Did Carlisle and Finch Invent The Electric Toy Train?

Otis B. Drinkwater

wallyworld:

Interesting that you note it is apparently chain driven.  Actually if you look at the item closely it has no drive mechanism visible.  Those are regular passenger car trucks with no gears on the wheels. 

Your observation that this item looks to be cobbled together is the correct answer.  I believe that this may be either an early Ives or Lionel car.  It certainly does not match known Carlisle and Finch items.

As for C&F being the inventor of the electric toy train, according to Greenberg's Guide to Early American Toy Trains (See Carlisle & Finch section) Louis Hertz's "Riding the Tinplate Rails" from 1944 indicates that Jehu Garlick marketed an electric train in 1895, which was 1 yer prior to Carlisle and Finch marketing their electric trains in 1896.  Carlisle and Finch were certainly one of the early pioneers of electric trains.

O.