Model trains in the Girder & Panel planning books

Last week I bought what looks like the remains of a Girder & Panel Set #7. I think it's one of the large sets that dates from 1959 that allows you to build both buildings and bridges.

I say I bought the remains as the 'set' was just a large bag of horizontal girders, vertical girders, signs, flag posts, and bridge diagonals, as well as joiners and plates; however, it included only 3 rather beat up wall panels, and no road panels or masonite bases. But, for all those structural components, as well as 3 instruction and planning manuals, it was a good deal at $20 US. I'll write more on the components in a later post.

I was curious to see what kind of model railroading projects the books suggested you could build. I wasn't disappointed.

I've scanned the pages illustrating the railroad-related projects, but they're just a small sample of all the things the good folks at Kenner showed could be built.

Over on the left is the Railroad Terminal Building from the back page of the Set #7 instruction manual. It's clearly for HO scale trains.

Look at that amazing railroad bridge on the cover of the planning book for the Bridge and Turnpike Building Set. Ok, well, the entire cover is an orgy of bridges, but you've got to give them credit at Kenner that they really did a good job of showing all the different types of bridges that could be built with their parts.

When you flip through its pages its something of a mini-course in bridge engineering. Most of the bridges are for automobile traffic, but the last page and back cover have some railroad bridges. The last couple pages of my book have a bite taken out of them, but the gist of the projects is still clear.

Down in the lower right corner of the back page, Kenner has this to say about scale:

You can combine all these sets to build larger structures such as the Railroad Bridge and Trestle on the cover, which is a combination of No. 4 and No. 5 Bridge and Turnpike Sets. Same scale as "H-O" gauge trains; can also be used with "O" gauge.

The Vales noted that the sets were for O scale, but from the pictures used throughout the instruction and planning books, as well as statements like the above, the target audience was clearly young HO-scalers.

The planning book for the Girder and Panel Building Set doesn't include many train related projects other than a small railroad station on page 5 and ...

... a warehouse with an elevated siding down in the lower right corner of the back cover. 

However, the front cover shows the happy owner that trains as well as planes, automobiles, and trucks are all easily accommodated by this toy.

I couldn't find advertisements for the Girder and Panel toy in old issues of either Model Railroader or Railroad Model Craftsman, but since these products were targeted for the toy market and not serious hobbyists, maybe that isn't surprising. I must say though the toy does embody some real engineering concepts for a young audience, so it's not without its prototypical merits.