Prewar IVES Pictures - An Invitation

Ives produced some beautiful accessories. This is one of my favorite stations. The lithography is marvelous.

Ives Union Station

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Beautiful, to be sure!

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Beautiful enough that Lionel bought some to sell in their own catalog! If your biggest competitor buying yours instead of trying to outdo you isn’t the peak of excellence, I don’t know what is. :wink:

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Ives also produced some beautiful Wide Gauge trains too.

This is “The Tiger”

I think it looks even better with an extra coach. (I’m still looking for a matching combine.)

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Great for a Halloween layout!

Wow!

This is set #482 the Southern Special from 1929. I am not sure if this is original or an older restoration. The condition indicates that it was played with and loved.

I know that I have some additional photos of this set that I will post later.

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A little beauty to be sure! :smiley:

Here they are.

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So here is what I believe to be another repaint/restoration. This time it is of
Set #468R
The Black Diamond Electric in Narrow Gauge

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Motor 3257R

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I am not familiar with most of these. Are these what would have been original colors?

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Actually, since IVES introduced 0 gauge to American manufacturing I feel they owned the term more than Lionel by about 15 years.

Parlor Car #141

Observation Car #142

You have to love them when they look like they are fresh out of the box.

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Matt,
The pieces that I have been posting have been restored in what were their original colors.

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Here is the Blue Vagabond Set #572 from 1930

1930 catalog

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Since the locomotive appears to be based on the Milwaukee Bipolars, methinks “White Coal Electric” would have been a more appropriate name. :grinning:

The model looks to be in great shape.

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Thanks Eric,
As I said some of the Ives equipment that I have are repaints or restorations.

Some additional photos of the **Blue Vagabond. These are in original condition.

**

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The Blue Vagabond was also marketed with the passenger cars having red 4 wheel trucks with brass journals. So far I only have one car with those trucks.

According to The Ives Train Society website the red truck sets with brass journals were marketed through the 1931- 1932 Montgomery Ward Catalog

I have posted photos and information from The Ives Train Society website (https://www.ivestrains.org/) with their permission. If you haven’t been there yet, you will find a wealth of photos and information. Consider joining.

I hope this link will take you to the page describing The Montgomery Ward Special Set.

The top set is basically the same as the 1930 Blue Vagabond, but has 8-wheel red trucks and automatic couplers. The Blue 1125 from the top set and the black 1125 from the bottom set are pretty much the same as what came in the cataloged sets with maybe the exception of the wheels - they appear to be gold in these uncataloged sets and red in the regular cataloged sets, but this is observation is made on very few sets? What is unique is that the tender will always have an automatic couple in these sets. All the cataloged versions came with cars with hook couplers. This set was shown in the 1931-32 Montgomery Wards catalog and included 3 freight cars, a station and signals

(https://www.ivestrains.org/CD/O_Gauge/special/MontWards.jpg)

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Those red trucks make the cars look extra sharp!