Our Photo of the Month for September is When A Train Brought It from Peter Beale.
The trains and accessories featured belong to TCS member Paul Aziz who has kindly supplied some more information on the scene.
Paul writes: "All items in the photo are made by Märklin except the figures, which are almost all made either by Lineol or Elastolin. Except for one spot on the goods depot platform, every single item is in completely original untouched condition.
The Goods Depot in the centre of the photo was made and catalogued only in 1913 and 1914. It is of Gauge I size, but, like almost all Märklin accessories, the Gauge I items fit the proportions of Gauge 0 layouts and trains best of all. It is 31cm x 15cm. It is completely hand soldered and hand painted, and therefore one finds that no two examples are quite exactly alike. It has the exquisite virtue of being a wonderful toy to play with and learn from, as well as being a fine crafted representational piece: There is a large sliding "shipping" door on each platform for loading and unloading goods. There is a swivelling, working, hand operated loading crane on each platform. There is a personnel door which leads into an office which is separated by an internal wall, with its own door, from the shipping and storage section. The office contains a writing desk, a chair, and a special window with a counter facing onto the far platform for the exchange of documents. There is a place for candle light in the middle of the office, which can clearly provide warmth for the workers, and the roof chimney fits directly over this spot. It is virtually a youngster's and an oldster's (and collector's!) paradise.
The electric type 4-4-2 20 volt automatic reversing locomotive on the facing side of the Depot is roughly based on both Bavarian and Swiss design of the 20's. It was offered by Märklin between 1927 and 1931, and this early version is from 1927 or '28. It has internal lighting as well as its headlamp and has 4 opening doors. As with all of the items in this photo, it is hand fashioned, hand soldered, and hand painted as opposed to being lithographed.
The grey 4-4-2 20 volt steam locomotive just passing by the back side of the Depot represents a combination passenger and fast freight locomotive which was ubiquitous in the Bavarian and Baden-Wuerttemberg states of Germany. Even so, the model was made by Märklin for only 2 years, 1926 and 1927. It sports a streamlined cone shaped boiler front nose and a peaked wind-splitter cab roof, representing the latest modernisation attempts throughout Europe in the early and mid 20's.
The various goods wagons and vans in this photo were all made between 1931 and 1936. A few notes of interest: The milk tanks are on their own wheels and can be cleverly removed from the wagon and pulled behind a tractor, therefore, as one can imagine, finding this piece complete and original presents a bit of a challenge. The same thing is true for the flatbed wagon bearing the 3 petrol barrels. The oil tank wagons all have working stop cocks and opening fillers at the top. Points of origin, brake information, tare weights and other relevant details are found on the sides of the vans and high sided wagons. This detailed information was at this time either stamped on or applied with a kind of early silk screen process before the protective clear varnish was applied over the paint.
The signalman's hut is quite special and charming in that it contains a bed, a chair, a chimney for his warming stove, and a shelf on the side window for receiving and exchanging despatches. It is quite an early piece and was made between 1904 and 1913.
The railway barrier with a "Halt!" sign is from the early 1920's. Its unusual attractiveness derives from its rather light colours and from its gate which rolls on small steel wheels on a track soldered into the base.
The stationary crane near the very back of the photo was only produced between 1935 and 1937. One crank raises and lowers the boom and a second crank raises and lowers the lifting ball and hook. The blue double yard light was made between 1936 and 1939 along with a series of single, double, and quadruple armed yard lamps.
The track is solid nickled brass T-rail with steel sleepers and was made in the early 1930's. It was designed as a semi-scale model track to fit Märklin's growing line of course scale locomotives and rolling stock from the 20's and 30's. It fits in quite nicely with scenes from all periods of model railways, and functions particularly well.
And finally, the Lineol and Elastolin figures, made in the late 1920's and through the 1930's to approximately 1937 were all produced from moulds but individually and often very well and charmingly hand painted. From time to time the faces reveal quite individual expressions. The man pushing the cart is made of lead, and it is thought that this piece was made sometime before 1912 by Heyde of Dresden."
Paul would be more than happy to answer any questions readers may have - please use the contact form and include your e-mail address or phone number. They will be forwarded to Paul.
Here is the calendar page for September to download as a PDF 
TCS Calendar September 2017
