Where have all these Mantua Bee’s & Mite’s gone? 20,000 or so in 1949-1952!
The Busy Bee and Mighty Mite are here (sort of): http://www.railstop.com/History/Mantua/MantuaHistory.asp
You could check on idiot bay or you may get lucky at a show.
Another possibility is Dan at Yardbirds : http://yardbirdtrains.com/index.htm
Other than that I do not know.
Jim
Welcome to the forum. I bought a Mantua 0-4-0 Dockside at a trainshow the other week,don’t know how old it is.It has a plastic boiler,non-standard coupler pocket and a lot of lead weight in it.It is easily my most powerful steam locomotive,almost twice the capacity of a Bachmann 2-8-0.It’s weight also gives it good electrical pickup.I am starting to prefer old companies like Mantua and Varney when I buy. Joe
Idiot bay? Im assuming this is the nickname you gave eBay why?
*beegle55
Huron - The “Little Bee” (or “B”) and “Mighty Mite” were outgrowths of Mantua’s pre-war locomotive line. The “Bee” appeared in 1948 (the same year the pre-war Atlantic and Pacific engines were revived) and continued in production until 1953. The “Mighty Mite”, on the other hand, really was in production for only one year, appearing in '49 and being dropped in 1950, to be replaced by Mantua’s new 0-4-0 zamac “Shifter.” The “B” disappeared from the Mantua catalog in 1953.
Very austere in appearance, unless the hobbyist had detailed them himself, the two little locomotives were quickly overshadowed by the newer, much better detailed, better running, diecast engines of Mantua, English and Varney, that were becoming available in the early 1950’s. Probably most of the small brass and zamac “Master Model Builder” series engines were retired from hobbyist’s layouts by the late 1950’s and consigned to the parts box or used in kitbash efforts. Among the smaller Mantua engines, the “Goat” camelback turns up most often on eBay. It had a much longer production run than the others (1939-59) and was made in truly huge numbers. It was probably the second most popular model of the era, being beaten out only by Varney’s “Little Joe” in total sales.
If you are seriously interested in Mantua’s Master Model Builder locomotives, I suggest acquiring a copy of the article I wrote for RMC concerning them. It appeared in the July 1990 issue.
CNJ831
CNJ831,
Very Informative, thanks for taking the time to post this.
Jim
He’s right, its called Evil-bay[;)]