Office of Steam Forum for Model & Toy Steam Gas & Hot Air Engines

  I was hi-bidder for a Bing engine in Germany.
The auction was hosted by Invaluable.
I'll pay right away but I think I may have a
long wait due to the virus. 

The trademark badge is a silver oval with the
letters 'J B' along the top, a sideways  'B' in the
middle, and a wide 'W' along the bottom.
I'm trying to gather whatever info I can on
its history.

Thanks,
Wayne

That is not "JB" but rather "JF" for Josef Falk, so that your tag actually reads ..... Josef Falk / Bing Works, as they did join forces for a time during the 1920's or thereabouts.

Beautiful acquisition by the way .... well done!

  I noticed the 'J F' and first thought Falk.  Then the
sideways 'B' and wide 'W' reminded me of the trademark
section in 'Toy Steam Engines' by Bob Gordon, specifically
page 28 trademark 6 (Bing Werke?) listed for yrs 1924-32.
I'll take it as another example of blurred lines between
the companies but I'd still like the exact story of the
collaboration.  I have a Bing-Wolf twin (photo below) and
 now a cousin. What kind of a cousin (no, not kissin) is the
$64,000 question.

  Delayed shipping? - 6 weeks in transit for 5lbs of Nova Scotia
agate (our next-door neighbor - I think DJT annoyed the Canadians
as it was held up on their side).  Just as long from Eastern Europe.
We're all in quarantine anyhow and I have current projects so I
can wait...a bit.

Happy Steaming,
Wayne

Looks like a nice example from the short-lived Falk-Bing collaboration. Stoker is right about the years, but I'd have to consult a book to narrow it down to exact dates. Congrats on the new buy. I hope you get it soon. I've seemed to notice a bit of a snag in a domestic shipment this week myself- went MIA in MI for 4 days. Perhaps USPS is feeling a bit of a pinch.

It's a Falking Bing!

It's a Falking Bing!

Ha Ha Ha  .....      I Love it !!!

Two additions:
a) So yes, the badge dates this engine between 1932 and 1935
b) I wrote:J. Falk "was wise enough" to sell his company, perhaps I should put more emphasis on the fact that he was forced to do so by the anti-semitic laws and activities of the Nazi government and the German population in those days. Doll, bzw, suffered a similar fate.

Happy Day All...

  I rec'd the Bing from Germany today - expensive but expedited,
only a few days to get here.

  I cleaned and oiled it and intended trying it on air except...
What appeared to be a valve handle for draining the boiler
is, instead, a black, wooden plug.  Bummer.  So, I put the air
supply tube into the hole for draining the tank (threads nice
and clean, thankfully), the whistle hissed (sounds like it has
a congestion), and the engine took off.  Throttle works, whistle
control works, weighted pressure relief valve works, the sightglass
is sound, and the pressure guage works (Surprise!).

  So, I at least need to buy a plug for the drain hole n the boiler. 
A proper drain-valve would be best.  Does anyone know the
screw/thread dimensions?  The filling plug from the top of the
boiler fits there so another one of those would be fine.

  Also, the boiler is non-magnetic and appears to be brass but
seems to have a rough patina.  The straps appear to be copper
and also appeared tarnished or rough.  Is it possible that there
is a coating of lacquer or something else on these parts?  And if
so how to clean them up, if at all possible.  Also, a photo of the
proper burner would be nice.  Anything else.

  Finally, but most importantly.....this engine has plastic handles
on the whistle and throttle.  Did Bing use plastic handles before
WWII?  I'm trying to date this engine but I think it may be one
of those mongrels, making it difficult to date.  It was sold as
produced between 1923 and 1933, and I like it a lot, but it does
not look pre-WWII.  Plastic handles?  I could be wrong.

All ideas are welcome - thankful for all the info already provided,
Wayne