Toy trains Archives

Bing: Masters of Nuremberg lithography

Dave Farquhar Toy trains February 3, 2022March 28, 2022

Bing was a long running German manufacturer of inexpensive tin toys. Like many of its competitors, they were based in Nuremberg, Germany. Founded by two brothers, Adolf and Ignaz Bing, they remained a family owned company from 1863 until their demise in 1933. Originally a maker of kitchen utensils, Bing became a pioneer in what we today call model railroading, creating the standards we today call O gauge and OO scale.

Dave Farquhar

David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He has written professionally about computers since 1991, so he was writing about retro computers when they were still new. He has been working in IT professionally since 1994 and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He holds Security+ and CISSP certifications. Today he blogs five times a week, mostly about retro computers and retro gaming covering the time period from 1975 to 2000.

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Dorfan: Bleeding edge electric trains

Dave Farquhar Toy trains January 27, 2022March 31, 2022

Dorfan Manufacturing Company was a pioneering toy company specializing in electric and clockwork-powered toy trains. Diecast trains at that, which was state of the art when the company started in 1924.

Dorfan was an offshoot of the German toy company Fandor, founded by German immigrants Milton and Julius Forcheimer. They named the company after their mother and their aunt and were headquartered on Jackson Street in Newark, New Jersey, and operated from 1924 to around 1938.

Dave Farquhar

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American Flyer Trainorama backdrop

Dave Farquhar Toy trains January 20, 2022March 3, 2022

The question of backdrops, especially for a tinplate layout, is always a difficult question. Lots of commercial backdrops are available today, but modern backdrops often look more appropriate with scale models than with a traditional toy train layout. American Flyer’s Trainorama is a potential solution that works well with prewar and postwar style layouts.

The American Flyer Trainorama was a 3D backdrop, 9 feet long, lithographed on heavy cardstock by Niagra Litho Company. Its catalog number was 790 or 791, and it was only available in 1953. The packaging was a large paper envelope.

Dave Farquhar

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Revive the paint on electric trains

Dave Farquhar Toy trains January 18, 2022October 23, 2022

Sometimes a vintage toy electric train has paint that’s too good to restore, but looks too bad to leave as-is. The question, then, is how to revive the paint. While some people use oil, there are commercial products intended for the task that will do a better job.

Paint will absorb oil to some extent, but it can affect the sheen and any oil that doesn’t soak in will attract dust over time, causing other problems. It’s better to use products intended for reviving automotive paint, which will also work on trains and has fewer undesirable side effects.

Dave Farquhar

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Lionel 6111 and 6121 log and pipe cars

Dave Farquhar Toy trains January 13, 2022April 28, 2022

The Lionel 6111 is a rather common, unheralded Lionel postwar freight car. But it’s fun, at least as an oddity. It’s also a very versatile car.

Dave Farquhar

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Will vintage American Flyer trains run on Lionel S gauge Fastrack?

Dave Farquhar Toy trains January 6, 2022March 17, 2022

I heard a good question the other day. Will vintage American Flyer trains run on Lionel S gauge Fastrack? Given that the trains and track were made by different companies more than half a century apart, it’s fair.

Lionel S gauge Fastrack is designed for both modern production American Flyer trains and vintage Gilbert American Flyer trains from the 1946 to 1967 period.

Dave Farquhar

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Clean and polish Bakelite

Dave Farquhar DIY, Toy trains December 23, 2021December 11, 2021

Bakelite was the world’s first synthetic plastic, common in the first half of the 20th century but rarely used today. Many consumer goods used it into the 1950s, such as phones, radios and even some toys, such as Lionel transformers. When in good condition, Bakelite has an attractive appearance very distinctive from modern plastics. Here’s how to clean and polish Bakelite to bring out is unusual beauty.

Bakelite frequently is dull and dirty in as-found condition, but you can clean and polish it with household items. Bakelite frequently responds well to Dawn dish detergent.

Dave Farquhar

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What are the measurements of Lionel postwar trains?

Dave Farquhar Toy trains December 16, 2021December 11, 2021

How big is a Lionel post war train? The answer isn’t as simple as it could be, because these were toys, and it varied. This is confusing even to experienced train hobbyists sometimes. But I can give you some guidelines and ranges and explain why there were such variances in Lionel post war train dimensions and measurements.

Dave Farquhar

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Don’t use vape fluid in your Marx smoke unit

Dave Farquhar Toy trains November 25, 2021October 22, 2022

Someone sent me a YouTube video talking about using vape fluid in Marx smoke units as an alternative to using mineral oil. Here’s why vape fluid in your smoke unit is a terrible idea in any train, whether Marx, Lionel, or modern.

Dave Farquhar

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Lionel smoke pellets

Dave Farquhar Toy trains November 18, 2021September 15, 2023

Lionel’s smoke pellets are certainly iconic, and a memorable part of the post-war Lionel experience. Pre-war trains didn’t have smoke, and after World War II ended, the big three train makers raced to introduce smoke units to give their trains something new. The sight and smell of Lionel train smoke pellets is unforgettable for a generation or three. Why did Lionel stop using smoke pellets, and why can’t you buy them anymore?

Lionel smoke pellets made postwar steam locomotives emit vapors from their miniature stack to create toy train pseudo-smoke. This new twist to Lionel trains became an unforgettable part of the toy train scene and an enduring old postwar favorite.

Dave Farquhar

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