The ISSMAYER Incline Railway, circa 1910

The ISSMAYER Incline Railway, circa 1910

Around 1910, German toy manufacturer ISSMAYER produced a rather ingenious clockwork railway set known as the "Incline Railway".

The set featured two locomotives, a passenger coach, an engine shed and an oval of 0 gauge track with a raised section.

What made this railway special was the way the two locomotives worked together.

As the first locomotive approached the incline pulling its coach, a second locomotive automatically emerged from the engine shed and began pushing the train uphill.

Once the train was nearly at the top, the assisting locomotive returned to its shed, ready to repeat the process on the next lap.

The mechanism was surprisingly clever. A weighted tinplate arm underneath the coach activated levers in the track, controlling the assisting locomotive without any human intervention.

The coach itself had a conventional coupling at one end and a large buffer beam at the other, allowing the second locomotive to push against it.

ISSMAYER had been manufacturing toy trains since around 1879, and these unusual novelty railways demonstrate just how inventive early toy manufacturers could be.

Has anyone encountered a complete ISSMAYER Incline Railway set, or seen one operating?

Original research and article by Hans van Dissel.