I was given two dozen or so HO rolling stock models made by hand mostly of wood and pressed paper in the late-1940s, I’d guess. Baker couplers, if I remember the name right - hook-and-loop anyway. The models are pretty clunky by today’s standards. I hate to chuck 'em, as some modeler labored long and hard on them. However, I can’t use them on my layout. Any suggestions?
E-Bay. You never know. Some genius might give you $100 each for them.
Put them the old wood and paper cars on display near your layout…They are a good way to show folks how far the hobby has come…Heck! some of us still run them…Cox 47
If I only had wood and paper… I could have a fleet of to run!(Seriously, I’m quite lacking in the “rollingstock” department…)
Maybe put them in a display case, right above/below a set of “modern” equivalents.
What ever you decide please don’t pitch them. Some of those are few and far between. If nothing else email me with some photos and go from there
Mike
See if the Howell Day Museum is interested. http://www.nmra.org/howellday/
I agree they shouldn’t be dumped.
Enjoy
Paul
Welcome to the forums. Jay Cohen sells old time cars,maybe he also buys them.His website is www.jaystrains.com/
they are important because of the time, the WW2 period when certain materials like metals were sacrificed for the war so other hobby materials were used. A good modeler could pull good tricks on them and make them great models.
I have a few of them laying about here needing TLC or what to do with them.
I have an IC paper reefer that is just crude printing on flat cardboard and it is hardly worth keeping
However I also have some Santa Fe paper reefers where the paper was embossed for the wood sides and whoever assembled them really did careful work. The printing jobs were excellent. They show no warp damage at all. The detail parts are all metal. With new trucks and couplers on them I have no reason not to run them on my layout together with good plastic cars. They look fine.
Dave Nelson
Dave,
It’s worth keeping too, as said before, it’s most likely from WW2 era and are wourth preserving. As I also said before, if nothing else. Email me and we’ll go from there, before you trash it.
Mike
Thanks everybody for the feedback. Guess I won’t pitch 'em after all. Wife thinks I’m crazy though.
Not HO but I saw a segment last night on Spokane trolley line history. When the last trolley made its run they took it to the end of the line and BURNED it in celebration of the inaguration of the new buslines.[:(]
Re: reklein’s post…
Wow! A regular Viking funeral! Now there’s an idea!
- B.
As it happens, Keith Wills’ “Collectors Consist” column in RMC has been talking about wood/paperside cars in the last couple of issues, you might want to check it out.
<>BTW the couplers you describe are probably Mantua - Baker couplers were kinda boxy.