The Vanishing Craftsman Kit

 There once was a time when you could walk into any hobby shop and find the shelves filled with model train kits of all variety and complexity, the so-called "craftsman kits". Some were rather complete, including rolling gear and couplers with full color printed sides. Other were a little more complex, and so forth. 

When the plastics age began in earnest after the Second World War these kits began to be displaced. By the late 1980's they had pretty much vanished, after all, who wants to sit there and wait for coats of Floquil to dry so you could add trucks and couplers to get a car running when you could pick up a plastic "rattle-the-box" kit and be done in minutes?

This isn't even counting the flourishing ready to run market.

Craftsman kits had their day.

Sadly, I feel that something was lost here. These wood, cardboard, and metal kits may have required skill, but they also imbued the builder with a real sense of accomplishment. Also, they were full of potential for conversion.

Some of these kits are deteriorating to the point of full on decay. Metal fatigue, paper degradation, wood warping, many have past the point of no return. The many that survive in collectible condition only do so because they are stored not in attics or basements but in temperature controlled environments. 

I am unsure they will ever be built.

Here are two sets of scans from three such kits. These scans are to the primary wood and paper components. In both cases, these represent the main bodies of the cars in question, and if one wanted, they could be scaled out and replicated. Potentially poking a bear there amongst collectors, I worry, but these would be reproductions only, if anyone chose to do it. Both are HO.

StromBecker Refrigerator Car

The StromBecker company referred to their simple model kits as "basic trainers", as they were often pre-shaped and had only a few parts. This refrigerator car is one of the more common ones. All of the details are printed, no metal detailing parts were needed. I suppose one could use them if one chose to, but right out of the box with proper care and painting the car would look just fine. StromBecker included wheels on dummy trucks of sorts, but also included directions on how to add proper metal trucks and couplers. With those additions the car could be used on any HO layout.

Megow Two Bay Hopper

While the StromBecker kit may have been a basic trainer, the Megow kits required a bit more finesse. They were far more complicated and usually included hefty metal trucks, stamped ladders and occasionally couplers, and plenty of metal and wood bits to add details and produce a rather attractive model. John Allen, of "Gorre & Daphetid" fame had a version of this kit, a Virginian hopper, that featured prominently in his early published photos. I had a copy of that kit.

While there is only one scan of the instructions and wooden parts, there are two sets of printed sides for a B&O and Pennsylvania car. Sadly, the very delicate embossing that is found on both sets is not evident in the scans, but it might not be too much work to add it. I should add that the wooden floors of both kits were warped, and all of the cast metal parts crumbling.

As for myself, the refrigerator car is in good enough condition to build, and I intend to do so. Expect it to be shared here, naturally.