Interesting Auction Items

[Terry]

Here's some history. A 1926 Lionel 402 set with Mexican Brewery Lettering added to the loco and cars:

 

 

 

 

Corona and Modelo are beers made by the Cervecería Modelo company named on the top of the loco. The first American beer train and it turns out to be Mexican.


Here's the auction:

https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/prewar-lionel-set-402-engine-419-418-490-passenge-72-c-3bf44e4bba

[starfire700]

Very cool set, and a natural that it would be found in Texas. I have seen AF cars with advertising on the roofs.
I also noted that another featured auction on this page has a Lionel O gauge set with green 2640 type cars and includes 2 of the flat black Madison Hardware freights.
I just published a video on Madison Wartime production, for those interested.

[starfire700]

The 1910 Playthings pix is a great piece of history. Is it the same guy with the glass negatives?

[early0electric]

It looks like it to me. Too bad we don't know who he is.

[Terry]

I like the Madison items. Good video Jim.  The gray 1684 was one of two prewar O steam locos my dad and I didn't have. The other was a 230 switcher. Other than on eBay, I've never seen one for sale.

[starfire700]

It took quite a while to find the gunmetal 1684 and actually this one is an upgrade. My first had a broken marker light, so I sold it.
I have been collecting the Madison items for a while. I found my first car, a wood-frame floodlight car at York in a junk box in the late 1970's. I thought it was home-made, bought it for the light. Luckily I kept the frame, and years later when I discovered what it was, I re-assembled it. I have mostly floodlights and flatcars, the dump, crane and tank are harder, plus the few odd-balls like the 2717 gondola. I have never seen a caboose. Also, still not sure why they painted litho bodies flat black, unless it was to keep the mood drab due to the war.
I was lucky to have been to Madison twice in the 1980's, had a good time with Lou or Carl, do not remember which one. We bought him a coffee then played... "I bet you don't have this part". I think they won every round, and I came back with some tuff parts like a pilot for an 00 Hudson and a Blue Streak vestibule.

[Terry]

From looking at the ones I had, I thought they were painted black because they litho was scratched or damaged. They were making the cars with defective cars they bought by the pound to strip for parts. The wood bases on the tank and boxcar allowed them to use the metal bases for other cars.

[starfire700]

That makes sense why they would paint them. Is that in the Madison book? I don't have a copy, too $$.

[Terry]

I don't have that book either.  Look at your tank cars under a bright light and you can see scratches in the litho.

[starfire700]

I looked at all the black-painted-litho cars under a bright light.
Since the litho process has colors layered one at a time, I thought there should be a faint image of the details visible, but not so. Therefore, all I have to go on is visible color where there are scratches in the black. I could not detect any scratches or blems under the black. The tank car has the most wear and dirt, so makes that one more-difficult.
Tank car....I see evidence of red where diamond would be so it is a late Sunoco with diamond to the right.
Boxcar......maroon under black at roof edges, so a late Baby Ruth
2677 Gondola.... evidence of dark orange at edges
2717 gondola.....Orange/brown at edges
So all that proves is that all these cars were litho to start and the paint is thick-enough to hide any images underneath.
Also proves that a Lionel dealer could do a better job cleaning cars to prep for painting, than Ives did. No flaking of black is visible on the slick litho finish.

[Terry]

Hmmm.

I sold all mine so I can't look at them.

We'll leave my statement as an unproved assumption then.

[Terry]

Here's another photo of early Lionel trains from that archive:

 

I bet you could date this photo based on the 2 7/8ths gondola being metal and a dummy. 1903 to 1905. Probably 1904-05 because of the color.

The Clark Hillclimber Car is nice.  There's some cool toys in the picture.

Here's the auction:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/114879683569

[early0electric]

Yeah, nice stuff! That's a big battery case!

[early0electric]

Not quite an auction, but interesting nonetheless.

https://www.apartments.com/24-murray-st-new-york-ny/df9nt9k/

[Terry]

That's a power supply. You measure the power by the heat given off when the acid burns a hole through the floor.