There are many wonderful websites that deal with Toy Trains, but here are a few of my favorites.
http://www.traincollectors.co.uk/
http://www.alresford-toy-trains.org.uk/
http://www.nttmuseum.org/
www.thirdrail.com/ttrgreat.htm
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
So, what is a Toy Train, anyway?
Simply put, a Toy Train is one that was intended to be played with by a child. Nowdays that tends to conjure up images of a brightly-coloured, cheaply made plastic set that might run for a short while before breaking, and being consigned to the back of the toy cupboard. This was not always the case, though. Toy Trains built prior to the 1970's, or thereabouts, were superbly made, and built to last. Even trains at the lower end of the price range were well made, and in many cases when found just need a quick oiling and check-over, and will run as well as they did when new.
The most common brands that we had in Australia were Hornby Dublo- made by the Meccano company, and Tri-ang- made by the Lines group. Today these trains are very collectable, as long as they are in good condition. We'll discuss condition and values in a future post. In the United States the most common toy train brands were Lionel and American Flyer. There were, of course, many, many, others.
To illustrate two 'extremes' of what Toy Trains are, here are some examples from my collection. The first picture is a Lone Star Locos diesel, made in the early 1960's in 000 gauge. It is comparable in size to today's N gauge, and is made from die-cast metal, as is pretty much everything that Lone Star made. It was my very first train-set! It is operated 'digitally', ie you push it along with your finger! Later on Lone Star also made powered models.
The second picture is of a Standard Gauge Lionel 408E electric locomotive. It is HUGE, and has two motors. This one is a very authentic reproduction made by MTH trains, and again it's all metal with a beautiful baked enamel finish. Note the three-rail tinplate track that it runs on.
Another aspect of Toy Trains is the way in which they are collected, and displayed. Some collectors don't run their trains at all, but are happy to have them displayed on shelves. Collectors who wish to run their trains usually have a large table, perhaps painted green, with various loops of track on which they can run several trains at once, around and around. You might notice in the photo above that to run this train I just set up a square of carpet outside and built a circle of track! Not my favorite way of doing things, though! There is no attempt to copy real railway operation. One of the really fun things about toy trains is that there are no 'rules'!! Whatever you enjoy doing yourself is the best!
In order to further define what Toy Trains are, it is necessary to differentiate them from another huge hobby- that is Railway Modelling. Railway Modellers largely try to recreate a railway and scenes from real life, in miniature. Building scenery is important. Whereas Toy Trains are best left in a totally unmodified condition- as they left the factory- Railway Modellers will often modify locomotives and rolling stock to make them better represent the real thing. Railway Modellers also like to operate their trains in a similar fashion to the real thing, definitely not just going around in circles!! I have enormous respect for Railway Modellers and their creations, but it's not what I'm chosing to do myself. I am definitely of the green-painted table, "Plywood Central", school!!
There are many, many superb trains made today by companies such as Hornby and Bachmann in the UK, and Austrains, Auscision and Trainorama in Australia, but they are highly detailed models, and are not primarily intended to be 'played' with. They can still be collected, but would not be classed as Toy Trains. Of course the boundaries of what is a Toy and what is a Model have become extremely blurred these days, in which case we revert to Rule 1, which says there are no rules. It's a hobby, and we're free to choose whichever direction we want!!
The most common brands that we had in Australia were Hornby Dublo- made by the Meccano company, and Tri-ang- made by the Lines group. Today these trains are very collectable, as long as they are in good condition. We'll discuss condition and values in a future post. In the United States the most common toy train brands were Lionel and American Flyer. There were, of course, many, many, others.
To illustrate two 'extremes' of what Toy Trains are, here are some examples from my collection. The first picture is a Lone Star Locos diesel, made in the early 1960's in 000 gauge. It is comparable in size to today's N gauge, and is made from die-cast metal, as is pretty much everything that Lone Star made. It was my very first train-set! It is operated 'digitally', ie you push it along with your finger! Later on Lone Star also made powered models.
Another aspect of Toy Trains is the way in which they are collected, and displayed. Some collectors don't run their trains at all, but are happy to have them displayed on shelves. Collectors who wish to run their trains usually have a large table, perhaps painted green, with various loops of track on which they can run several trains at once, around and around. You might notice in the photo above that to run this train I just set up a square of carpet outside and built a circle of track! Not my favorite way of doing things, though! There is no attempt to copy real railway operation. One of the really fun things about toy trains is that there are no 'rules'!! Whatever you enjoy doing yourself is the best!
In order to further define what Toy Trains are, it is necessary to differentiate them from another huge hobby- that is Railway Modelling. Railway Modellers largely try to recreate a railway and scenes from real life, in miniature. Building scenery is important. Whereas Toy Trains are best left in a totally unmodified condition- as they left the factory- Railway Modellers will often modify locomotives and rolling stock to make them better represent the real thing. Railway Modellers also like to operate their trains in a similar fashion to the real thing, definitely not just going around in circles!! I have enormous respect for Railway Modellers and their creations, but it's not what I'm chosing to do myself. I am definitely of the green-painted table, "Plywood Central", school!!
There are many, many superb trains made today by companies such as Hornby and Bachmann in the UK, and Austrains, Auscision and Trainorama in Australia, but they are highly detailed models, and are not primarily intended to be 'played' with. They can still be collected, but would not be classed as Toy Trains. Of course the boundaries of what is a Toy and what is a Model have become extremely blurred these days, in which case we revert to Rule 1, which says there are no rules. It's a hobby, and we're free to choose whichever direction we want!!
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Welcome to Whistlestop!
If you are reading this blog- perhaps attracted by the name 'Whistlestop'- there is a fair chance that, like me, you have more than a passing interest in trains- whether full-size, model, or somewhere in-between. Anything that runs on rails! I've had a passion for all things 'train' ever since I was very young, and this has evolved into a very enjoyable hobby of collecting what I call Toy Trains. You could perhaps define Toy Trains as the trains we had when we were kids- in my case Hornby Dublo- but I will talk more about what exactly collecting Toy Trains is in future blogs.
As a collector, I very much enjoy seeing not only what other people have collected, but I enjoy finding out why they collect certain items, and seeing how they display them. I love visiting museums- whether they are a bloke's backyard shed where his collection is stored, or any of the fantastic open-air museums displaying all manner of items in a living, realistic setting. I have always dreamt of developing a museum of my own, and the idea gradually dawned on me that a museum of Toy Trains would be a lot of fun to build, as well as being reasonably interesting for others to visit. So, this blog is about the twists and turns, the ups and downs, of putting together a collection of Toy Trains and developing the various facilities needed to display them in a meaningful and enjoyable way.
I am approaching what we call in Australia a 'Tree-change'- perhaps another way of saying it would be semi-retirement (but I hate the R word!!)- where I can put behind me the career that I have been involved in for most of my adult life, and finally do the things I've always really wanted to do! For me this also involves a major move from an Island Paradise to the Aussie Bush!!
For the next few months, as we pack and prepare, I'll be writing about 'The Story So Far'. Stories about finding trains, the trains themselves, buying the land for the museum, and progress so far. Next year though, we'll be moving into un-charted territory!! Building the Museum!! There is absolutely no guarrantee that things will go smoothly, or even work out at all, and I'll be writing about the successes, as well as the, shall we say, not so successful times. It is said that a train trip is not so much about getting to the destination, but enjoying the journey itself, and so it is with this train trip through life.
I hope you enjoy reading this, as much as I enjoy writing it. I welcome your comments.
As a collector, I very much enjoy seeing not only what other people have collected, but I enjoy finding out why they collect certain items, and seeing how they display them. I love visiting museums- whether they are a bloke's backyard shed where his collection is stored, or any of the fantastic open-air museums displaying all manner of items in a living, realistic setting. I have always dreamt of developing a museum of my own, and the idea gradually dawned on me that a museum of Toy Trains would be a lot of fun to build, as well as being reasonably interesting for others to visit. So, this blog is about the twists and turns, the ups and downs, of putting together a collection of Toy Trains and developing the various facilities needed to display them in a meaningful and enjoyable way.
I am approaching what we call in Australia a 'Tree-change'- perhaps another way of saying it would be semi-retirement (but I hate the R word!!)- where I can put behind me the career that I have been involved in for most of my adult life, and finally do the things I've always really wanted to do! For me this also involves a major move from an Island Paradise to the Aussie Bush!!
For the next few months, as we pack and prepare, I'll be writing about 'The Story So Far'. Stories about finding trains, the trains themselves, buying the land for the museum, and progress so far. Next year though, we'll be moving into un-charted territory!! Building the Museum!! There is absolutely no guarrantee that things will go smoothly, or even work out at all, and I'll be writing about the successes, as well as the, shall we say, not so successful times. It is said that a train trip is not so much about getting to the destination, but enjoying the journey itself, and so it is with this train trip through life.
I hope you enjoy reading this, as much as I enjoy writing it. I welcome your comments.
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