COLBER – Cornucopia Of Toy Trains

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Brief History
Colber Dealer Tray for Bulbs & Figures
Colber Bridge Beacon
Colber ZW Adapter
Colber RW Adapter
Colber KW Adapter
Colber Track Ballast
Colber Pedestrian Bridge
Colber BA-2 Lamp Assembly
Colber No.20 Grass (2)
Colber No.22 Artificial Coal (Green Box)
Colber No.22 Artificial Coal (Orange Tub)
Colber No.22 Artificial Coal (Brown Bag)
Colber No.23 Ballast, Tub & Brown Bag
Colber No.24 Case of #24 Earth
Colber No.26 Floodlight
Colber No.70 LOCO-SMOKE (Orange Label)
Colber No.70 LOCO-SMOKE (Red Label)
Colber No.71 Track Clean
Colber No.88 Beacon Lens
Colber No.89 Floodlight
Colber No.100 Boulevard Lamp (Green box)
Colber No.100 Display Box of 4 Boulevard Lamps (Orange Box)
Colber No.100 Boulevard Lamp (Orange Box)
Colber No.100G Display Box of 4 Boulevard Lamps
Colber No.101 Gateman
Colber No.101 Beacon Assembly
Colber No.103 Universal Lockons
Colber No.104 Truss Bridge
Colber No. 104L Lighted Truss Bridge
Colber No. 105 Replacement Bulbs
Colber No.107 Water Tower Kit
Colber No.108 Bubbling Water Towers
Colber No.109 Oil Gusher
Colber No.110 Flood Light Towers
Colber No.111 Bumpers
Colber No.112 Girder Bridge
Colber No.113 Contactor
Colber No.114 Contactors
Colber No.115 Wig-Wags
Colber No.116 Rotary Beacons
Colber No.116-16 Beacon Assembly
Colber No.117 Railroad Lamps
Colber No.118 Girder Bridge
Colber No.119 Gift Pack
Colber No. 200 Dealer Display & Wire
Colber Sound Effect Records (on main site)
The following are products we are seeking photos for:

10-R yellow water tower
21 snow
108K, 109K oil gusher kits
Minitoys scale figures
Hand Painted Figures
FB-3 foot bridge
illuminated truss bridge
General Walker tank
116-17 top
120 Strip contactor
120 Gift Pack
130,131,132,133 Road Bed
150 RR Passenger Assortment
151 RR Trainman Assortment
152 RR Accessory Assortment
153 RR Workmen Assortment
154 RR Village Assortment
302 Dealer Display
10A, C1, 25A, 50A HO Power Packs

COLBER HISTORY

Colber was a manufacturer of electric train accessories from 1949 to 1954, and electronics components from 1955 to around 1995. They were based in Irvington, New Jersey. The name was an amalgamation of its founders’ last names, Collett and Burke.

Founders Anthony Collett and William Burke initially started in the appliance business in the New York area. Later they began repairing trains as a Lionel service station. In 1946, trains became their primary business and they soon became a large Lionel distributor. They were unable to meet demand for accessories for the booming train market, so they started making knockoffs of popular Lionel accessories in 1949 using the brand Colber Corporation. Their versions included beacon and floodlight towers, a tin litho version of Lionel’s Gateman accessory, street lights, a wig-wag signal, a water tower, and bridges. They also made a universal lockon that worked with both O and S gauge track, imitation coal, track ballast, smoke fluid, snow and track cleaner.

Lionel threatened Colber with legal act on in 1950 over their packaging, which was a near copy of Lionel’s. This led to its modification. They had used the same orange and blue color scheme and a nearly identical typeface. Colber switched to green print on plain unbleached cardboard. During 1951-54 Colber supplied American Flyer with several accessories to supplement their own line. Flyer wanted to offer 50 different accessories, and the easiest way to reach that goal was to buy several from Colber.

Their products for Flyer used different nameplates and different colors of plastic. By 1954 Flyer no longer needed Colber’s help and the toy train market was past its peak. Post-1954 Flyer accessories like floodlights and Gabe the Lamplighter were based on in-house designs. Making matters worse, the tooling was worn out. This combination of factors led Colber to leave the market. American Flyer no longer needed Colber’s help, but Marx was interested in their tooling. Marx had revamped its train line in 1952 to use more plastics. They saw this as an opportunity to expand their line cheaply and keep a competitor from getting the molds. Marx bought the tooling in 1955. Colber had considered selling the dies for scrap, so Marx probably didn’t have to pay much. Marx resumed production of the streetlight and deck girder bridge. Marx’s 074 Boulevard Lamp was a reissue of the Colber streetlight. Marx didn’t use any of the other dies. In 2013, the Colber molds were reported to be still in the Girard factory, but they were all worn out.

Colber Dealer Tray for Bulbs & Figures