Did Tycho Become Bachmann?

Tim:

No, Tyco, named for John "Ty"ler of Mantua, has nothing to do with Bachmann. Tyco began as Mantua's ready-to-run line, became the company name after Consolidated Foods bought Mantua. When Tyco left the train business, some of the weird Tyco line seems to have gone to IHC (for instance, the bizarre streamlined not-PRR caboose) -- the Mantua line had already been sold to the Tyler family and reborn as Mantua Industries, which closed in 2001, and the line was sold to Model Power. Confusing...

Dense history here:

Compact history here: Bachmann was originally a Philadelphia company (founded in 1833), producing combs and such items. Eventually they got into the plastic novelty business - I have seen boxes of birthday-cake decorations made by them a looong time ago. Their production of fences destined for Nativity sets but quite suitable for model railroads led to their producing the Plasticville structure line, and then more models, some made by Kader Industries of Hong Kong, which bought the company in 1984. Their line contains nothing from the Tyco line; even their worst train-set equipment (now, mercifully, mostly upgraded) had a far different brand of badness than Tyco's. :)

Bachmann history:

Cordially yours: Gerard P.

Thanks Gerald, I appreciate your response. Looks like some interesting reading here! I note that the Airfix model company also started as a company prodcuing combs (plastic ones), though more than a century later, in the 40s or 50s, I believe. 8)

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Tim:

Please tell me its name is a pun on fixing hair. I could definitely envision a "Hairfix" brand comb...

Incidentally, if you look at most foam beer coolers, you will see the name "Lifoam". The company that produces these coolers also sold "Life-Like" trains, until they sold that business to Walthers.

Cordially yours: Gerard P.

Ha ha, never thought of that! 8)

I found it very interesting to read in the links from your previous posts that Tyco was bought by a food company. So odd, some of the combinations.

the links from your previous

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And General Mills owned Lionel (1970-1980s)...Quaker Oats owned Marx Toys (and trains) (~1970) ...

Bill Bill's Railroad Empire N Scale Model Railroad:

History of N Scale: Railroad Books, Toys, and Trains: to 1,200 sites:

in the links from your previous

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Yup. Somebody got a bonnet-bee about buying toy companies and using them to advertise food products, apparently. After producing tottering heaps of Old Dutch Cleanser and Maxwell House Coffee cars and perhaps failing somewhat to entice the kids to buy more cleanser and coffee, the idea probably proved disappointing. It was basically a huge disaster, though Lionel managed to survive on a raft built from nostalgia, and Tyco still exists, though the trains don't. Oh well. I suppose we will never know the answer - but what if Mantua had remained in the front of advancing toy & model technology, as they once were! Would they be one of the major toy companies out there today?

Cordially yours: Gerard P.

On Jan 15, 5:16 pm, snipped-for-privacy@gannon.edu wrote: Yup. Somebody got a bonnet-bee about buying toy companies and using

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And in the 1970s Lionel made the cigarette and tobacco cars... and the beer and spirits cars. Wonder if that had any influence on the kids?

Bill's Railroad Empire N Scale Model Railroad:

History of N Scale: Railroad Books, Toys, and Trains: to 1,200 sites:

I vaguely recall seeing one of those in a toy shop. It wasn't meant to be a Wabash caboose, by any chance? They had some cabooses with streamliner cupolas.

Cheers,

Mark.

When I'm in the mood to take a walk down memory lane (my first electric train was a Tyco figure 8 set in 1971), I visit the "TYCO Trains Resource"

As long as they didn't come home with the psychodelic LSD train set (complete with a minature Timothy Leary in the cab, puffing smoke, distorted sound, and color trails behind the caboose).... nah, I wouldn't worry much.

Oh yeah... Tim was a kid of the '60s.... so check out the "TYCO Trains Red Box Era Resource" (1960s material) at

The Tyco caboose was based on the wabash real one. Millions were probably made of the Tyco ones, the silver streak ones are the best!

cm:

While the Tyco caboose's streamlined cupola can be and has been used to kitbash a Wabash caboose, the body, roof, and cupola are much closer to the PRR N8c, and the caboose has an overall PRR flavor. I suppose we could call it the N10. :D

Prr N8c:

Tyco: Wabash streamlined caboose: (Is that how we spell 'caboose', class? :P )

Cordially yours: Gerard P.

Hey, I liked the color trails.

"While the Tyco caboose's streamlined cupola can be and has been used to kitbash a Wabash caboose, the body, roof, and cupola are much closer to the PRR N8c, and the caboose has an overall PRR flavor. I suppose we could call it the N10."

There was an article back in Nov 82 MR on using the tyco car for a kitbash by cutting one or two apart and gluing them together to make the N8. It was by Bill Fulton.

However, now that Bowser has it's own N8 kit the kitbash is kind of redundant. The Bowser kit needs a bit of work to turn it into a good model of the N8 though.

Eric

That's round about the same time for me, as well except mine was adouble oval... 8) Thanks for the site. It's wonderful. The crossing gate, wow. Although modelling on out for me over trains when i was young, I have very fond memories of pouring through catalogs and salivating over stuff as a young kid, I could never afford...