Tags
Language
Tags
March 2024
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
25 26 27 28 29 1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31 1 2 3 4 5 6

Model Trains. The Collector's Guide

Posted By: bakerman
Model Trains. The Collector's Guide

Model Trains. The Collector's Guide
Chartwell Books, Inc. | 1994 | ISBN: 0785802215 | English | 88 pages | PDF | 14 MB


Model trains are older than the railways themselves. The pioneers of steam power tested their ideas with small scale models, and toy locomotives were produced almost concurrently with early engines like the Rocket and Adler. Originally viewed as children's toys, model trains now are collected primarily by adults. The earliest model trains, produced in the mid-nineteenth century, were wooden pull-along toys that were not intended to be faithful replicas of the real thing. These were quickly superseded by working steam clockwork models made from brass and known as "Dribblers" or "Fiddlers" on account of the trail of water and oil they left behind them. With the advent of tinplate printing from the 1870s, model trains became much cheaper and were more widely produced, and Nuremburg, already the center of the German toy industry, became home to numerous firms, such as Schoenner, Carette, and the most famous, Marklin. By the early years of the century, as the railways spread inexorably across the globe, firms such as Ives and Lionel in the U.S.A. and Bassett-Lowke and Hornby in Britain, supplied evermore elaborate trains and accessories to a growing number of enthusiasts. By the 1920s, locomotives (now scale-replicas of the originals) were available in the liveries of many different companies and collecting model trains became a hobby that attracted adherants of all ages. Today, it is a pastime with many strands: collectors can concentrate on a particular era, or the products of one manufacturer, or a particular gauge. Some modelers prefer to see their trains working and create carefully-researched layouts to add authenticity; others prefer a pristine collection of shiny locomotives. The permutations seem endless, and this is one of the attractions of the subject. Model Trains The Collector's Guide provides an excellent introduction to a fascinating hobby. As well as recounting the history of model trains, Chris Ellis provides invaluable advice for enthusiasts. Illustrated throughout with photographs from collections around the world, this is a book no model train buff should be without.