Peeping through an old 1981 MR and saw this ad for a company in Japan that made brass kits of almost cartoon-like locomotives, mostly based on Colorado narrow gauge prototypes, in HO2 1/2 and HOn3. These kits were handled by Joe Works, anyone know anything about this "Joe Works" deal ? ? and has anyone a photo of one of these caricature locomotive??? The concept of a cartoon locomotive is tremendous, sort of takes the edge off the "too serious" model railroader, laugh a little.
I think you'd see photos of the various Joe Works engines in various photos of the marvelous HOn30 (or HOn 21/2 if you insist) layouts of Hayden and Frary. Since they were freelancing to begin with the engines didn't look odd in the photos. I seem to recall that they pulled so poorly that either Hayden or Frary or both ended up powering a freight or passenger car just so the train would move up a grade! I saw Bob Hayden's layout on tour here in Milwaukee when he was with Kalmbach (so this is years ago) and I think he had Joe Works engines on the layout at that time.
Dave Nelson
Caricaturish locomotives and associated items were also a part of the hobby during the John Allen era(1950's and 60's). Real oldtimers might recall things like the 0-4-0 Cab Forward, Toonerville Trolley, the John Allen inspection car, and a number of other quaint, tongue-in-cheek, items (the JA inspection car is still being offered commercially!). It would seem that most of these models never sold very well and I expect that was the fate of the later Joe Works locomotives as well, since I've neither seen, nor heard mention of them, in a long, long time. Incidentally, the O or HO Toonerville Trolley commands really big bucks today.
CNJ831
CNJ831 Incidentally, the O or HO Toonerville Trolley commands really big bucks today.
The funny thing about this is that there is a fellow in our neighbourhood scratchbuilt a version of the Toonerville Trolley just a couple of years ago. And then got paid a rediculous sum from some collector for it.
BTW---who was the manufacturer that came out with that trolley?
Any argument carried far enough will end up in Semantics--Hartz's law of rhetoric Emerald. Leemer and Southern The route of the Sceptre Express Barry
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blownout cylinder CNJ831 Incidentally, the O or HO Toonerville Trolley commands really big bucks today. The funny thing about this is that there is a fellow in our neighbourhood scratchbuilt a version of the Toonerville Trolley just a couple of years ago. And then got paid a rediculous sum from some collector for it. BTW---who was the manufacturer that came out with that trolley?
The earliest was a tinplate, over-sized, floor toy from the 1920's by Strauss Toy Company. I think that there was also one avialable to run on Lionel 3-rail track. I don't remember if it was Strauss who also did that. Another was offered in O as a repro by a TCA member about a dozen years ago. The HO version, as I recall, was by Kemtron, perhaps in the early 60's.
Real oldtimers might recall things like the 0-4-0 Cab Forward.....
You don't have to be an oldtimer to recall that one. The Cab Forward casting is still listed in the PSC catalog, part #31144 which was designed to fit the Varney Little Joe 0-4-0. Yardbird trains also offers a similar casting for the Mantua Shifter. http://yardbirdtrains.com/YBDetailParts.htm (page down).
It also wasn't all that long ago that Walthers re-issued the Piker and Oscar in plastic RTR. Whether or not they get re-issued is questionable, but they did make an appearance in the "modern" era.
Now, if Walthers would just re-issue the Jailbox car......
Andre
andrechapelon Real oldtimers might recall things like the 0-4-0 Cab Forward..... You don't have to be an oldtimer to recall that one. The Cab Forward casting is still listed in the PSC catalog, part #31144 which was designed to fit the Varney Little Joe 0-4-0. Yardbird trains also offers a similar casting for the Mantua Shifter. http://yardbirdtrains.com/YBDetailParts.htm (page down). It also wasn't all that long ago that Walthers re-issued the Piker and Oscar in plastic RTR. Whether or not they get re-issued is questionable, but they did make an appearance in the "modern" era. Now, if Walthers would just re-issue the Jailbox car...... Andre
While it is indeed true that the parts to make either a Varney, or a Mantua, 0-4-0 Cab Forward have remained available over the years, modelers must have built very few as I have not seen one in any of the magazine photo galleries, or in any of my layout visits, in many, many years...whereas for a time forty years or so ago they seemed to pop up quite often. The exact same story holds true regarding John Allen's Thomas Flier inspection car. I'd doubt many are today familiar with any of these models.
The Walthers' Tongue-In-Cheek model series that included the Jailbox car and several other rather bizarre pieces of rollingstock (I have examples of them all), mainly date from just before the era of the Joe Works locos.
Man, that's the first time I've seen CNJ speechless.
Andre:
I remember seeing some photos back in the early '60's, of modelers adapting the Kemtron Cab-Forward casting to Bowser Challengers, LOL! Now THAT was an unusual Cab-Forward (especially with the coal-loaded Kemtron Centipede tender attached)!
Tom
Tom View my layout photos! http://s299.photobucket.com/albums/mm310/TWhite-014/Rio%20Grande%20Yuba%20River%20Sub One can NEVER have too many Articulateds!
twhite Andre: I remember seeing some photos back in the early '60's, of modelers adapting the Kemtron Cab-Forward casting to Bowser Challengers, LOL! Now THAT was an unusual Cab-Forward (especially with the coal-loaded Kemtron Centipede tender attached)! Tom
Well, while a cab-forward Challenger ain't exactly prototypical, the Kemtron tender wasn't right for the Challenger either, as it was a model of the 23,500 gal version used by the FEF-2 and FEF-3 4-8-4's (i.e. the water tank was rounded more at the top to match passenger car profiles). The 25,000 gal version used by UP's Challengers and Big Boys weren't as rounded and held 1500 gals more water. Rivarossi used the wrong tender when it first came out with the FEF-3 back around 1981.
How's that for nit-picking?
One of these?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMnYwzvfdB4
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The oddball one I know most is actually an 0-4-4 cab forward, made with that kemtron casting and a Little Joe. THe whole process is described step by step in Sutton's "The COmplete Book of Model Railroading". I remember always wanting to try making one with the AHM Dockside I had, but never got around to it.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
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rrinker The oddball one I know most is actually an 0-4-4 cab forward, made with that kemtron casting and a Little Joe. THe whole process is described step by step in Sutton's "The COmplete Book of Model Railroading". I remember always wanting to try making one with the AHM Dockside I had, but never got around to it. --Randy
I have that book too. I'm going to have to get it out of my library and peruse that thing. I've got a few Kemtron castings from a few trainshows and have been considering something like that just to see what I can do with it----
CNJ831The Walthers' Tongue-In-Cheek model series that included the Jailbox car and several other rather bizarre pieces of rollingstock (I have examples of them all), mainly date from just before the era of the Joe Works locos.
Pitchers? Pease?
-Morgan
PASMITHHere is my "Caricature" Peter Smith, Memphis
Peter:
I wouldn't call them 'Carictature" locomotives at all. What I'd say is that you've got three really sweet locomotives with a lot of "Character." Nice work!