Toy railway accessory
Category
Toys
Date
Unknown
Materials
Wood and metal
Measurements
Building - 90 mm (length); 55 mm (height), Building label - 27 mm (length), Platform section - 32 mm (length), Trailer - 50 mm (length), Wagon base - 84 mm (length), Gate - 85 mm (length); 64 mm (height), Accessory - 69 mm (height)
Place of origin
United States
Collection
Sudbury Hall Museum of Childhood, Derbyshire
NT 664533
Summary
A varied selection of model railway pieces, all made of metal except the building, which is made of wood. The set comprises a building, three wagons, a trailer, two sections of platform, a gate and another item which could possibly be a signal or a street lamp. The building is made of wood and has a door and window on one side, and a chimney on the roof. The walls and chimney are painted brown and the roof and door a much darker brown. The door is nailed shut and there is a piece of celluloid (now coming off) serving as 'glass' in the window. Separate, but possibly belonging to the building (as there is a pale patch on a wall which corresponds to its size and shape), is a paper label which is headed 'J. Brown and Co' and lists different types of coal and their prices. The three wagons are of the type used for transporting coal i.e. they can be tipped sideways for removing their contents. They are painted orange, on black bases with green wheels. The base incorporates a hook at one end and a hole at the other, to enable the wagons to be linked together. Inside the base of each one is moulded 'Made In U.S.A.'. The paint is worn off in many places. There are two sections of platform. Each is a flat piece with paving slabs marked out on the top surface, with a textured kerb at the edge. One piece is square, with kerb on one side only, the other is a corner piece, with kerb along two adjoining sides, curved at the corner. The 'paving slabs' are painted grey, with the kerb a darker grey. The trailer comprises a flat surface, moulded to resemble wood, painted blue, with two pieces fixed underneath, each having an axle and two small wheels. There is a small round hole towards one end of the flat piece. The gate is painted green and resembles a length of park railings, nine in all, held in place by two horizontal bars (one at the top and one at the bottom), with pointed top edges which protrude above the top bar. Four of these pointed bits have been broken off. There is another, diagonal bar across all but the outer 'railings'. There is a moulded catch at one end of the gate, just over half-way up. The other item resembles a lamppost, but could possibly be a signal of some kind. It is painted green and consists of a pole which has a point at the top above a short 'arm' which is flat, rounded at the end, and has a small hole near the end. Just over half-way up is another, shorter piece protruding. The base is more or less oval in shape, except that one end is cut off, and the other has a deep, narrow indentation. Much of the paint has worn off. Total number of items is 10.