Caution: "Live Steam" is dangerous if proper precautions are not taken, know an engine is safe and what you are doing before firing it up.

Bing

Bing was founded in 1863 by two German brothers, Ignaz and Adolf Bing, originally producing kitchen utensiles. toy production began in 1880. Bing produced trains for the British market for Bassett-Lowke and A.W. Gamage and also exported on its own to the American market. Difficulties due to the stock market crash in of 1928 and the political climate led to the company demise in 1933, the train line was taken over by Karl Bub of Bub Trains.

Bing items can be identified and dated by its trademark, items bearing the letters "GBN" for "Gebrüder Bing Nürnberg" in a diamond date before 1923, while items bearing a sideways "B" next to a "W" (for "Bing Works") date from 1924 to 1932.

Bing "Storkleg" locomotive and tender from early 1900"s

Storkleg gauge 1 locomotive and tender from early 1900's, locomotive aprox. 8 1/14" (21 cm) long, tender aprox. 5" (13 cm) long.

Bing "Black Prince" locomotive and tender from 1902

Thanks The Station Masters Rooms

This 0 gauge unit was also sold as a Bassett-Lowke, loco measured 40 cm long, 15 cm high.

Bing Gauge 3 "King Edward" passenger set.

Thanks Morphy Auctions

Bing "Jupiter" R/N 1902

Thanks The Station Masters Rooms

Thanks Nick S.

This model was sold in Britian, featured a single cylinder engine in the cab driven by a crown and pinion gear, heated by a two tube alcohol burner.

Bing "Kraftlokomotive", single cylinder, oscillating engine, gear driven, one of the cheaper locomotives offered by BIng.

Carette

George Carette, with the Bing brothers backing founded his company in 1886, as a French citizen he was deported from Germany in 1917, thus closing the firm. Carette was also a supplier to the British Market through Bassett-Lowke.

Thanks continentalhobby.com

Early George Carette "Stork-Leg" Locomotive.

Thanks DAKOTApaul - Investment Quality Antique Toys

Carette Live Steam 1-Gauge 2-2-0 "Stork-Leg" locomotive, Baggage Car and Parlor Car. Locomotive is aprox. 10" long, cars 6 1/2" long.

Thanks The Station Masters Rooms

Carette Live Steam 1-Gauge 2-2-0 "Stork-Leg" locomotive, RN 776. Loco 23 cm long, 11 cm high, tender 14 cm long.

This O Gauge Carette set with the 2-2-0 American style loco with cow catcher was offered around the early 1900's. Set included oval tin track, tender, 2 parlor cars and baggage car.

Marklin

Marklin was founded by tin smith Theodor Friedrich Wilhelm Märklin who originally specialised in doll house accessories, today it is best known for model railways and technical toys. Märklin had caused a stir at the Leipzig Spring Fair in the early 1890's by putting on show a clock-work-driven train that ran on rails. There had already been toy trains which ran on their own tracks, Märklin's success lay in the novelty of offering a whole layout system which could be added to piece by piece and with rails of a standard gauge.

Marklin Gauge 2 F&E passenger set.

Manufactured in early 1900's, locomotive and tender are 22" long.

Marklin 4000

Thanks Nick S.

Marklin 4000, 0 gauge locomotive, manufactured either 1913-1915 or 1919-1924.

Thanks Nick S.

Thanks Lloyd Ralston Gallery Marklin station No. 2651 manufactured in early 1900's. 17" X 12" X 12 1/2" high.

Thanks Lloyd Ralston Gallery Marklin station No. 2029 manufactured early 1900's. 18" X 11" X 10 1/2" high

Plank

Ernest Plank was one of the first producers of model steam engines, his Nuremberg company was founded in 1866, ceasing production in 1930 when his firm was sold to the Schaller brothers.

Thanks Noel Barrett Antique Toy Auctions

Plank boxed train set from early 1900's.

Schoenner

Jean Schoenner formed his company in Nuremberg in 1875 making mainly optical toys and magic lanterns, but also steam engines. Schoenner was sold to Falk in 1912 and he continued the production of the Schoenner steam engines, so some models where produced by both Schoenner and Falk with small variations.

Classification

The Whyte notation for classifying steam locomotives by wheel arrangement was devised by Frederick Methvan Whyte and came into use in the early twentieth century.

Whyte's system counts the number of leading wheels, then the number of driving wheels, and finally the number of trailing wheels as groups of numbers separated by dashes. Thus, a locomotive with two leading axles (four wheels) in front, then three driving axles (six wheels) and followed by one trailing axle (two wheels) is classified as a 4-6-2.

Other classification schemes, like UIC classification and the French, Turkish and Swiss systems for steam locomotives, count axles rather than wheels.

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