1:20 SCALE DETAIL CASTINGS
Manufacturer: Little Railways, 1621 Cherry Street, Williamsport, PA 17701. Price: CX-002 ratchet and pawl $1.00 per pair; CX-003 ratchet and pawl with base plate $1.00 per pair; CX-011 18 inch grab irons $3.00 per package of 8; CX-012 under sill mounting stirrup steps $2.00 per package of 4; CX-013 brake staff bottom bracket $1.50 per pair; CX-014 Carter Brothers round style nut-bolt-washer casting $2.40 per package of 8; CX-015 West Side Lumber Company style elliptical nut-bolt-washer casting $2.40 per package of 8. Please add $2.50 for shipping per order. Pennsylvania residents please add 6-percent sales tax.
IT HAS BEEN some time since Little Railways owner, Tony Ferraro, sent us a review sample and, apparently to atone, he has sent seven. All are superb quality pewter detail castings, free of flash, and displaying clean, crisp detail. None reflects any compromise with respect to dimension or proportion; they are true 1:20 scale "jewelry" and are the equal of any casting you will find.
After that introduction, we could easily end the review since you now know the essentials. But, just to give Ferraro his money's worth, let's gild the lily a little and offer some background.
Sure, you could use somebody else's rachet and pawl casting on your 1:20 scale model but always in the back of your mind would lurk the fear its dimensions might be off by half a scale inch. Using Little Railways' castings, on the other hand, will leave you feeling refreshed and guilt free. Moreover, if your favorite prototype used a ratchet and pawl with no base plate, Little Railways' castings will spare you the now unnecessary agony of filing away excess metal.
The stirrup steps and brake staff bottom bracket castings may appear generic but sharp-eyed rolling stock historians may note they happen to be perfect replicas of some hardware on late 19th century Carter Brothers freight cars. The same is true of the round and elliptical N-B-W castings. (Yes, Tony attributes the latter to the West Side Lumber Company but we cognoscenti realize they bought some Carter Brothers cars.) Why such apparent emphasis on Carter Brothers hardware? Because their rolling stock is particularly appropriate behind currently available 1:20 scale motive power.
But never fear, Colorado narrow gauge fans. Although freight cars everywhere used 18 inch grab irons, the actual prototype for Little Railways' castings come from D&RGW rolling stock. (If you can determine that from even the closest examination, however, please consult a psychiatrist.)
So now we have waxed eloquent and prosaic over pewter detail castings and, presumably, if you need some, you'll order them from Little Railways. Seriously, if you build in 1:20, your model would benefit from them; they really are superb.-RR
