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 Posted - February 17 2011 : 4:55:04 PM
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What was the time frame for this? I assume the 50's but hoping to narrow it down a little further. Thanks.
rich p
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Posted - February 17 2011 : 5:03:22 PM
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Blue Box?  uh Tyco only had Red & Brown Box eras 
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Posted - February 17 2011 : 5:12:47 PM
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This is all I could find at http://www.tcawestern.org/tyco.htm
One confusing aspect of the Tyco story for many regards Mantua and its relationship to Tyco. The name Tyco appears for the first time in 1952. It was at this time that Tyler Manufacturing Company or Tyco was created at Mantua and began selling a product line under that brand that is often known to collectors as "the blue-box era". This moniker was created because Tyco offered kit versions and later ready-to-run(RTR) versions of various steam and early diesel era model trains in a light-blue packaging. Mantua is considered the pioneer of the "ready-to-run" HO-scale model railroad kits under the Tyco (for Tyler Company) brand. Many Tyco and Mantua die-cast products, such as steam engines, are collector's items today.
rich p
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Posted - February 17 2011 : 5:47:44 PM
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The "Blue Box" era succeeded the green (aka "Little Trains") one; it began in the early-mid 50's and lasted until the "Red Boxes" were introduced for 1959/60. Not all sets sold in this era had blue master boxes (some were yellow with cardboard tray inserts), but many did. Blue boxes had the infamous wrapover cellophane window. Red boxes got rid of the wrapover window but otherwise kept the same graphic design and layout until 1968; in 1968 the red box design was changed. In 1971 the Brown Box was introduced and kept through the end of Tyco Trains in 1992.
From 1990 thru 1992 some of the building kits and train sets were offered in Blue boxes that looked identical to the previous ones... except Cobalt Blue replaced the Brown. IHC continued to use these same blue boxes for the building kits which they inherited.
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Posted - February 17 2011 : 5:55:22 PM
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Hi Richard. This is the Blue box you are inquiring about it is not the earliest. The time frame for the Blue Window box is Late 1950's Early 1960's.. Here is Picture of a Tank Car I have handy. With Age the Blue Looks more Green then Blue.. 
The other Tyco Early Boxes were the White with Green printing "Little Trains". They were before The Blue Window boxes...
Numquam Immoderatio Satis Est
(Too Much Is Never Enough )
Edited by - VintageHO on February 17 2011 6:01:43 PM
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Posted - February 17 2011 : 9:50:43 PM
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quote:| Blue Box? uh Tyco only had Red & Brown Box eras |
Hey MB why dont ya give that keyboard of yours a much needed rest....because on top of everything else your spreading "misinformation" !!!
Anyway that being said.....
The set below is a rather boring item that was purchased off ebay for about 28.00... but what is interesting is this set tells a partial story of who bought it....where it was bought and some of the trouble the owner had with it early on .
SET # T1-2
The set was only cataloged as a 4 item set (engine 2 cars and caboose) the boxcar
was added later....it was in the set box but missing the component box.
The box on the top contained track.
A little better shot of the engine...
Inside the set box lid this was rubber stamp in 4 places.....
Inside the box with the usual paperwork was this....
So its safe to say the set was purchased in Wausau Wis...played with in Chicago and
was broken by Mrs M.J. Roubinek's brat kid....then sent back to Jersey for repair with
a reminder on the bottom of the repair slip to "oil worm and ring gear daily".
Look at the dates on the repairs "turnaround" 9/16/57 in 10/8/57 out....pretty quick service !!!
I wonder if the old girl is still around ???
_________________
Bob Taylor
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Posted - February 18 2011 : 07:26:44 AM
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Great info (as usual) gentlemen. So if I have a 4 wheel caboose with the hoop couplers, it would be from the "Little Trains" era, not blue box?
rich p
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Posted - February 18 2011 : 07:46:53 AM
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oh, well excuse me Didn't realize there was a blue box era I apologize 
Something to look for at show next Sat 
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Posted - October 21 2017 : 09:59:53 AM
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| I'm trying to find reference material that shows all the cars and their road numbers for the blue box era. For example, T-330-A is a Western Maryland flat car. Tony Cook's website only shows the brown and red box era. Any information you can provide would be greatly appreciated.
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waw47
Hudson
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Posted - October 21 2017 : 1:18:37 PM
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Check out HO Seekers Tyco 1955, 1956 & 1957 catalogs.
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Posted - October 21 2017 : 6:14:23 PM
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I'm glad for the information from you who are "in the know". As has been stated, there is a lot of variation in the early Mantua - to- Tyco days, and it can be confusing sorting it out.
For my money, the older and transitional stuff was the best, and most interesting, and was a boon to the hobby at the time.
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Posted - October 21 2017 : 9:46:59 PM
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quote:| Check out HO Seekers Tyco 1955, 1956 & 1957 catalogs. |
waw, thanks for the info. I have all the catalogs starting with 1959 and will bookmark this page. I have a Mantua catalog from 1948 that shows many of the kits from that era. Very interesting stuff.
quote:| the older and transitional stuff was the best, and most interesting, and was a boon to the hobby at the time |
time warp, I've found some nifty items, but as you said, sorting it out is the hard part. Too often someone crams a car into a box and markets it as such-n-such when the car and box do not belong together. It sounds like you may have some interesting items from this era. If so, please share with us.
Many thanks to both of you.
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