Vintage North American (and Australian) Rubbish

[Chops]

or so I am told by some of my American counterparts, who declaim that Tyco, formerly Mantua, has any place in the model rail scene.

Mantua (pronounced Man-chew-ah) Metal Products was a metalworks business founded in 1926 by John Tyler and family. John Tyler had been interested in model railroading since his boyhood in England where the hobby developed much earlier than in the US. John was an electrician by trade and emigrated to the US from England in 1925. Later, the name was changed to "Tyco;" combining "Tyler" with "company." Also of note, Mr. Tyler relocated to Mantua County, in New Jersey.

Initially, Mr. Tyler, et al, were engaged in the manufactory of small electric motors primarily for model water craft. And as the British, who started so many creations, designed the slightly larger size of OO, as opposed to HO, to accommodate the somewhat beefy miniature motor, which was, then, state of the art. OO kept on in the UK, whilst a slight shrinkage in motor size became the norm for the new upstart impossibly (by 1930's standards) tiny size of HO.

Tyco flourished, and was the progenitor of HO in the US and to a lesser degree, Canada and Australia. Until around the 1980's, Tyco employed a small open frame electric motor, the "MU 2", which proved remarkable durable, what with their rugged design and metal worm. When production went to Hong Kong, a new, cheaper and easier to manufacture, Power Torque motor (similar in appearance to the Ringfield) was incorporated. The PT motor presaged the downfall of Tyco as it was flimsy and prone to either slip its pinion gear, or as has happened to me, burst in a cloud of notorious gray smoke.

After various buyouts, including under the auspices of General Foods, the line was finally discontinued in the early 1990's. Tyco spanned at least three generations of model railheads, and had an extensive line of structures, slot cars, and TV (notably the "A Team, complete with Mr. T) and film spin off's (Jurassic Park, replete with an electrical Tyrannosaurus Rex). They initiated a rather popular line of tractor trailer lorries, as well, that actually functioned rather well in both forward and reverse, but that's a whole other chapter. One cannot overlook their trolleys and trams (know as the "Strap Hanger" collection, either, using the chassis of their line of two axle shunting locomotives.

The point is that many model railheads of my generation got their start in Tyco, as it was cheap and plentiful, and it was one way a parent could shut up a nagging child prior to the Tsunami of video gaming and cable TV. Having dispensed with my original Tyco when I left home, I became increasingly intrigued with the stuff, which had now turned vintage, like me. I also discovered plenty of knock offs that competed with Tyco, and further that Tyco produced an extraordinary range of road names, fictional (bill board cars) and not. The specific range of locomotives was fairly limited to standard diesel types and a few steamers. Moreover, as most current modellors consider it bygone rubbish (even though many preserve their first pieces in the back of a closet), it could be had by the armful at pennies on the dollar. I confess, I became rather obsessive.

Over the years I built several (8?) different layouts based on Tyco, or Tyco knock offs. If I haven't put you to sleep, yet, here are a few videos featuring my attempts:

https://youtu.be/QA3w_cwPNXI

And of the trolleys and trams:

https://youtu.be/MYOm-JglIjA

And as the stuff started to pile up, I tried to re-enact childhood dreams of especially long trains. The Tyco New Haven box car, in its resplendent orange, was available, very often, for a dollar or less per piece. The entire consist weighs about 10 kg, and no Tyco locomotive in the world could pull it, so I used three powered Athearn F units with sufficient tractive effort and enough space, to pull it. The unique paint scheme of the locomotives was based on a failed attempt by the bankrupted New Haven Railroad to compete with automobile traffic in and out of New York City to Boston.

https://youtu.be/bCVkssaVReU

[Malcolm 0-6-0]

Aaaahhh the therapeutic power of watching trains run around in circles.