Just wondering if any of you collect the old cast iron toy tractors.

Ones made by Arcade, Hubley, AC Williams, Dent, etc.

I've collected toy Fordson tractors for many years along with a few others like Avery, McCormick Deering, and Huber.

I do not have any cast iron, George.  I have never even seen any for sale other than modern China copies. I do have way too many of the die cast pieces. Would you consider putting up a picture album with some of your favorite pieces in your collection.  I, for one, would enjoy seeing that.  If you do and post a short note here, we will know it is there.

Charlie V.

The only thing I have is a mowing machine that was probably made in the 1950s. Someone found it in a sand hill and gave it to me several years ago. The sickle actually works and is driven by the wheels.

Okay, I've loaded a few pictures of some of my toy tractors.  Did a quick count and I got around 50 of the original cast iron tractors, plus another 20  in die cast version.

I'll add some more photos to the album some time.

Those are great, George.  Thank you for letting us see them.  When I was a very small boy. my older brother and I had one that may have been a Farmall Regular or F-20.  We spent many hours pushing that back and forth to each other across the living room floor, and later doing serious farm work with it in the sand box.  I think the present owner of the house now has it.  He located it in the yard where the sand box was after it had been buried in the ground for 50+ years.  He found it with a metal detector.

Charlie V.

P.S.  To qualify sand box:  It was made from four railroad ties forming a rectangle with about six inches of sand in it.  No bright colored plastic stuff, but the sand still worked fine.

Charlie,

When I was a young boy I played with a toy cast iron steam shovel that my father had when he was a kid.  I left it outside someplace and managed to lose it.  Never did find it and it isn't likely it could be found today even with a metal detector as other construction has happened on that property.

I do have a toy steam shovel like the one I lost, but this one has been repainted by someone.

As far as can be seen in the picture, the painter did a good job, George.  As many hours as I have spent haunting the aisles at show flea markets, I have never seen these cast iron toys.  Maybe I have not been focused on them, or maybe the antique dealers have captured all of them.

Charlie

Okay, I've loaded a few pictures of some of my toy tractors.  Did a quick count and I got around 50 of the original cast iron tractors, plus another 20  in die cast version.

I'll add some more photos to the album some time.

I don't collect any cast iron toys, mine are all die cast or plastic. I'd like to see that album some time but can't find it.
I did post a pic in mine showing me playing with a few of the 1955 vintage toys that I had. Just plastic and sheet metal though, nothing fancy.

Ralph,

Hopefully, this link will make it easier to find the album.

http://www.atis.net/forums/album.php?u=23

Without the link, you would go to the Members List page and then go to the member with the album.  Then from the membership page, click on the album you want to view.

George

This will be helpful, George.  If one clicks on the members name on any post (with the little ball next to the name) that click will shortcut you right onto that member's page.  I have found this to be an easy way to check out a persons albums.  Beyond that, I notice on my page with three album titles, only two can show at a time, so I have to click "more albums" to know the third one exists.  Hope this gets people around a tad easier.

Charlie V.

This will be helpful, George.  If one clicks on the members name on any post (with the little ball next to the name) that click will shortcut you right onto that member's page.  I have found this to be an easy way to check out a persons albums.  Beyond that, I notice on my page with three album titles, only two can show at a time, so I have to click "more albums" to know the third one exists.  Hope this gets people around a tad easier.

Charlie V.

Thanks Charlie and George for steering me in the right direction to the albums. Now I see the cast iron toys and I can definitely say I have nothing like them.

Hi All,

Ralph, I think the cast iron toys like George has the great collection of predate you and I.  As a child during WW II, steel for toys was not available.  Most of the steel was in short supply in the U.S. and Canada due to mass amounts going to production for the war effort.  Many factories were also converted  to production of items for military use so consumer goods were quite limited as were sugar, gasoline, coffee, and many other commodities. My parents were not able to find for me a steel Hart's cart (or Radio Flyer wagon) as my older brother had due to this shortage.

I, as you, remember the stamped tin toys being the big thing after the war.  And then sometime later came PLASTIC.  What a change.

Charlie V.