I have seen the Lionel Madison cars several times but had never picked one up. I picked one up for the first time at the Cal Stewart meet and was amazed at how heavy it was. What is in the madison cars that make them so heavy?
Earl
Bakelite
The stuff was pretty nasty for car casting. Walls had to be thick, it didn’t release from the mold’s too well, didn’t take paint very well (too much plasticizer), and it was easy to break and impossible to fix. Other than that the stuff worked great [:)]
Is that why they are heavy? They seemed to weigh as much as die cast cars.
Earl
Yes
The bodies were Bakelite, the frames were stamped steel, and the trucks and vestibule ends were die-cast. Overall pretty heavy stuff!
The recent re-releases use a newer plastic for the bodies, but the frames, trucks, and vestibules are all the same.
Jon [8D]
I guess while were on the topic of madison cars, I just recently picked up a really nice set of madisions and was wondering how to clean them safely? I used a soft bristle paint brush,which removed most of the dust, but there’s some still lingering? Any thoughts.
John
Wet the brush. Not loaded with water. Just damp.