Collecting - and Collecting Information 34

A recent offering on eBay caught my eye -- and perhaps added to the Straco Express mystery. The offering consisted of a tank car, a box car, and a caboose. The locomotive and track were missing.

The original eBay posting. Three cars, branded Alps.

The brand ALPS was visible on the boxcar, so I know who made these pieces. Alps Shoji Ltd. was based in Tokyo. From 1948 through the early 1970s they made toys for the American market. Most of them were battery operated (as this train presumably was).

What struck me was the similarity of the caboose to other examples I had.

Top: Unknown manufacture; middle: MRK; bottom: ALPS

The design is the same with all three cabooses. The ALPS piece has the railings at either end punched out. The railings on the other two pieces are only embossed. There are no markings on the two pieces I have. I know that my original Straco Express was made by "MRK," but there is no information at all about that firm -- or even other examples of toys they produced.

Could ALPS be MRK? 

There's a significant difference between the MRK boxcars and the ALPS version. The ALPS boxcar has a rounded roof, It also has smooth sides, as opposed to the embossed sides of the MRK boxcars. The frame is different as well.

Top: unknown; middle: MRK; bottom: ALPS

The photo of the tank car best shows the coupler system for the ALPS rolling stock. There's a pin at one end, and an open, squarish hole at the other. The pin is a two-part construction. That's a relatively expensive assembly compared to the MRK couplers.

Although they also have a hook and loop system, both parts are made from a single piece of tin that's stamped and bent to shape. Simple and cheap (and less durable than the ALPS couplers).

I'd like to find the locomotive for this set. It might provide more answers (or not).