Small companies and individuals produced their own model trains some small and some big enough to ride. Those that operated in the 19th century even employed live steam. If you were a talented type of railroader interested in preserving history with a gift for machine craft you too might have produced one of these rare 19th century models we look at with amazement today in museums. The closest we might all get to these rare gems if not for a museum collection is through books. Two books that I like on this topic were published by an American and British firm, but both were printed in Great Britain with a particular slant toward British prototypes. Model Railway Engines covers working models, museum display models, small commercial models and large commercial models with photos of the famous Davy Paxman workshops of the 1920’s. World Locomotive Models overlaps somewhat with the other book in this post, but offers a broader scope with regards to scale model museum quality steam locomotives.

Model Railway Engines, Octopus Books Limited, 1973

World Locomotive Models, ARCO Publishing Company, Inc., 1973