Since Noirthwoods-Flyer has kicked off his wonderful Flyer thread (2.0), I thought we could use a prewar IVES thread. I have a small grouping of Wide Gauge IVES (all CAPS, please, in honor or the company that was almost 50 years old when Josh Cowen began tinkering with electricity).
Come one, come all! If you have IVES, please share!
Let’s kick of with a #700 passenger set, which is over 100 years old and runs better than some of my 2000s era Lionel).
Here’s the #3241 Motor (as an electric loco, they were called “motors”). This is the low-price leader of the time. It was still manual reverse (the lever to the right of the wheels).
The set has obviously seen some action, but it is in pretty good shape. The paint has adhered better than usual for IVES (who laid the tin on thick enough to cause paint problems later in life). I love the hand-painted colors in the window transoms, an attempt to depict the decorations the RRs used to “fancy up” their varnish. In fact, all the trim was hand-painted, and all the cars were pieced together from many small parts, all hand-soldered. The labor involved is what drove the company into bankruptcy, alas!
Thanks for starting this thread. IVES is my second favorite prewar manufacturer. I definitely have some photos to share.
Here is the White Owl set.
According to the Ives Train Society site it was available in 1927-1928 catalogs.
Its an O gauge set that they also, like American Flyer, referred to as a Narrow Gauge set.
I definitely have a soft spot for IVES trains. This is my most recent acquisition - Frisco is my favorite railroad, so when I saw this IVES Frisco boxcar, I knew it needed to be part of the collection:
I have this same set!
I believe my set was made in 1924. I had to make my own reverse switch as the original was missing. I also had to repair the collector assembly. It is a lovely runner!
Great to see that IVES set! Our tastes run parallel: IVES is right behind Flyer with me.
Yes, I like Lionel, and, yes, I have more Lionel than the others, mostly because of availability. But the Big L is in 3rd place with me. We all have our soft spots!
Paint is in pretty good shape on this one, and the metal is very clean. The one serious issue is the missing stack. perhaps I will find on to fit soemday.
Caboose #67 right? Nope. #567 manufactured somewhere between 1913 and 1930. But, it’s hard to tell wether it’s Bridgeport made and assembled 100% or, Bridgeport made but assembled in Irvington. At any rate the catalog number confused me for many years until I found a good guide book!
Notice also how “orangey” the body looks under the flash while it appears just plain red in normal light. The roof is Vermillion by the way and these cabeeses are often missing their cupola roofs.
Oh, I suspect it had more to do with cost savings rather than anything else. Punch 4 square holes in a box car and poof! Caboose! .
IVES was all about keeping their toys available for kids everywhere. That’s why they stuck with clockwork for so long. More homes didn’t have electricity in the early 20th century than did, and battery options were crazy expensive and/or dangerous. Yes, IVES toys were not quite as affordable as MARX products would be in the 1950’s but they were equally usable by both city and rural enthusiasts.
But I do wonder if waiting so long (1915) to go electric was a mistake. I also always thought it odd that at the same time IVES was electrifying Lionel was miniaturizing. (Starting their O Gauge line in 1914). History suggests that Lionel’s O Gauge beat the pants off IVES who introduced 0 (zero) Gauge to Americans 15 years earlier (1900).
For anyone who doesn’t know IVES history, IVES was making Gauge One clockwork trains in the late 19th century when their factory burned down. When they opened the new factory IVES went all-in on Miniature Railway production in both 0 and Number 1 gauges giving up on the majority of their other amazing toys from years passed.
Yes, these are repaints. Close examination of interiors and undersides shows that these were originally in Patriot colors. I am not as picky about adding repaints to the Ives portion of my collection as I am about items in the American Flyer portion. Finding Ives in original paint that is in good shape is very difficult.
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