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Greenberg's Guide to Early American Toy Trains Carlisle & Finch, Hafner, Dorfan
Greenbergs Guide to Early American Toy Trains Carlisle & Finch, Hafner, Dorfan By by Carlton Norris McKenney, Paul Doyle, W Graham Claytor Jr.
Hard Cover
Copyright 1993 FIRST EDITION
239 pages
Contents
Introduction By Bruce C. Greenberg 5
Acknowledgments 7
Part I * Carlisle & Finch By W. Graham Claytor, Jr. 9
Part Ii * Hafner By Paul A. Doyle 71
Part Iii * Dorfan By Carlton Norris Mckenney 159
Glossary 230
Carlisle & Finch Index 231
Hafner Index 232
Summary Of Hafner Types 234
Dorfan Index 236
Summary Of Dorfan Types 238
About The Authors 239
Most senior train collectors today were born after World War I and many more came along after World War II. To most of these, the name "Carlisle & Finch" is not in the real world of Lionel, Ives, and American Flyer which most of them know well, but belongs at best in a footnote in a history book. Yet the electrical repair and products firm of Carlisle & Finch, of Cincinnati, Ohio, was the first successful American manufacturer of toy electric trains - six years before Joshua Lionel Cowen's Lionel Mfg. Co. started in business - and for a dozen years or more was by far the largest and most successful toy electric train maker in this country. While some of its products are now ninety-five years old, they are still collected and operated, and its top-of-the line items are not surpassed in design or operation by anything made since. Although relatively rare, Carlisle & Finch equipment can still be found and is eminently collectible.
The chapters that follow describe known Carlisle & Finch toy train products. The Publisher's Introduction to this book has explained that, especially with early American toy trains, it is often difficult to decide whether descriptive listings should use the manufacturer's catalogue number, or the number appearing on the side of the car. In the case of Carlisle & Finch, we use catalogue numbers exclusively, because catalogues were regularly and frequently issued, and the numbers sometimes appearing on the sides of Carlisle & Finch cars and locomotives are both unrelated to the catalogue numbers and cannot reliably be used for identification of the particular piece of equipment. Side-of-car numbers are listed in a box at the beginning of the chapter's listings, which are, as explained above, entered by catalogue number.
Occasionally, a number will consistently appear on a car or locomotive and not be duplicated elsewhere, but in many cases different numbers will be used on the same car or engine from time to time, and one or more of these numbers will often be used on entirely different pieces of equipment at the same time. Finally, many, if not most, of the cars and locomotives carry no number on them at all. Thus catalogue numbers are the constant in describing Carlisle & Finch items, and to clearly cite the number given at the beginning of a listing as a catalogue number, I have chosen to include the label "No.". Note that the Index appearing at the back of this volume does contain side-of-car numbers where they exist, as well as the more reliable catalogue numbers.
Even more than most other toy train manufacturers, Carlisle & Finch tended to keep each item in production for a number of years, but it made frequent variations in it from year to year. In the Carlisle & Finch listings, a year or a span of years is the organizing principle of the variations. Because the chronology of Carlisle & Finch production is so important, occasionally listings are ordered by year of introduction of the item rather than by catalogue number.As is typical of the labor-intensive style of production of early manufacturers, some production variations exist, even within the same time frame, and - when known -these are also noted. It is very likely that some other variations exist, and we hope that our readers will report these.
It is important to understand that each distinct item for which multiple variations exist will initially be described with measurements and other characteristics common to all variations; this will be followed by variations that have occurred from time to time, listed as (A), (B), (C), etc. Unlike the products of many other toy train manufacturers, these variations occur in an order or progression which can be identified and at least approximately dated with some assurance. To obtain all of the characteristics of any particular variation, it will usually be necessary to examine the several previously listed variations, as well as the common characteristics given at the beginning of the particular listing.
When a really major change in a particular item occurs, even though the catalogue number remains the same, a new listing of the item will be made that will include subsequent variations in similarly lettered subparagraphs.
All pictures are of the actual item. If this is a railroad item, this material is obsolete and no longer in use by the railroad. Please email with questions. Publishers of Train Shed Cyclopedias and Stephans Railroad Directories. Large inventory of railroad books and magazines. Thank you for buying from us.
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