Northwest Short Line 18 ton HO scale Shay...yet again...

...October 1973 Model Railroader magazine ad...

Northwest Short Line 18 ton HO scale Shay...again...

...the original introductory ad, October, 1973, Railroad Model Craftsman magazine...




Contrary to the ad, it does not come with all wheels driven...a production glitch that never was rectified as far as I know. Since most brass locomotives are sold to collectors who then turn them into shelf queens, it's highly unlikely few owners even knew of it--then or now.

Pacer Packs, Railroad Model Craftsman, December 1956...

American Train & Track Corp. HO scale Plymouth diesel...March 1968...

...finally identified, won in a friendly bet with a hobby shop owner, $5 if it didn't run, $10 if it did.

I won...





The company only lasted about 10 years and is most well known for its model of the Alco Century 415, later picked up by Life-Like. It used mechanism parts and truck sideframes from the AHM RS2 locomotives.

Alexander Scale Models HO scale Industrial Brownhoist...

...a.k.a. "Little Hook".

Year in and year out, I saw this in a little ad in the pages of Model Railroader magazine and always wanted to assemble one myself...


...November 1960 ad...

What better way to celebrate another mile marker in my mortality, my first pair of bifocals, than with an intricate, board-by-board kit like this...


...sigh...

Athearn HO scale 4-6-2 Heavy Pacific, introductory ad 1959...

Back in the 50s and 60s, the running joke in the industry went something like this:

Salesman- "Look boss, our model of the Onion Specific 460 Grobnick we announced earlier this year has proven very popular with modelers over the last six months."

CEO- "That's great...I guess we'll have to actually design and manufacture one now..."

In Athearn's case, they did in fact make them but, their mechanism proved so unreliable, that they went though a complete redesign that took almost two years to complete, delaying this model until 1961...


Word is that several of these early Hi-F drives did escape the factory, though no one has ever seen one. In the world of HO, it would truly be worthy of the words "rare" and "highly prized".

Arnold Rapido N scale fantasy paint Southern 4-6-2 Pacific

...because it does not have the see-thru spokes or working headlight as advertised in February of 1969, I could only conclude that this would be one of the earlier ones...







It runs quite well, having survived a trip across the Atlantic from the UK. It has a diecast metal boiler and frame (no zinc-pest, yeah!!!), and features something rarely seen in N scale, electrical wiring that runs from the tender to the engine, quite a feat in its day. The valve gear is metal and exceptionally fine for the time as well.

Revell N scale Diesel Engine House, kit #N2805...

I've always enjoyed stumbling upon "ancient" model railroading...this piece dates back to the late '60s, when N scale was in its infancy as a commercial enterprise.

Scaling out at just over 73', it can barely handle servicing two family minivans, much less two full size diesel growlers. Ahhh....but such was model railroading back then, when folks were content to pull three boxcars into a siding to an "industry" that was hardly big enough to fill a UPS truck every day, much less produce three full railroad carloads of goods.

I happened upon the original America's Hobby Center ad where this kit was featured for $3.98 back in 1969...

Varney, April 1951....

Lindberg HO scale EMD SW 600 ad, 1962....

Aristo-Craft 1963...

Varney ad by John Allen, 1959...

...yes, that's a guy swinging from a noose. John never cared for diesel models and claimed that this was a diesel salesman who tried to sell them to his beloved Gorre and Daphetid RR. Apparently, he kept this scene on his railroad long after the ad...






The history of ads up through the early 70s would send a copy editor into a tizzy today...there are some I simply could not reproduce in good conscience here.

And...yes, I found all 25 figures. Allen's were made from bees wax applied to a wire armature, painted with white shoe polish to hold other colors, then painted with oils. Many of his original designs are still found offered by other manufacturers to this day.

Gilbert HO ad, 1957....

...note the part about "REAL Choo-choo sounds"...oh, dear...

Troxell Bros. Models ad, January 1951...

I don't know...call me picky but...I just don't believe your marketing department was a drawer full of sharp knives when they came up with two disembodied heads, looking upon a floating hand holding your latest modeling paint with an air of grudging approval, as really good ad copy.



Just sayin'...

Varney, 1959...

Though only two real ones were ever built, the B&O Docksider is hands down the most replicated locomotive in HO scale. Right off I can think of Varney, Life-Like, Pemco, and Rivarossi at the low through medium end market and Tenshodo and Gem in brass.

If you don't have one, you've not been in the hobby long enough.

Mantua (pronounced man-CHU-ah) September 1960 ad....

AHM HO scale track cleaner car circa 1971...

Like the many other types manufacturers have offered over the years, they make for an interesting car...but not much else. The old tried and true Masonite pad beats them all hands down in my book. I've upgraded mine with metal wheelsets and Kadee couplers.

From a January 1971 Model Railroader magazine Trade Topics review...

PFM/United C&S No. 21 2-6-0 Mogul in HO scale...

I had always suspected that it was at best a late 60s/early 70s offering by the detail...not quite as crude as earlier brass yet not as refined as the later brass offerings that started coming out in the late 1970s. This is an ad from the Sept. 1965 Model Railroader, a great example of one of the classic back cover ads PFM/United did for many years...

Fifty years ago in model railroading...

...April, 1961.



...looks like they found some operating capitol somewhere...

The infancy of N scale...

...Treble Ot or OOO gauge, 1964.