Walthers attic' and the Hiawatha cars
Posted: Wed Mar 22, 2017 10:15 pm
Hello Walthers aficionados.
Before Wm Walthers was marketing little boxes of frustration and strife he was heavily into signaling and auto train control as he set up on his attic RR empire in Milwaukee in the very non -scale center third rail Standard Gauge. Within the Model Maker magazine of March 1932 a whole article with photos was published . Due to the amazing response he received about the signalling he placed an ad to do signalling for others and published a booklet about signaling and operation. First ad I could find for Walthers selling rolling stock was 1935 ( also in Model Maker) within the ad the mention of kits and other lines of rolling stock is cited .
1935 Lionel introduces their Hiawatha 17/64ths scale ..pulling articulated cars ....which as we know were less then prototypical... so Walthers answers the call to fill the void with his Hiawatha kits. Last image from Wills book were he states Hiawatha cars were introduced in 36.
There are several photos of old period late 30's early 40s' layouts with a Lionel Hiawatha supporting outside 3rd rail pick ups pulling Walthers cars.
Perhaps not the use Joshua Lionel was hoping for ...but I think it is a neat cross over between the two " O Gauge Worlds" ..
Having a soft spot for all things steam clad in streamlining, any excuse to have a period Hiawatha in the early "O scale" collection is valid ..but those articulated Lionel cars cross the line ...so at the March meet I was able to find 2 Walthers Hiawatha cars to start the set off with.
Walthers offered the early Hiawatha cars and the later (postwar? set ..my goal was the early set .. with the Beaver tail Obs . ..Now to search for some of the other cars to fill it out .
Were these same kits of the early train offered for decades on end or just during the pre -war era ?
The cars being 1/4" scale will look a bit small behind the Lionel engine .... but that's the look ... Were any commercially built Hiawatha Atlantic's built contemporaneously with the Walthers' kits ?
Thank you Cheers Carey
Before Wm Walthers was marketing little boxes of frustration and strife he was heavily into signaling and auto train control as he set up on his attic RR empire in Milwaukee in the very non -scale center third rail Standard Gauge. Within the Model Maker magazine of March 1932 a whole article with photos was published . Due to the amazing response he received about the signalling he placed an ad to do signalling for others and published a booklet about signaling and operation. First ad I could find for Walthers selling rolling stock was 1935 ( also in Model Maker) within the ad the mention of kits and other lines of rolling stock is cited .
1935 Lionel introduces their Hiawatha 17/64ths scale ..pulling articulated cars ....which as we know were less then prototypical... so Walthers answers the call to fill the void with his Hiawatha kits. Last image from Wills book were he states Hiawatha cars were introduced in 36.
There are several photos of old period late 30's early 40s' layouts with a Lionel Hiawatha supporting outside 3rd rail pick ups pulling Walthers cars.
Perhaps not the use Joshua Lionel was hoping for ...but I think it is a neat cross over between the two " O Gauge Worlds" ..
Having a soft spot for all things steam clad in streamlining, any excuse to have a period Hiawatha in the early "O scale" collection is valid ..but those articulated Lionel cars cross the line ...so at the March meet I was able to find 2 Walthers Hiawatha cars to start the set off with.
Walthers offered the early Hiawatha cars and the later (postwar? set ..my goal was the early set .. with the Beaver tail Obs . ..Now to search for some of the other cars to fill it out .
Were these same kits of the early train offered for decades on end or just during the pre -war era ?
The cars being 1/4" scale will look a bit small behind the Lionel engine .... but that's the look ... Were any commercially built Hiawatha Atlantic's built contemporaneously with the Walthers' kits ?
Thank you Cheers Carey