|
|
 Posted - November 05 2014 : 5:25:53 PM
|
I have been hunting for a boxed Royal Blue set, prefereably the Sears version from 1979. But it seems all I really ever see are the Chattanooga set, Silver Streak or other brown box era sets. Was the Royal Blue a poor seller due to higher cost ect? I know my set was $59.99 in 1979 when my parents got it for me at Christmas. I am not above building up the Sears set piece by piece if someone has the set box or other pieces of it laying around. My ultimate goal is to have one of each of the Royal Blue sets with the set box to display in my train room. Mike
Still NT's, I have Aspergers.
|
Country:  USA ~
Posts: 308 ~
Member Since: November 17 2008 ~
Last Visit: June 05 2023
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - November 05 2014 : 5:56:59 PM
|
I know it's not a common set or engine. Brian aka Brianstyco has one and I think another member here owns one. Good luck on the hunt!
" Heck with counting 'em rivets, TRAINS ARE FOR FUN! Not called the Mad Scientist for nothing either!"
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 3145 ~
Member Since: May 07 2007 ~
Last Visit: April 04 2024
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - November 05 2014 : 6:14:46 PM
|
I have the engine, and I see the caboose at the time at shows, but rarely see the engine or the set. I have only see one set on ebay recently, was the brown box style set. I will keep up the good hunt. Mike
Still NT's, I have Aspergers.
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 308 ~
Member Since: November 17 2008 ~
Last Visit: June 05 2023
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - November 05 2014 : 8:35:04 PM
|
will look for 1 at show the 29th
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 14688 ~
Member Since: February 23 2009 ~
Last Visit: April 15 2024
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - November 05 2014 : 9:15:45 PM
|
Thanks micro, I always watch the shows. I had the 1979 version of the set from Sears. From what I have read, it was an upgrade of the 1977 version of the set. Mike
Still NT's, I have Aspergers.
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 308 ~
Member Since: November 17 2008 ~
Last Visit: June 05 2023
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - November 05 2014 : 9:26:03 PM
|
The caboose can be found here and there at shows, as can the engine. I've never seen a full set except once on Ebay. Of course, finding ANY Tyco set these days is going to be an issue, and they will be "rare", but I suspect the Royal Blue set wasn't a dirt-common release back in the day, either.
Jerry
" When life throws you bananas...it's easy to slip up"
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 3974 ~
Member Since: January 04 2009 ~
Last Visit: January 11 2019
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - November 05 2014 : 9:34:21 PM
|
After doing a little searching, I have a question - is this the typical freight " Royal Blue ", or the eariler red-box Royal Blue set? I've only recently become aware that Tyco had an older set, with a much different looking steam engine than the newer '70's release. Here's what I mean -
Above, the 1977 set, freight.
Above, older passenger set . Until this year, I hadn't seen or really known about this red-box era Royal Blue set. Or had forgotten about it. I have a nice RB engine and tender in a box, and a caboose, and also a beater engine missing the cab and front boiler plate. But I don't have a set. I do have maybe one Royal Blue passenger car by Tyco, that I believe are in the red box set.
Jerry
" When life throws you bananas...it's easy to slip up"
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 3974 ~
Member Since: January 04 2009 ~
Last Visit: January 11 2019
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - November 05 2014 : 9:40:08 PM
|
I agree Jerry, from what I have read, the RB set was top of the line. I dont remember the average incomes ect of that era, I was only 6 when I got my set in '79. But I suspect that $60 was quite a bit to spend on a toy back then. That might account for the loads of cheaper sets, boxed and unboxed I see up for sale. Yet so few RB sets. Wonder how many years it took to clear out the inventory that Sears had of them? I was fortunate to grow up in a fairly well off family. So we got plenty of toys between myself and my younger sisters. I know the sets can be found, as seen here on the forums. That said, there is a near mint RB engine+tender w/box on fleabay for those hunting. Mike
Still NT's, I have Aspergers.
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 308 ~
Member Since: November 17 2008 ~
Last Visit: June 05 2023
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - November 05 2014 : 10:14:35 PM
|
| I have seen the older locomotive listed as a Mantua Pacific B&O on EBay many times over the years. I have occasionally seen the passenger cars separately also. I have never seen them in the box. I have seen these listed under Mantua more often.
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 332 ~
Member Since: August 28 2010 ~
Last Visit: April 23 2020
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - November 06 2014 : 12:25:08 AM
|
My interest is the newer consolidation style RB sets, not the older diecast pacific powered passenger train. While beautiful in its own right, the brown box era/Sears wish book set is what I grew up with. Mike
Still NT's, I have Aspergers.
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 308 ~
Member Since: November 17 2008 ~
Last Visit: June 05 2023
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - December 11 2014 : 07:49:39 AM
|
That blue is a pretty color scheme on that locomotive.
And you have to admire the madly non-Euclidean thinking that leads a company to turn the B&O's passenger flagship into a mixed freight.
Of course Bachmann committed the same deadly sin later, with the Overland Limited. ^_^
(Too bad they never made a Royal Blue set with the E7 and some streamliners. The E7 was such a red-headed stepchild in the line.)
Oddly enough, I had a battery-powered Royal Blue loco as a kid. Did not look like the TYco, just typical cheap stuff. And I think New Bright had a large bump-n-go one too. What was the fascination with The Royal Blue?
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 432 ~
Member Since: March 04 2008 ~
Last Visit: December 28 2018
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - December 11 2014 : 09:30:10 AM
|
quote:
Oddly enough, I had a battery-powered Royal Blue loco as a kid. Did not look like the TYco, just typical cheap stuff. And I think New Bright had a large bump-n-go one too. What was the fascination with The Royal Blue?
Originally posted by Autobus Prime - December 11 2014 : 07:49:39 AM
|
I'm guessing it has something to do with the headquarters of New Bright, Tyco, etc being located on the east coast near the Royal Blue line. Therefore, they started making Royal Blue sets. That's just my guess.
-Steve
"A lot of modellers out there who go to these train shows see broken HO stuff and go, 'This is useless' when, in reality, they can still be used for modeling whether it's as a prop on your layout or a cool project to make something old new again."
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 3533 ~
Member Since: February 17 2014 ~
Last Visit: January 11 2023
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
waw47
Hudson
Status:
offline
| |
Posted - December 11 2014 : 11:54:32 AM
|
| The earliest cataloged Royal Blue Set came out in 1959. The set includes a 4-6-2 Pacific and three plastic shell passenger cars. The passenger cars used Gilbert shells and had a flat silver finish.
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 466 ~
Member Since: August 09 2010 ~
Last Visit: April 10 2024
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - December 11 2014 : 12:51:22 PM
|
I know OP is looking for the 70's freight set, but since there's confusion on the 60's set here are some pictures to elaborate.
Tyco made various versions of the Royal Blue throughout the Red Box era. Some of these sets included chrome or flat painted Tyco streamliners, the Gilbert/Tyco hybrid streamliners, an F7 A+B pair (in chrome or flat paint), and a Pacific loco as shown above.
Standard F-unit pair:
Chrome F-unit pair:
Chrome Tyco Streamliners:
Gilbert/Tyco Hybrids:
Standard Tyco Streamliners:
Sorry to hijack the thread! 
|
Country:  Canada ~
Posts: 3319 ~
Member Since: September 22 2006 ~
Last Visit: April 07 2024
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - December 11 2014 : 1:24:34 PM
|
I have one with the chrome cars. The chrome is worn on the roof. I thought maybe one of those rub-on chrome metal foil. It is expensive stuff though and I am not sure if I want to invest the time or money...
http://www.escalemodels.com/forums/?showtopic=456
Sean
"If everything seems under control, you're not going fast enough!" - Mario Andretti!
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 1729 ~
Member Since: June 15 2011 ~
Last Visit: June 26 2021
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - December 11 2014 : 1:28:12 PM
|
Cheez:
Ahaaaa. So now this is beginning to make sense.
Tyco had some history with Royal Blue sets... the earlier ones bearing some relevance to a B&O passenger train. So it was a running theme, for them, in a way...and the 70s RB is a sort of, um, evolution of that theme.
How far back did these go with Mantua? Was there anything in the 30s?
I know, based on various forays into the vintage lit, that the Royal Blue revival was a BIG deal in the eastern prewar railfan scene. Model Craftsman even covered a contest (sponsored I think by the B&O, and won by a Mr. Speed) to build a model of the original steam-powered train, and Eric LaNal tied in with a series on building a model of the 1890 version.
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 432 ~
Member Since: March 04 2008 ~
Last Visit: December 28 2018
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - December 11 2014 : 4:33:13 PM
|
quote:
How far back did these go with Mantua? Was there anything in the 30s?
Originally posted by Autobus Prime - December 11 2014 : 1:28:12 PM
|
HO scale was started sometime around 1936. Walthers produced the very first HO locomotive kit, in brass between 1936 and 1937. Mantua produced their first locomotives sometime in and around 1938-1939. These were the Consol, the Pacific & the Atlantic. They were made of all heavy cast brass and machined brass parts. Eventually, they started to introduce some diecast parts, such as the steam chest and smokebox & other details. After the end of WWII the sheet brass and diecast pacific & atlantics were produced. These were produced until sometime in the mid-fifties. After 1952 however, they were available only as special order. The Consolidation model vanished following the war.
The first generation Mikado (all diecast) was produced ~1951-1952. I think the next generation cam out ~1953. At this time, production of the all diecast Pacific began. Therefore I would say the B&O model was produced sometime no earlier than 1954.
Sean
"If everything seems under control, you're not going fast enough!" - Mario Andretti!
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 1729 ~
Member Since: June 15 2011 ~
Last Visit: June 26 2021
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - December 11 2014 : 6:49:19 PM
|
quote:I have one with the chrome cars. The chrome is worn on the roof. I thought maybe one of those rub-on chrome metal foil. It is expensive stuff though and I am not sure if I want to invest the time or money...
http://www.escalemodels.com/forums/?showtopic=456
Originally posted by Mustangs_n_Trains - December 11 2014 : 1:24:34 PM
|
My friend has some Amtrak viewliners he had to re-chrome and apparently, after masking off the stripes and windows, used some spray chrome - Alclad 2 - and it looks pretty dang good. I'll have to ask him more about that but it should be able to fix your cars.
--CRC
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 930 ~
Member Since: January 25 2012 ~
Last Visit: August 23 2023
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - December 11 2014 : 7:12:00 PM
|
quote:Eventually, they started to introduce some diecast parts, such as the steam chest and smokebox & other details.
Originally posted by Mustangs_n_Trains - December 11 2014 : 4:33:13 PM
|
No doubt, this sounded the death knell for REAL model railroading. Now that any old Joe Mocha (even ones who drink neither joe nor mocha) could buy his cheap pot metal locomotive, the modeling went right out of model railroading. Real model railroaders work only in brass and wood, and a real modeler could solder brass to wood!
Carpe Manana!
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 2353 ~
Member Since: September 17 2013 ~
Last Visit: April 15 2024
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - December 11 2014 : 7:16:42 PM
|
quote:
My friend has some Amtrak viewliners he had to re-chrome and apparently, after masking off the stripes and windows, used some spray chrome - Alclad 2 - and it looks pretty dang good. I'll have to ask him more about that but it should be able to fix your cars.
Originally posted by PRR 4800Â -Â December 11 2014Â :Â 6:49:19 PM
|
I've read a lot of good stuff the past couple years about Alclad products. I'll have to give it a try sometime.
http://tycodepot.com/
|
|
|
|
|
Posted - December 11 2014 : 7:18:36 PM
|
quote:
You haven't even scratched the surface, sschaggy. REAL modelers solder plastic together. It is, as you can imagine, a fine art.
http://tycodepot.com/
|
|
|
|
|
Posted - December 12 2014 : 01:02:20 AM
|
quote:
In fact it was even "worse" than you suspect. Die casting was introduced to scale model locos by an RTR locomotive...the Lionel 700E. The tinplate manufacturers had been die casting for some time, and Dorfan had been the first to introduce the manufacturing method. What kept it from wide use by scale model makers was most likely their size and the cost of the process.
Die casting machines in the 1930s were large and expensive. They had very complex mechanisms requiring skilled maintenance people. Gears and levers everywhere, numerous parts moving in sync, complicated injection methods. The tooling was also complicated. Sand castings, spin castings, lost-wax castings, and gravity castings could be made in small shops with relatively simple, low-cost equipment. The true breakout for die casting in model railroading (and small toys as well, such as cars) was, I think, the development of simple, compact die-casters, particularly in England.
Shortly before the war, and becoming widespread after it, a company in England called Die Cast Machine Tools, DCMT, made a small, low-cost die-caster. It was an incredibly simple machine. It was hand powered by two levers...one to close and lock the mold halves together, the other to inject the molten metal. Besides the gas burner to keep the metal pot warm, hand power was its only input. No motor. No hydraulics. Parts are few and repairs are straightforward. (A later alternative model had a small air cylinder for the injector). This machine could literally be built in a garage, and even the tooling was simple. DCMT made it as easy as possible with a tool design service. It was extraordinarily accessible to a small manufacturer in a way that the earlier die casters were not.
You may have heard of DCMT. They also used their own machines to make small die-cast toys that they sold under the Lone Star name. One of their later products was a line of OOO gauge trains. Yes, THAT Lone Star. :)
MR visited MDC in the immediate postwar era. Their die-cast 0-6-0 was being produced on these small, low-cost, almost DIY-grade DCMT die casters, with drivers machined while chucked in a drill press. That's the reality behind all those lovely three and four-color adverts. :) Mantua of course was larger, but they were no Lionel yet. No doubt it was these die casters, too, that helped them take off. But it started with the 700E.
We have to try and understand, looking at that time, that many of our commonly held ideas about that time are not quite right. We separate scale from tinplate in a way that wasn't quite done yet. Scale model railroading evolved out of tinplate, but in the 30s, there were many serious model railroaders running repainted or variously converted tinplate. All-out scale modelers saw nothing wrong at all with using the Scale Hudson, and it was everywhere.
The tinplate manufacturers were the "RTR" side of the hobby, and it was popular. Eric La Nal, pioneering in HO, was often found in the pages of MC detailing conversions from Bing HO tinplate locos or building cardboard superstructures over Reidmere mechanisms. (IIRC, his Royal Blue was designed for just such a Reidmere mech).
There were modelers of all stripes and skill levels represented on this forum, from those that simply opened boxes and enjoyed the contents, to those who made patterns and cast their own parts. The retrospectives show part of the picture, but a look at the literature of the time, keeping oneself in the perspective of the time, shows far more. It was truly an amazing era in this hobby. One of these days I will go through some of my magazines I have and share them, article by article. :)
Edited by - Autobus Prime on December 12 2014 01:05:43 AM
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 432 ~
Member Since: March 04 2008 ~
Last Visit: December 28 2018
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - December 12 2014 : 09:55:21 AM
|
Autobus , THANK you for that historical rendering of the model making process. I hadn't heard it put that way before, always fascinating to hear another side to the hobby.  Some guys complain of all the RTR stuff,but frankly, only a small part of the hobby really has the skill to build things in such detail and with skill, the rest of us will never achieve that level, ever. Yet those same complainers benefit HUGELY from the immense amount of material produced for those that just want to "run trains" and enjoy them.  Then there's the add-on detailing that is produced to enhance said RTR items, which would NOT have been produced in small quantities for the BIY ( Build it Yourself ) hobbiest. I admire all the hard scratch-building work that goes into making your own train equipment, but like I said, 99% of us will never do it well enough to make a passable car or engine. And many people would not be enjoying the hobby if it wasn't for RTR equipment, either. Nor would trains BE big business if that wasn't the case. There's a niche in every hobby for everyone, I love the mechanical aspects of bringing an old toy or model train engine back to life after years of sitting and neglect. I love doing conversions and enhancements to make my stuff better ( ie, the Tyco Auto Loader upgrade project , nearing completion now...). Eventually I hope to get into buildings and detailing those, too. I can lay track and wire, so scenery will be my last phase of the hobby to really learn, IF I ever get a big enough space to build even a small layout. Testing out concepts now on my Stairwell RR.
Anyway, I enjoy all aspects, but the scratch building I will leave to those with the appropriate skills to do so, as I know I will never spend that kind of time to build one item. Not likely, anyway, my concentration levels are far below that! I tend to jump around on my projects anyway, as I get not bored, but stressed with the repetitiousness of doing multiple cars. I Like variety, and repetition kills the fun for me. So I take my projects, especially multi-car ones, in small doses. It helps me stay sane. Luckily, I"m about done with the Auto Loaders, I will have about 12 bi-levels, and am going to use the ones with broken racks to make single-level cars for displaying the AMC cars I put on it. I should have 4-5 of those cars to go with the 12 Bi-level racks eventually.
Anyhow, great treatise on the diecasting history portion of model railroading. You write well, I was interested and entertained the whole article, 'prime. 
Jerry in VA
" When life throws you bananas...it's easy to slip up"
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 3974 ~
Member Since: January 04 2009 ~
Last Visit: January 11 2019
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - December 12 2014 : 11:05:59 AM
|
Jerry, to carry your point a little further, my post about the degeneration caused by die cast stuff was a spoof on what doomsayers really did say plastic would do. There was a faction, I know not how big, that complained that cast plastic kits would kill "real" modeling. In retrospect, that was laughable for the reasons you name and because there is some fantastic modeling, kit and scratch built, being done in plastic, today.
Carpe Manana!
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 2353 ~
Member Since: September 17 2013 ~
Last Visit: April 15 2024
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - December 12 2014 : 11:29:14 AM
|
NO
toptrain
" It's a Heck of a Day " !!!
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 7504 ~
Member Since: August 07 2008 ~
Last Visit: February 24 2024
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - December 12 2014 : 12:30:41 PM
|
quote:NO
Originally posted by toptrain - December 12 2014 : 11:29:14 AM
|
TT:
Well, maybe the RB sets aren't "actual-rare". But are they "L@@K RARE!" ?
AMC: To add to my wall o' text up there, here are some images.
This is a patent image of a late-20s die casting machine, which shows what would typically be involved in a small machine of the early 30s. As you can see, there's a lot of mechanism and motion here:
/tyco/forum/uploaded/Autobus Prime/20141212121632_early-die-caster.jpg
All this complexity exists for good reasons, many of which wouldn't come into play with a small, modest volume toy/model manufacturer. Now this is the patent drawing of the hand-operated DCMT machine:
Simplicity itself. And this is no postmodern-style, deliberately vague and schematic patent drawing, this was drawn after Aubrey Mills had already built his first machine to this design, in a garage under an auto repair shop. There really wasn't much more to it than that!
Here's an actual machine on display for their US distributors:
Picture one of these, in a small shop with a small punch press and a few manual machine tools and you've basically got Model Die Casting in the late 40s.
Edited by - Autobus Prime on December 12 2014 12:32:48 PM
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 432 ~
Member Since: March 04 2008 ~
Last Visit: December 28 2018
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - December 12 2014 : 9:55:53 PM
|
Thanks for the history lesson, AB. I didn't realize how difficult diecasting was at one time, since it's so ubiquitous in vintage models (and automobiles, etc.), or that the Scale Hudson was the first diecast loco. The beautiful 700E, most of which crumbled. 
There's something I've wondered about for a long time, and maybe you have the answer. Do you have any idea if it was known that impurities in the castings or low grade ingredients would lead to zinc rot years later, or was that a lesson the industry learned after a decade or two as castings began to crack?
The Tyco Depot
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 3927 ~
Member Since: June 20 2007 ~
Last Visit: November 19 2015
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - December 12 2014 : 11:43:49 PM
|
quote:Thanks for the history lesson, AB. I didn't realize how difficult diecasting was at one time, since it's so ubiquitous in vintage models (and automobiles, etc.), or that the Scale Hudson was the first diecast loco. The beautiful 700E, most of which crumbled.
There's something I've wondered about for a long time, and maybe you have the answer. Do you have any idea if it was known that impurities in the castings or low grade ingredients would lead to zinc rot years later, or was that a lesson the industry learned after a decade or two as castings began to crack?
Originally posted by NickelPlate759Â -Â December 12 2014Â :Â 9:55:53 PM
|
NKP:
It was known since at least 1923, the year a paper was published. There are several impurities that can cause zinc pest, but the biggest problems were lead and tin. In the years before the discovery was made, the problem was very bad - and made even worse, because foundryment added tin and lead to melting pots to improve metal flow. Castings would often disintegrate in months.
I don't know exactly why it took so long for the problems to go away, and sometimes it may have differed from plant to plant...but here are some possible reasons
1. The needed purity is very high. Zinc for die casting is refined until it contains no more than a few grams of lead per ton. Zinc alloy must contain less than a few thousandths of a percent of lead and tin. Zinc and alloy of this purity was not always easy to get. This is probably why zinc pest returned during wartime and the early postwar era.
2. The needed purity is hard to maintain. A tiny speck of tin/lead solder in the melting pot can ruin the batch. With all the soldering, lead weighting, and white metal casting coexisting with zinc casting in a typical small model manufacturer's plant, you can imagine how hard it would be to keep that pot clean. Equipment previously used for lead alloy casting, and bought secondhand and contaminated, could wreak havoc.
3. Metalcasting is an art, and experienced foundrymen trust their judgment, often with good reason. But this means that the lessons published in a technical paper may take a long time to get to every shop floor. There will therefore be problems when a new process is adopted.
I can't say for sure which of these caused the problems with the Lionel locos, or the Varney castings, or the New One locos. The only way to know for sure would be to find someone who worked at the factory.
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 432 ~
Member Since: March 04 2008 ~
Last Visit: December 28 2018
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - December 13 2014 : 01:48:52 AM
|
Thanks for such a comprehensive explanation. That's the best I've heard. I had heard anecdotal tales, like one from a member of the A.C. Gilbert Historical Society about shop floor sweepings being dumped or even cigarette butts flicked into the metal vats by shop workers, but it makes more sense knowing that something as ubiquitous as tin or lead is zamac kryptonite.
It also raises the spectre that it could happen again. I assume the technology and manufacturing standards have improved, but it's well known that manufacturers in all industries have problems getting Chinese factories to comply with their QC. Some current high dollar locos like BLI could potentially see their frames disintegrate in a few decades.
The Tyco Depot
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 3927 ~
Member Since: June 20 2007 ~
Last Visit: November 19 2015
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - December 13 2014 : 08:44:09 AM
|
quote:| It also raises the spectre that it could happen again. Originally posted by NickelPlate759Â -Â December 13 2014Â :Â 01:48:52 AM
|
I had a Bachmann 0-6-0T that was new in the 1970's. By that time, most die cast models were lasting essentially forever. That little Bachmann was not a good runner for me and it ended up in a box. Years later, I took it out and looked at it and the die cast cylinder saddle had crumbled into pieces.
Bachmann trains were made by Kader, the biggest toy manufacturer in the world, not some little cottage job shop. Still, they were plagued with a problem that other manufacturers had licked decades before.
Carpe Manana!
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 2353 ~
Member Since: September 17 2013 ~
Last Visit: April 15 2024
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - December 28 2014 : 10:22:54 AM
|
And not every example of the 700e hudson has crumbled, so it was batch related. Some were better than others. Just as the steel in the hull of Titanic became much more brittle at low temps. Metulargy was in its infancy back then, not everything was totaly understood. And at the time, they were toys, if they lasted thru on childhood, thats all the original builder expected. No one thought about future collectablity or that 50+ years later these toys would still be used and played with. There is a CNJ Camelback ten wheeler that I see at shows, love that engine, cant afford the brass version and the diecast ones always have severe zinc pest. I still say that an intact Royal Blue set with the consolidation, espicaly the Sears sets, are quite rare today. Mike
Still NT's, I have Aspergers.
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 308 ~
Member Since: November 17 2008 ~
Last Visit: June 05 2023
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - December 29 2014 : 10:39:51 PM
|
quote:
I had a Bachmann 0-6-0T that was new in the 1970's. By that time, most die cast models were lasting essentially forever. That little Bachmann was not a good runner for me and it ended up in a box. Years later, I took it out and looked at it and the die cast cylinder saddle had crumbled into pieces.
Bachmann trains were made by Kader, the biggest toy manufacturer in the world, not some little cottage job shop. Still, they were plagued with a problem that other manufacturers had licked decades before.
Originally posted by scsshaggy - December 13 2014 : 08:44:09 AM
|
Early 70's Bachmann HO with the N scale style drives had a high Zamac failure rate.
This is an auction photo of an FT that they made for AHM, and the all wheel drive chassis -- which was common to their F9 -- has exploded and taken the shell with it.
They made the 0-6-0 as a saddle tanker for their own line (retooled about 35 years later for their Spectrum version), and a side tanker for AHM. (Some can be nice runners if lubed & tweaked.) Many had the bottom cover disintegrate, tho the Bachmann versions had a 100% failure rate of the examples I've seen, and I've had to replace them with AHM badged covers. Oddly enough, I've never seen the Zamac boiler weight fail in any of them. Again, it's batch related.
Some 70's Rivarossi have had casting failures, the fuel tanks on the U25C being the most common. Tony Cook even posted an example of a rotted 70's Tyco PT truck.
The Tyco Depot
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 3927 ~
Member Since: June 20 2007 ~
Last Visit: November 19 2015
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
Home
Forums
Events Calendar
Forum Admins & Mods
Register
