(Click on any image for an enlarged version.)
Back in the 1970’s I was a member of the Lake Shore Model Railroad club in Chicago. I drew the attention of veteran member Paul Matushek who appreciated the work I was doing in assembling and operating Ambroid, LaBelle, Central Valley, Silver Streak and other wood craftsman kits of the time. That interest prompted Paul to gift me three 1930’s era kits manufactured by Earl Francis complete with trucks that required assembly. Paul had been in the hobby since the late 1930’s and every year for the clubs annual open house he would operate a train featuring a consist of one or two cars from each decade starting in the 1930’s. That train would usually be pulled by one of his 1950 era vintage locomotives.
I have never seen any information published about Earl Francis or his company but please note the date on the bottom of the instruction sheet. These kits were manufactured prior to WWll. Obviously the writer of these instructions was a man of few words. The absence of comprehensive written kit instructions was to continue well into the late 1950’s.
Some modelers take issue with a bit of fuzz on the wood included in current kits. Note the amount of fuzz on these components. Obviously not up to the standards of raw materials produced by Northeastern, Kappler or Camino. A lot of sanding and sealing was required to make these pieces usable.
The body of the car is a solid block of wood. Unless they are missing from the kit, I do not see any sheathing for the car ends. I have seen one of these kits for sale and also noted the absence of end sheathing in that kit.
The Reefer roof hatches were built up from these card stock prints. And some folks complain about the lack of detail in the castings provided in kits manufactured in the 1950-1960 era.
There is no actual or implied scribing on the preprinted car sides. Such preprinted car sides continued well into the 1970’s. Check out our build of a Gorre and Daphetid box car using preprinted car sides from the NMRA Bulletin.
There is no actual or implied scribing on the preprinted car sides. Such preprinted car sides continued well into the 1970’s. Check out our build of a Gorre and Daphetid box car using preprinted car sides from the NMRA Bulletin.
Before the availability of kits, any railroad enthusiast wanting to build a model was responsible for accumulating, cutting and shaping their own wood and metal materials. In many cases this meant buying large quantities of raw materials. The concept of a “kit” provided the hobbyist with just enough raw materials and some very basic instructions to build a model that represented the prototype in not much more than shape and color. The kit concept provided a means for those who lived in confined quarters such as small apartments or military service to participate in the hobby. The kits were basic however they provided just enough visual information that implied a particular prototype. You could differentiate a reefer from a box car etc. but not much more detail was available at the time. In addition to apartment dwellers, kits became popular with those who did not have access to a basement or garage full of precision machinery to fabricate parts of their own. Such kits were status quo for the time period and rivet counters were not yet born.
To say the least the hobby of scale model railroading has come a long way but seeing one of these vintage kits is a great way to look back and be reminded from which we came. Maybe seeing what was available to modelers in the past provides us with a better appreciation of where we are currently in the hobby. Such relics give us a view into the lengths early scale model railroaders went to enjoy this great hobby with the limited funds and resources available to them at that time.
If you are looking for information, plans, instructions or maybe catalog shots of HO scale vintage model railroad kits and some RTR models you have to check out HOSeeker’s WEB site. It is a virtual library encompassing the history of HO scale models.
With great memories of Paul Matushek it’s time we get back to the shops,
CWRailman
For additional information on the Earl Francis company see this Yahoo forum message from Mr Ray Wetzel.
To say the least the hobby of scale model railroading has come a long way but seeing one of these vintage kits is a great way to look back and be reminded from which we came. Maybe seeing what was available to modelers in the past provides us with a better appreciation of where we are currently in the hobby. Such relics give us a view into the lengths early scale model railroaders went to enjoy this great hobby with the limited funds and resources available to them at that time.
If you are looking for information, plans, instructions or maybe catalog shots of HO scale vintage model railroad kits and some RTR models you have to check out HOSeeker’s WEB site. It is a virtual library encompassing the history of HO scale models.
With great memories of Paul Matushek it’s time we get back to the shops,
CWRailman
For additional information on the Earl Francis company see this Yahoo forum message from Mr Ray Wetzel.
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