The Gilbert American Flyer HO Index |
For some reason the A.C. Gilbert Company attracted more than its share of imitators. Other companies had imitators too, and in some cases those imitations were made possible by the travels of their tooling between different companies in Asia. It was rare, though, that the imitations bore the original manufacturer's product numbers, as they so often did on Gilbert imitations. Also, many Gilbert imitations used different construction than the Gilbert models, yet still appeared "Gilbert-like." This was due in large measure to the use of the Gilbert numbers on the imitations, but even where the numbers differed the graphics suggested Gilbert.
Some manufacturers imitated mostly the S gauge line and many were so far off that all they really presented were products featuring Gilbert names and color schemes. There is a really good article in the Train Collectors Quarterly by the late Bruce Manson that presents some of these others. Train Collector's Quarterly, October 1999, Vol. 45, No. 4, page 28. It is available to TCA members in the TCQ Archive on the TCA members website. Click here for a direct link to the article.
Click on images for a larger view SakaiOne of the most prolific imitators of Gilbert rolling stock was the Japanese manufacturer Sakai. Sakai's models actually looked pretty good. Some Sakai box cars and refrigerator cars are shown below. Sakai also made hopper cars which appear to be made from Revell tooling, though they could easily be mistaken for Varney cars, such as those marketed by Gilbert in 1955 and 1956. The Sakai caboose appears to be made from the same tooling as the Gilbert caboose, which was a New Haven product, but close examination reveals different rivet counts around the curved grab irons by the steps and on the cupola. |
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Sakai HO Metal Cars
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The cars shown below are made of stamped metal and while they may bear Gilbert numbers, they are easily distinguishable from Gilbert cars because of the different construction. Interestingly the capacity and weights on the cars have been changed from that appearing on Gilbert cars and they have solid trucks, rather than sprung trucks. Other metal cars were produced and sold in sets with these cars. Some of these cars, while not bearing Gilbert numbers, bear a striking resemblance to Gilbert cars in both the HO and S gauge lines and are included below. The B&O Timesaver box car, in particular, has features that make it clear that it was patterned on the Gilbert HO car. The prototype B&O Timesaver had both a much larger herald and much smaller "Baltimore & Ohio" lettering. Most manufacturers were closer to the prototype in these two features than Gilbert, who made the herald smaller and the lettering larger. The similar treatment of these features on the Sakai car makes a strong case for it being an imitation Gilbert car, even though it does not bear the Gilbert catalog number. For an excellent discussion of the B&O Timesaver paint scheme as done by various manufacturers, see an article by Tony Lucio in HO Collector Magazine, 4th Quarter, 2021 at page 14. |
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Sakai 512 New Haven Box Car |
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Sakai 520 Northwestern Refrigerator Line Reefer |
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Sakai 522 Boston & Maine Box Car |
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Sakai Baltimore & Ohio Timesaver Box Car |
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Sakai State of Maine Bangor & Aroostook Box Car |
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Sakai Caboose
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There are many different HO versions of the Reading style caboose manufactured by Gilbert, Varney and its successors, and others. Most of these have passenger car style steps. The Gilbert caboose and this Sakai Caboose are the only ones I have seen with ladder type steps. This caboose is so close in styling to the Gilbert Caboose, one might think it was made from the same tooling, but a careful examination of the rivet detail on this caboose and comparing it with the rivet detail on Gilbert and Varney models reveals that this caboose was made from its own unique tooling. |
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Sakai B&O Caboose |
![]() Photo Courtesy of Frank Olear |
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Gilbert, Sakai, & Varney Caboose Rivet Detail |
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Gilbert Lower Rivet Detail | Sakai Lower Rivet Detail | Varney Lower Rivet Detail | ||||||||||
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Gilbert Cupola Rivet Detail | Sakai Cupola Rivet Detail | Varney Cupola Rivet Detail | ||||||||||
Lionel by Rivarossi & Associated Hobby Manufacturers - AHM
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