The Steam Electric Company produced 0 gauge live steam locomotives, the heat being generated by electricity collected from the third rail. It has been reported that Steam Electric Co enlisted the assistance of Weeden during the design and building of their first model.
Ives was the second toy train maker to introduce a remote reversing mechanism, or E Unit in Lionel's terms, the first being Dayton-Dinky in 1922. It is said that the Ives reversing unit was the main attraction of Ives to Lionel following the demise of Ives. The Ives reversing unit was invented and patented by H P Sparkes, an employee of Westinghouse Electric in Pittsburgh, the patent being granted in 1927, having been applied for in 1923. The rights were jointly owned by H P Sparkes and another Westinghouse employee, Benjamin H Smith, and were sold to Ives in 1924. Both Sparkes and Smith were transferred to the Newark NJ plant of Westinghouse, late 1920s, Sparkes forming the Steam Electric Company in Bloomfield NJ during the early 1930s. It appears Sparkes had connections at Lionel as some of his locos used Lionel bodies, the 0 gauge 260E and Standard gauge 385. Circa 1938, Steam Electric Company issued a flyer illustrating a Lionel 700E locomotive converted to live steam, although no such locomotive has been found, as far as is known.
Steam Electric Company catalog 1930, as reprinted by TCA 1968 |
Steam Electric Company catalog 1930, as reprinted by TCA 1968 |
Steam Electric Company catalog 1930, as reprinted by TCA 1968 |
Steam Electric Company catalog 1930, as reprinted by TCA 1968 |
Steam Electric Company catalog 1930, as reprinted by TCA 1968 |
Steam Electric Company catalog 1930, as reprinted by TCA 1968 |
Steam Electric Company catalog 1930, as reprinted by TCA 1968 |
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