50's era Marklin Trains HO scale (Part 1) cars
This is an unbelievable time capsule that I was lucky enough to have find its way into my possession. A friend of a friend just called me up and told me to come over and check out this train set from the 1960s that her dad had set up in his house as a kid . I knew nothing of what era or what scale I was going to see. Even the condition was left out of the initial conversation. I didn't even know if I was going to try to buy it or just see what was there.
I remember hoping that there would be a few mis-matched bits of track and worn out cars that might work with my O-scale stuff. When I arrived I was shown two Huge dusty moving boxes labeled "Dad's Train set." I didn't even get to open the box, I was just told to load it up and take it. I tried to offer money, but it was politely declined. It was strange to me that people that I barely know would give something away for free just because I showed interest in it. I forget sometimes that there are truly wonderful people in the world still.
I was busy the next week and forgot about the big boxes for a few days, but on my first free Saturday I was ready to see what was waiting for me inside. It only took me about 30 seconds for the sheer scale of what I was looking at to hit me. I had stumbled onto the treasure trove of a passionate collector. First of all everything was wrapped in newspaper from 1962, which I was informed was the last time this set had ever seen the light of day. I soon realized that this set was much older than what I first thought. The earliest pieces date back to 1953, the year our friend's dad was born. As I dug through the mint condition boxes I discovered that this was an HO scale 3-rail train set from Germany, where our friend's father was born. Along with the vintage newspaper was hundreds of pieces of track, electronic switches, train cars, accessories, plastic building kits, and original marklin and faller catalogs from 1953 - 1960 all carefully preserved, in the original boxes with price tags still on. I was so blown away by the completeness and remarkable condition of the collection, I have decided that I would preserve it and document everything with pictures so others could see this awesome time capsule that was lucky enough to fall in my hands. I just want to share a rare glimpse into the world of model railroading 60 years ago and share it with others that will truly appreciate how cool it is. I hope you enjoy looking at the following pictures and stories as much as I do.
I remember hoping that there would be a few mis-matched bits of track and worn out cars that might work with my O-scale stuff. When I arrived I was shown two Huge dusty moving boxes labeled "Dad's Train set." I didn't even get to open the box, I was just told to load it up and take it. I tried to offer money, but it was politely declined. It was strange to me that people that I barely know would give something away for free just because I showed interest in it. I forget sometimes that there are truly wonderful people in the world still.
I was busy the next week and forgot about the big boxes for a few days, but on my first free Saturday I was ready to see what was waiting for me inside. It only took me about 30 seconds for the sheer scale of what I was looking at to hit me. I had stumbled onto the treasure trove of a passionate collector. First of all everything was wrapped in newspaper from 1962, which I was informed was the last time this set had ever seen the light of day. I soon realized that this set was much older than what I first thought. The earliest pieces date back to 1953, the year our friend's dad was born. As I dug through the mint condition boxes I discovered that this was an HO scale 3-rail train set from Germany, where our friend's father was born. Along with the vintage newspaper was hundreds of pieces of track, electronic switches, train cars, accessories, plastic building kits, and original marklin and faller catalogs from 1953 - 1960 all carefully preserved, in the original boxes with price tags still on. I was so blown away by the completeness and remarkable condition of the collection, I have decided that I would preserve it and document everything with pictures so others could see this awesome time capsule that was lucky enough to fall in my hands. I just want to share a rare glimpse into the world of model railroading 60 years ago and share it with others that will truly appreciate how cool it is. I hope you enjoy looking at the following pictures and stories as much as I do.
Check back for part 2 (buildings and model kits) |
50's era Marklin trains HO scale (Part 2) buildings
Here are the pre-built structures that came with the collection of trains. Most of these were hand painted after being assembled. I have the original packaging for some of these kits that shows the year and model number. Check back for part 3 which will be the new in box kits, and scenery.
1957 Lionel Christmas Train set
This is a Lionel Christmas train set from 1957. It came complete with everything except for a few pieces of track that was missing. It's amazing to me how little the design of the trains have not changed that much in 55 years. The tooling for the trucks and box cars are almost identical.