Posted 2 years ago
RVolskay
(27 items)
Started in the mid 1940's, by well known modelers Carl Traub and Model Railroader Magazine editor Frank Taylor, Globe was a direct competitor to Athearn, featuring similar models, and the same construction methods, using sheet brass, rather than steel. By 1951, Mr. Taylor had left the business, and Mr. Traub, whose primary business was a woodworking firm he owned, found himself too busy. In July of that year, he sold the business to Irvin Athearn.
The first photo shows some of the 1951 and prior Globe car kits, in a box that hadn't changed from startup, until the business was sold. one of the first things Athearn did was to change the box top. The second photo shows the boxes, in order, from the original Globe, to the final type, which contained the powered versions of the famous F7 models, first released in 1954, as well as the earliest all plastic Athearn passenger car kits. These boxes are shown again, in the third photo, showing the contents, and a very hefty price tag, for the early 50's. The final photo shows the initially released version of the F7, from 1954. This kit, excellent for it's time, cost 89 cents, for the unpowered all plastic model. It changed very little, sold hundreds of thousands, and lasted into the 1990's, when the Genesis Line came out.
Quite Nice ,,, I feel like it’s Christmas already
great to hear some history of Athearn!
Some excellent sources of Athearn history arecout there. Greenburg jas done a very good job of chronicling many model railroad makers, including Athearn. Also, two gentlemen, Tim Blaisdel and Ed Urmston have done an outstanding job of catalogging the individual plastic kits, along with a great history of Athearn, in general, in their book "Standard Guide to Athearn Trains". I learned a lot from both of these sources, back in the day.