Collections Insolites et Jouets d’Antan
(Unusual Collections and Toys of Yesteryear)
Confolens, France - 26th to 27th April 2014
I only heard about this exhibition/toy fair by chance via an
email from a group of newly found train friends, living in France, who had been contacted
by somebody called ‘Pat’ living in North Wales. To cut a long story short, he knew
a French chap who was organising an exhibition in the Charente and had been
asked to display a model railway layout. Confused? It gets worse!
It was the first time I had heard of the exhibition and, since I only live fifteen minutes away, it came as quite a surprise as I regularly visit the local town. I agreed with my friends to investigate further. As the event was scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, I visited the believed venue on the prior Tuesday; a shiny yellow banner mounted above the entrance to the Market Hall proclaimed the exhibition dates but no times. Having returned home I resolved to investigate the local Mairie’s (Mayor's) website. After much searching I eventually found a reference hidden on page four of the calendar of local events; venue and dates were confirmed but no mention of any times: “Typically French”, I thought!
It was the first time I had heard of the exhibition and, since I only live fifteen minutes away, it came as quite a surprise as I regularly visit the local town. I agreed with my friends to investigate further. As the event was scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, I visited the believed venue on the prior Tuesday; a shiny yellow banner mounted above the entrance to the Market Hall proclaimed the exhibition dates but no times. Having returned home I resolved to investigate the local Mairie’s (Mayor's) website. After much searching I eventually found a reference hidden on page four of the calendar of local events; venue and dates were confirmed but no mention of any times: “Typically French”, I thought!
More in hope than expectation I visited the venue at 10:30 am
on the Saturday morning and, as I passed, I was encouraged to see the rear
entrance of the hall open with exhibits already erected and exhibitors to-ing
and fro-ing between the hall and their vehicles. Parking in the town square in
front of the hall, I glanced at the entrance and my heart sank; all that could
be seen were a few market stalls selling fruit and vegetables, homemade patisseries
and sweets, cheeses, meats and flowers. Behind them, no sign of the exhibits,
just a six foot high partition. To the side of the entrance, I could see a
sheet of A4 paper stuck on the window which included the times of opening: 2 pm
to 7 pm and Sunday 9 am to 6 pm. I gazed somewhat incredulously at the notice.
“What sort of exhibition starts at two in the afternoon?” It was only whilst
driving home again, somewhat disillusioned, that I realised that Saturday was
market day and, of course, the market was sacrosanct and nothing could happen
until it had finished. “Silly boy!”
To be honest, at this point I was almost past caring but I returned at around 2:15pm not expecting to see very much of interest, if anything at all, except hoping to meet ‘Pat’ from Wales and have a chat. Maybe, also, there would be a few sales tables so I could purchase a ‘souvenir’ of my visit? (For ‘souvenir’ read another train to add to my ridiculously, overly large collection.)
Well, on arrival the front third of the hall was empty, the market had disappeared but where were the sales tables? There weren’t any! The barricade to the rear of the hall had been parted, just wide enough to squeeze through but not wide enough to avoid the enthusiastic youngsters trying to sell me tombola tickets. I respectfully declined but gave them a donation since I don’t gamble, greedily gathered my free exhibition catalogue and raced around the hall at break-neck speed to try and discover some trains.
Porcelain baskets of fruit; no! Old wooden tools; no! Whisky jugs and pots and things; no, only full bottles, please! Ships in bottles, original Railway Lamps from just about every French railway company; interesting, I must go back and look at those more carefully.
Ah, finally, something to really excite the palate!
To be honest, at this point I was almost past caring but I returned at around 2:15pm not expecting to see very much of interest, if anything at all, except hoping to meet ‘Pat’ from Wales and have a chat. Maybe, also, there would be a few sales tables so I could purchase a ‘souvenir’ of my visit? (For ‘souvenir’ read another train to add to my ridiculously, overly large collection.)
Well, on arrival the front third of the hall was empty, the market had disappeared but where were the sales tables? There weren’t any! The barricade to the rear of the hall had been parted, just wide enough to squeeze through but not wide enough to avoid the enthusiastic youngsters trying to sell me tombola tickets. I respectfully declined but gave them a donation since I don’t gamble, greedily gathered my free exhibition catalogue and raced around the hall at break-neck speed to try and discover some trains.
Porcelain baskets of fruit; no! Old wooden tools; no! Whisky jugs and pots and things; no, only full bottles, please! Ships in bottles, original Railway Lamps from just about every French railway company; interesting, I must go back and look at those more carefully.
Ah, finally, something to really excite the palate!
“Oh..my..goodness!” As the saying goes, "There is rare and then there is RARE!"
A remarkable display of advertising materials and toys made for the ‘Total’ petrol company. Most of the model toys were made by ‘Jouets Mont-Blanc’ and are keenly sought-after by collectors if they can be found at all. The collection was simply breath-taking; not just in its rarity but in its quality.
Having exhausted just about every possible angle to photograph the collection from, I finally managed to drag myself away to search for the trains. And, just around the corner, I wasn’t disappointed. Not just one but three displays of vintage French trains covering the period from the early 1900s up to 1965 plus a few early German and British manufactured interlopers for good measure.
A remarkable display of advertising materials and toys made for the ‘Total’ petrol company. Most of the model toys were made by ‘Jouets Mont-Blanc’ and are keenly sought-after by collectors if they can be found at all. The collection was simply breath-taking; not just in its rarity but in its quality.
Having exhausted just about every possible angle to photograph the collection from, I finally managed to drag myself away to search for the trains. And, just around the corner, I wasn’t disappointed. Not just one but three displays of vintage French trains covering the period from the early 1900s up to 1965 plus a few early German and British manufactured interlopers for good measure.
The largest display was based on two circuits of 3-rail O gauge
track, powered by two massive JEP transformers, with many ‘display sidings’
containing classic marques. I swear that the lights in the hall visibly dimmed
as the two ‘electricity sub-stations’ were suddenly turned to full power!
The oversized Edobaud 2-B-2 and ‘Camionnette’ locomotives and freight wagons stood out like a sore thumb; primitive yet strangely endearing: I had a particular fondness for the ‘Cinzano’ Double Barrel Wagon. The JEP ‘Flèche d’Or’ looked resplendent alongside the more austere post-war 1950’s Marklin locomotive and coaches. A silver 1950s Joustra ‘Flèche d’Argent’ Railcar sat quietly waiting to be pressed into service alongside a scarce 1938 pale blue L.R. (Le Rapide) La Micheline Autorail. Whilst a 1930s Bing Zeppelin Car literally propelled its way speedily around the outer circuit as a French Hornby Bo-Bo Electric Pantograph Locomotive trundled reliably around the inner circuit with its freight load.
The oversized Edobaud 2-B-2 and ‘Camionnette’ locomotives and freight wagons stood out like a sore thumb; primitive yet strangely endearing: I had a particular fondness for the ‘Cinzano’ Double Barrel Wagon. The JEP ‘Flèche d’Or’ looked resplendent alongside the more austere post-war 1950’s Marklin locomotive and coaches. A silver 1950s Joustra ‘Flèche d’Argent’ Railcar sat quietly waiting to be pressed into service alongside a scarce 1938 pale blue L.R. (Le Rapide) La Micheline Autorail. Whilst a 1930s Bing Zeppelin Car literally propelled its way speedily around the outer circuit as a French Hornby Bo-Bo Electric Pantograph Locomotive trundled reliably around the inner circuit with its freight load.
BLZ, more French Hornby, more JEP from various periods of
production, including a late-period station building, were all featured but
pride of place, in my mind, went to the superb 1929 Marescot Etat Pacific Locomotive
+ 8-wheel Tender and coaches. I was lucky enough to be allowed to examine the
locomotive in detail and the quality of the workmanship was remarkable for the
period. The quality of the bodywork and the valve gear were
particularly fine and, my goodness, it weighed the proverbial tonne. The owner proudly told me, “This is not a toy, like the JEP
models, it is a piece of model engineering” and indeed it was.
As a contrast, on the next table was a very nicely presented
display of wooden trains. There was a selection of push-along toys dating from two
different-size early large Tri-ang Toys LMS models to modern examples including
sit-on toys for young tots; my favourite being an example based on a 1950s
French pantograph loco by DEJOU (made in Auvergne).
Backing on to this display was a small simple display of
roughly HO scale French ‘toy’ trains by various manufacturers. I noted a
plastic 1960s GéGé station amongst the predominantly tinplate models.
To the side of the display was a variety of 1950s colourful railcars, including a set, by JOYAX who manufactured a small range of tinplate models in Marseille. Also, a rather quaint mini display which included a variety of accessories including station, footbridge and signals made from simple metal pressings. (Unfortunately, I was unable to ascertain the manufacturer of all of these models but the locomotive + tender and coaches were certainly by JOYAX.) |
Whilst admiring and photographing all these French delights,
I had spotted ‘Pat’ who was busy discussing his display layout with a number of
interested visitors, both French and English. When he was free I introduced
myself. He is a member of the Rhyl & District Model Railway Club and it
transpired that he has a maison secondaire nearby and spends time there during
the summer months. He had only been in the country for a week in
order to sort out a layout for the exhibition and, to his credit, he had put together an excellent and interesting display in such a short space of time.
The track itself was a loose-laid simple oval with a passing
loop hidden behind the display so that trains could operate in both directions;
simple to operate but perfectly adequate for operating purposes. Trains were
changed at regular intervals to provide added interest. I smiled when Pat
apologised for the use of copious lumps of blu-tac to hold the track in place
on the hidden passing loop. I assured him that there was really no need to
apologise as he had done a great job with his display.
I have to admit that I was mystified by his motive power; it ran so smoothly and reliably and with the fine detail on the wheels and chassis I had wondered if the chassis were made of brass under proprietary plastic locomotive bodies. “No”, came the immediate reply, “they are all standard Bachmann and Hornby models.” I was surprised and impressed in equal measure. The factory weathered freight wagons were also very impressive. I hadn’t realised how much I was out of touch with developments in modern model train technology.
I have to admit that I was mystified by his motive power; it ran so smoothly and reliably and with the fine detail on the wheels and chassis I had wondered if the chassis were made of brass under proprietary plastic locomotive bodies. “No”, came the immediate reply, “they are all standard Bachmann and Hornby models.” I was surprised and impressed in equal measure. The factory weathered freight wagons were also very impressive. I hadn’t realised how much I was out of touch with developments in modern model train technology.
Essentially the layout was based on the British Railways
early 1960s period steam era. For portability, the layout was constructed
around a series of dioramas which, when assembled together, formed an
interesting busy northern town scene which included a central main street with
shops with small locomotive depot: it was the best use of a Playcraft Engine
Shed that I had seen in a long time.
The card buildings were mostly kits by Metcalfe with a few
Superquick added in for good measure. To the right there was a warehouse scene
based on the Metcalfe model ‘Union Mills’ and to the left a small town scene
featuring a school with children playing in the playground; segregated of
course... boys to the right and girls to the left... after all it was the 1960s!
Pat proved to be a very nice gentleman to talk to and I fear
that I may have distracted him from his layout duties once or twice as we
discussed many topics (not just railways). So I left him in peace for a while and
went off to see a couple of other railway exhibits that had caught my eye in the
distance.
The first was an extremely large pair of very fine handmade
locomotives: one-fifth scale models of 8-tonne, 60 cm gauge industrial
locomotives built for or requisitioned by the French Ministry of War for
transporting and re-supplying the troops at the front in World War One. They
were later used as private industrial locomotives or by the Ministry of Works. Each model weighed over 100 kg.
The second exhibit was called ‘Le Réseau de Charley’: a micro-layout built in On 30 (1:48th scale) and still in the process of construction. It is entirely hand-built, and beautifully so, based on an autumn scene in Alaska, circa 1930 to 1940. All sorts of noises emanated from the electronic controls including a piercing whistle, which made some of the viewing public visibly jump when activated. |
It was really nice to see so many friends and their wives attend
the exhibition; it was very much a family event and many had travelled long
distances in order to attend.
Had the shambolic publicity before the event been better then I am sure more local people may have attended over the two days (well one and a half days as it turned out).
As I left the hall, at around 5:00 pm, two stallholders had arrived and were setting up their tables and stock for Sunday trading. A very quick look quickly established that the majority of items were of poor quality and left me feeling less than hopeful that I would find anything to add to my train collection when I returned on Sunday morning.
Had the shambolic publicity before the event been better then I am sure more local people may have attended over the two days (well one and a half days as it turned out).
As I left the hall, at around 5:00 pm, two stallholders had arrived and were setting up their tables and stock for Sunday trading. A very quick look quickly established that the majority of items were of poor quality and left me feeling less than hopeful that I would find anything to add to my train collection when I returned on Sunday morning.
Entering the hall on Sunday morning I surveyed the sales
tables; some were sparsely populated, others seemed fairly well stocked with, mostly, a
variety of die-cast vehicles and model railways; also, some dolls, dolls house toys and pocket watches could be found. More in hope than expectation
I searched carefully for anything of possible interest.
There were a few nice die-cast models, including some attractive Atlas Rééditions of Dinky Toys on one stand, but they were few and far between amongst a lot of pretty sad looking trays of cars and lorries from other sellers.
There were a few nice die-cast models, including some attractive Atlas Rééditions of Dinky Toys on one stand, but they were few and far between amongst a lot of pretty sad looking trays of cars and lorries from other sellers.
The model railways that were on offer were more
interesting; obviously a load of French HO scale models but also some nice
quality classic O gauge models from JEP, C.R., Hornby (French and British) and Marklin were featured on one
seller’s stand plus a load of LGB mint boxed track, all reasonably priced. I
was particularly taken with a Charles Rossignol (C.R.) Streamlined ‘Eclair’
Locomotive and Tender which was very difficult to resist buying; even though I
don’t actually collect O gauge trains anymore!
However, I had some small success on the purchase front and, after another quick visit around all the exhibits, I eventually went home happily clutching a 1950s boxed JEP HO gauge SNCF ‘Saucisson’ Coach, which was in lovely condition, plus a plastic OO gauge Wills Market Stalls Kit.
All-in-all a very pleasant weekend spent talking and admiring trains.
However, I had some small success on the purchase front and, after another quick visit around all the exhibits, I eventually went home happily clutching a 1950s boxed JEP HO gauge SNCF ‘Saucisson’ Coach, which was in lovely condition, plus a plastic OO gauge Wills Market Stalls Kit.
All-in-all a very pleasant weekend spent talking and admiring trains.