c.1947 Mettoy, 14pc. Passenger Train Set in Original Box
This magnificent British made all-tin litho train set by Mettoy was one of my best "finds" from 2007. 14 pieces in all, it comes beautifully housed in its original box with with a full color, full panel 20" x 14" cover illustration plus die cut insert. It conservatively grades excellent++ to near mint and looks like it was never played with. Here's what included: No. 490 Locomotive (approx. 6" long) - tin litho with clockwork motor, attached key, and stop/start lever. Green and black boiler with yellow and black bands. With stack, dome and metal side rods. Wheels are die cast metal with eight spokes. Marked "Made in Gt. Britain". No. 490 Tender (approx. 4" long) - embossed tin litho with black metal wheels. Green body with black embossed "coal bin", trimmed with yellow and black striping. Lithoed wheel carriages on sides. Rear coupler. Passenger Car #1 - (approx. 5" long) - embossed tin litho with black metal wheels and six die cut windows on either side. Front and rear panels have lithoed doors. Two tone of light beige upper half with dark brown frame. Lithoed wheel carriages. Passenger Car #2 - (approx. 5" long) - identical to car #1. Two piece embossed tunnel - (6" x 5") - both feature beautiful rendition of the British countryside rows of perfectly manicured farm houses amid a twisting country lane. Areas of greenery, roads, fields, and even a church are shown. Tunnel sides are decorated with rows of stacked red bricks. Elevated Passenger Station - (13" x 2½" x 3¾") - embossed flat one-story building with recessed center. Brick with travel posters lie below an overhanging gray roof. Shows buffet, bookstall, booking office, clock, and parcel office. Station Master door lithoed on sides. Shows passengers dressed in 1940's attire sitting or standing in front of business windows. Everything sits on a raised platform lithoed with a brick front and wooden floorboards. Sides are angled. Semaphore - 10" tall. All tin litho with manual red and green signal arm. Rod which connects the switch to the signal has some waviness to it but it's not bent. Cream color with red signal arm and black base. Track - Six curves all 13½" long. total of 6¾" long forming a perfect circle. Box (2pc. with die cut insert). (approx. 20½" x 4" x 3"). Features spectacular three dimensional illustration of a speeding passenger locomotive emerging from the mouth of an elevated girder bridge. Drawn in perspective it appears to be popping right out at you. Below the bridge lies a river with a sail boat in the lower right corner. Sold: Jan. 2008
Price Sold: $ 276
