. It was priced at $3.35 for Butler’s customers, and I imagine with mark-up might equal or have topped the Hafner set since it had more accessories. Wind ups were true entry level introductions to model trains, no matter how humble. A child wanting to receive an electric set for Christmas might be disappointed in getting a mechanical outfit, but with all those extras, it could help fire an imagination as it ran around its 120- inch oval track. In addition, Flyer named all their sets to give them an extra cachet. Flyer cataloged this one in 1929 for $5.00 retail, less the four accessories seen in Butler’s catalog. Flyer’s electric sets were diverse in content. They ranged from basic two-car to three-car passenger or freight outfits to a more elaborate three-car, electrical- ly-lighted passenger train. They came with a full compliment of manual and electric accessories, including the ubiq-
uitous tunnel, and 148-inch oval track. This was priced at $11.50. The “New Blue Bird” set had a manual reverse, Rolls Royce blue Great Northern box- cab-type locomotive. (Keep that proto- type in mind.) As a more prestigious electric set, it had a larger station and tunnel, electric semaphore, and an elec- tric flashing danger signal. It was called New Blue Bird to differentiate it from the $15.50 “The Blue Bird” of 1929 be- cause it had an additional roadside dan- ger sign. Here we have direct contrast of what Butler Brothers asked in 1930, and how American Flyer retailed it in 1929. It was still an era before electric remote control action cars and acces- sories became part of some American Flyer and Lionel trains. After that, sepa- rate-sale remote control semaphores, crossing gates, blinking crossing lights, electric water towers, lift bridges, coal and log loaders added to their excite- ment. They became add-on accessories to gain extra sales and expand a basic train set. Wide Gauge sets were as diverse in size and cost. They could be as simple as two-car passenger and freights up to a four-passenger car Olympian-led “Poca- hontas” with a baggage mail car to snatch a mail bag from a trackside stand. “The Frontier Town” manual re- verse, three-car, illuminated passenger
The Hafner windup train set was outfitted with a cast aluminum locomotive and had accessories such as a station, tunnel, man-
86
ual crossing gates and a manual semaphore. The price of $4.79 was accessible for parents during the Depression.
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