and he ponders -
Now that's interesting - I have a 1951 edition of Carmen Webster's
Model RR Equipment Corp. (New York City) catalog that lists them as
"Stinson". The 2-8-0 sold for $54.00 and the 2-8-2 for $57.00. That
was a couple week's pay back then! They did offer separate parts for
both locos so one could buy them on the "installment plan" I presume.
Some of the parts were as little as a penny and the most expensive
was the boilers. Oddly enough, the 2-8-0 boiler was $6.75 and the
Mike was priced at $6.50. Must have been a typo. BTW, Ben Nixon
listed just parts for the locos in his 1952 catalog under Stinson.
Most manufacturers, Bob Miller, Enhorning, Kinsman and even Cleveland
had other businesses or jobs besides making S Gauge kits. Miller had
a tool & die company, John Enhorning was a design engineer for
Bettendorf, Bob Blois ran a hobby supply company and worked for
Northeastern and Cleveland was a hobby shop and model airplane
manufacturer. Strafford made passenger cars but also had a machine
shop in Rochester, NH (in Strafford County - thus the name) and
Midgage's Willis Stewart ran a soft metal and lost wax casting
business in addition to a printed circuit company. One could presume
that Nord was also a photo supply business too and when the loco
sales fizzled they changed the name.
After WWII, S Gauge was supposed to explode and become THE scale that
everyone would flock to. Unfortunately the fuse went out and those
brave souls that got in early kissed it goodbye, leaving product on
dealer's shelves for years, if not decades. I remember Bob Blois
saying that he'd come out with a new kit and sell a dozen, then the
rest would sit on the shelf.
Nord kits were actually well made. The parts actually fit together
and a screwdriver was all that was necessary for assembly. Adding
details was a little more work but a credible model could be produced
with just a coat of paint. Add a string of Arden freight cars behind
one and you really had a labor of love!
Raleigh in sunny Maine...
At 10:31 AM 8/28/2008, Bob Werre wrote:
>Jim,
>
>I wanted to check my old magazines last night but other things took that
>time. However, American Scale Models might be the name of the revised
>Nord line and the 4-6-0 engine. There was a company that made
>professional photo lab equipment in Minneapolis called Nord. It was
>located on Stinston Blvd. I believe the original model railroad stuff
>was called Nord Stinston. One would assume they were one and the same,
>but I have no evidence of that other than the names themselves.
>Sometime after the original engines were discontinued, they offered the
>brass detail parts seperately and there was talk about putting a better
>motor in the complete kits and starting up again--never happened. I
>recall the parts were not near as good as the SSL&S parts that were
>coming out.
>
>
>
>There are a few photos of a very nicely rebuilt and refined 2-8-2 in the
>S Gaugian and on the cover of one of Heimberger's softcover booklets
>that I made many years ago. The engine was owned by Fred Little who put
>a great deal of effort into that engine including PFM sound. One of his
>children received the engine after Fred's passing.
>
>Bob Werre
>BobWphoto.com
>
>raisinone wrote:
>
> > A 4-6-0 kit was produced in the early 80's by a gentleman in
> > Minnesota, he has since passed away. Not sure if that is what you
> > are referring to? The kit had a brass boiler and cab, minimal
> > detail and epoxy steam chest, fire box and tender. I replaced the
> > tender with an SSL&S USRA, but the rest (and a lot of SSL&S details)
> > built up to a very credible ten wheeler, I think I used the NYC F12g
> > as the prototype.
> >
> > I really enjoyed that little engine, but alas the plastic driver
> > centers eventually loosened on the steel axles and it would no
> > longer run. It sits in a box patiently waiting for new drivers....
> >
> > Perhaps Ken Z. remembers the gentleman who made it. After he died,
> > the company did indeed go to Jan Lorenzen (Locomotive Workshop), but
> > I don't recall Jan ever making salable kits again.
> >
> > Jim K.
> > >
> > > >Raleigh,
> > > >Nord (revisited) did make an exopy type 4-6-0 engine, that I
> > think, was
> > > >advertised in the S Gaugian for a short while. There is one here
> > in
> > > >Houston still in kit form. It seems to me that the Loco Workshop
> > later
> > > >picked up the project, made some mods to it... and that where my
> > memory
> > > >ends. I can verify that it isn't much of a kit.
> > > >
> > > >Bob Werre
> > > >BobWphoto.com
> > >
> >
> >
>
>[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
------------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
