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.
