ebay 4-8-4

[Chris Webster]

I was able to buy this Scale Railways Model / Jack Ferris version roughly from 1940

Cool model, but it's probably a little newer than 1940 since the full-size Niagaras weren't built until 1945 and 1946.

[E7]

I was able to buy this Scale Railways Model / Jack Ferris version roughly from 1940

Cool model, but it's probably a little newer than 1940 since the full-size Niagaras weren't built until 1945 and 1946.

Picky, Picky, Picky!

[Carey Williams]

Thank you for the additional timing of the design of the engine ... so a Jack Ferris piece as he sold Scale Model Railways to Megow in 1941 .. but continued building engines under his own name ... no clue how that worked ...

Cheers Carey

[E7]

Thank you for the additional timing of the design of the engine ... so a Jack Ferris piece as he sold Scale Model Railways to Megow in 1941 .. but continued building engines under his own name ... no clue how that worked ... Cheers Carey

Not trying to be rude, but you seem to miss the point that the actual REAL 1/1 scale Niagaras were not built until 1945-1946, so NOBODY, Jack Ferris or otherwise, would be building models of them in 1940.

Rich

[ScaleCraft]

Thank you for the additional timing of the design of the engine ... so a Jack Ferris piece as he sold Scale Model Railways to Megow in 1941 .. but continued building engines under his own name ... no clue how that worked ... Cheers Carey

Not trying to be rude, but you seem to miss the point that the actual REAL 1/1 scale Niagaras were not built until 1945-1946, so NOBODY, Jack Ferris or otherwise, would be building models of them in 1940.

Rich

Ah, but the saga continues. I suppose when the 1940 Jack Ferris is debunked, then we have Jack selling off the company, but somehow retaining all the rights, tooling, ability to undercut the folks who bought his company by continuing to do exactly what he was doing before.

"so a Jack Ferris piece as he sold Scale Model Railways to Megow in 1941 .. but continued building engines under his own name ... no clue how that worked"

You know that Jack engraved his name on the tailstock of his locos and serialized by stamping on top of the frame near the motor?


























Just gonna sit here and wait to see how long it takes for the screaming to start.

[ScaleCraft]

Depending on which historian or version you read or believe, when Mister Ferris sold out to Megow in 1940:

" In 1940, the company was purchased by the Megow Corporation, a company that created kits for airplanes and ships. Then Jack changed careers and became the head of a plastic-rubber research group of a large rubber company, but he took up tinplate as a hobby."

His Tinplate saga went on to AMT, mostly it seems 3-rail, then also Half Zero.

"John 'Jack' Ferris' efforts to create quality model trains was not in vane despite the fact that his AMT brand train making days only covered a brief period between 1948 and 1954. "

http://www.tcawestern.org/amt.htm

[R.K. Maroon]

Megow acquired Scale Model Railways but did not change the name or move the company from Huntington, Indiana, at least at first. The advertising for their models was under the name of "Scale Model Railways, A Megow Plant". It is not known how much Jack Ferris remained involved with the company nor the terms of sale, but it is well documented that he offered model building services under his own name not long after the company was sold. It all stopped with the war. After the war Scale Model Railways reemerged in Wheaton, Illinois (if I recall correctly), and does not appear to be associated with Megow or Jack Ferris. They only offered freight cars, I believe, and did not last all that long. It is also known that Jack Ferris continued to do some amount of custom building after the war, perhaps even as he started American Model Trains (AMT). A now-deceased member of my brother's model railroad club personally commissioned one or two locomotives from Jack in the 1950 time frame, and he left documentation of this behind. I had one of these on the workbench and the drive was similar to other SMR / Jack Ferris locomotives I have seen.

Jim

[Carey Williams]

Hello all

Jim thank you for your additional back ground . In a 48ft article by Jack Ferris he mentions the world of custom building of engines for his clients ...few and wealthy ... Jack had at least two local builders that would custom build engines for him .

Dave please post a photo of the serial # and engraving ..thank you
Cheers Carey

[ScaleCraft]

Hello all

Jim thank you for your additional back ground . In a 48ft article by Jack Ferris he mentions the world of custom building of engines for his clients ...few and wealthy ... Jack had at least two local builders that would custom build engines for him .

Dave please post a photo of the serial # and engraving ..thank you
Cheers Carey

"Just gonna sit here and wait to see how long it takes for the screaming to start."

New record. Quick.

But it makes folks pause.

Art. Models. History.

One never knows how much of the provenance is real.

Or "rare" locos that were actually never built by the companies that envisioned them, but by later hobbyists using what they could.

Did that make it "rare" or just parts-built after the fact?

[Chris Webster]

Thank you for the additional timing of the design of the engine ... so a Jack Ferris piece as he sold Scale Model Railways to Megow in 1941 .. but continued building engines under his own name ... no clue how that worked ...

Me neither.... but it is still a really neat model. It had to have been one of the earliest models of a Niagara and I presume it is the oldest known model of that prototype.