The Straco Express and the Mystery Train

If you've ready my earlier post this 1960's Japanese tin toy train, the Straco Express, you'll know I was confronted with something of a mystery. This train set I purchased had the exact same section track as a set I owned in my childhood. And yet, when I put the two together, they couldn't be more different. (You can click on the images to enlarge them.)

The Straco Express had clear markings on it, which allowed me to find some background information about the toy. It also had fairly sophisticated metalwork. The engine required quite a bit of hand assembly, and each of the three cars were constructed in a different fashion, requiring mostly different tooling.

My childhood Santa Fe, however, was a different story. As near as I can recall, the set always only had three pieces -- the Santa Fe diesel, vaguely resembling an F3, and two box cars. No caboose.

The boxcars are slightly bigger than the Straco Express boxcar, and are much more cheaply made. The metal has no embossed details, and the roof is rounded rather than creased. Having two of the same car body with different graphics is a huge savings over having three different car designs.

I have yet to find anything about this set either online or in reference books available. Clearly it was made in Japan, most likely in the late 1950's-early 1960's. Did the FJ Strauss company (who had the Straco Express made for them) also make this set? There's no markings anywhere, save for a small marking on the back of the engine saying "Trade Mark Made in Japan."

If anyone has information about this set, I'd love to know more. Was it the same Japanese company making toys for two separate American importers? That's my guess, but I'd really like to know for sure.

 - Ralph

#Straco

Well, this is embarrassing (but not to me)

There's a huge controversy stirring at WTJU, the station I volunteer for (but this post isn't about that). The University wants to makeover the station, and listeners are understandably upset (OK, me too). The University hurriedly set up a forum for listeners and volunteers to share their thoughts.

They came up with a really nice header for the site. (Click to enlarge) This is the embarrassing part.

You see, I recognized the image -- because I took it. Here's the original. (Click on image to enlarge.)

Notice the computer screen -- it's showing the playlist blog for my show "Gamut" that I was updating at the time.

I didn't give the University permission to use this image, so where did it come from? Well, I posted it on my Facebook page, so it apparently was lifted from there. So here's the dilemma. Do I send a take-down notice to the University for the unauthorized use of my work? Or leave it alone?

The takeaway (as if I didn't already know it), is that anything online is fair game -- to anyone.
 - Ralph

Straco Express - A closer look

Here's a little bit more on this toy train I've been nattering on about.in the last two posts.

The Straco Express was an HO-scale electric train imported by the FJ Strauss Company around 1960. The set consisted of a locomotive, a boxcar, a gondola car, and a caboose. It also included an oval of sectional track, three railroad signs, and a battery-operated transformer.

Below are photos of each of the cars (click on each image to enlarge), and a special bonus video!

The locomotive is the most detailed component, and -- as it's all embossed metal -- the most complex to assemble. It mostly resembles an EMD SW-1, a very popular switch engine (especially among toy train makers) at the time.

The boxcar is also embossed metal and shares the same frame as the gondola car. I'm not sure the U.S. Mail ever had boxcars painted red, white, and blue -- but Lionel did. Their 6428 U.S. Post Office boxcar was offered in the early and middle 1960's.

The gondola car shared the same frame as the box car. It had a lithographed floor -- an impressive amount of detail for such an inexpensive item. The edges of the body are curled in, giving the sides added strength. And although very hard to see the white letters against the pale yellow sides, the gondola is marked N.Y.C. (New York Central)

To me, it looks like the creative team ran out of gas when they got to the caboose. The locomotive and freight cars are fairly well proportioned, but the caboose is a little small. Nevertheless, it still has an impressive amount of detail, particularly the railings on the ends of the car.

Although I don't have a complete circle of track, I did have enough to do a test run. The battery-powered transformer's control isn't very subtle -- it's basically on or off. Here's the Straco Express, barreling down the track across the wasteland of my desk. All aboard!


 - Ralph

BTW - If anyone has an extra curved section of track from an FJ Strauss, MRK, or Americo tin toy train set, let me know!

#Straco

Straco Express - A Better Story

Last post I shared an Antiques Roadshow version of my purchase of a small, tin toy train. But there's an even odder story (and I think a more interesting one) associated with the Straco Express.

The train was offered for sale "as is." (There's a picture of the Straco Express I purchased at right). It was in a small cardboard box with the locomotive, two cars, and a caboose. Included was the battery-powered transformer, and some track. Not enough track to make a complete circle, but what survived from the original set.

One of the reasons I decided to purchase the set was because I recognized the sectional track in the box. It seemed to be a match to the ones that came with a small toy train set I had as a child (pictured at right).

When we got back to Dad's house, we pulled out the old set, and the sectional track matched! We had tested the Straco locomotive, and it worked, so I was excited to put all the track together and start running trains.

But when I combined the tracks from the Straco set and my old set, I was exactly one piece short. I couldn't complete the circle. The set was HO scale (sort of), so I invested in a circle of modern HO sectional track. No luck. The flanges on the wheels are wider than those of most HO-scale locomotives, which causes the engine to bounce up and down on the ties of the track, breaking the electrical connection.

So I'm stuck until I can find a curved piece of track.

But that's not the whole story. The train I bought was the Straco Express, a Japanese-made toy for the American-based Strauss Company (not the same ones who make the jeans). But the one I already owned, though also Japanese in origin, was not. And with the exception of the track, the trains have almost nothing in common.

In the photo below, the boxcar from the Straco Express (left) is next to one from my childhood Santa Fe set. The two boxcars have different frames, different body styles, different trucks (wheel assemblies) and different roofs (angled vs. rounded).  Click on images to enlarge.

Did two different companies sub-contract to the same source for the track? Did one Japanese company actually make both sets for different American firms based on client designs? I don't know -- but I'd sure like to find out. Internet searches have yielded almost no additional information about the train of my childhood.

#Straco

Straco Express - The Antiques Roadshow Version

Even if you've never watched "Antiques Roadshow," you've heard this story before. Here's my version:

At a recent toy train show I spotted this 1960's Japanese toy train on a table. It was an HO gauge electric labeled the Straco Express. I'm not normally interested in such things, but there was something appealing about it (possibly the bright colors of the lithography). The set was priced at $25.00, but I was able to talk the guy down to $20.00. When I got back home and looked it up online, I saw that one had recently sold for $2,500! I'm rich!

(Sorry for the screen shot. I wasn't able to get the full entry before it was removed from the site. Click on the image to enlarge.)

Many people have a similar story in mind as they search out antiques and "collectibles" at yard sales and thrift shops. And many definitely have it in mind when they price their stuff!

But such situations are extremely rare. And often -- as in the case of my purchase, not quite true. I did indeed purchase a Straco Express tin toy train. And while it's identical to the one sold in Canada for $2,500, there are critical differences.

First, I don't have the original box, nor do I have any of the little railroad signs and accessories that came with the set. Especially for ephemeral items such as cheap Japanese toys, original packaging seldom survived. That makes it rare, and accounts for a large part of the value. Same with the small accessories, which often disappeared into the vacuum cleaner.

While my Straco Express does have the original transformer (operated by two D cell batteries), I don't have a complete circle of track. So even though the engine runs, I can't really run it -- if you know what I mean. And that also decreases value.

And there's something else. That sale took place on ebay. If I were to put mine up for auction, there's no guarantee I'd get anywhere close to that amount. In fact, there's currently a similar set for sale online, with the original box, and most of the accessories, for $26.00. (Click on image to enlarge.)

The short, Antiques Roadshow-style story is great, but I'm not really $2,500 to the good. But I am in possession of an item that I was happy to pay $20.00 for. And one that has an interesting story of it's own -- which I'll share next post.

- Ralph

#Straco