Wooden Toy Railway Beginnings – Skaneateles Handicrafters

For today’s children, the introduction to wood toy railroading likely starts with Thomas the Tank Engine … happily duplicating his TV adventures on the playroom floor.  Along with Thomas, wooden train sets of nearly every size and description, and with an almost endless variety of accessories, are widely available.  Most brands of modern wooden trains and track work harmoniously with the trains and track of almost any other brand.  In the highly competitive toy world, this cross-brand compatibility is rather surprising.

However, we can’t really give Thomas all the credit for this compatibility.  Undoubtedly, we must recognize the important contribution made about 70 years ago by two ingenious citizens of Skaneateles, NY… Marshal Hart Larrabee II and his wife, Elizabeth.

Marshal was a graduate of Wharton School in 1931, but was struck down with tuberculosis a year later.  During his lengthy recuperation, he took up woodworking to occupy the long days.  After making a variety of items, he asked Elizabeth what to make next.  (He had already made large toy trains that children could drag across the floor with pull-strings.) 

Prophetically, Elizabeth said, “make a little train that a child will hold in his hand”.

So Marshal made “little trains”.  He also devised wooden track sections, with grooves about an inch apart for the train wheels to travel in.  Different layouts could be made by putting together various combinations of straight and curved track sections.  Blocks were used for buildings and as supports to make bridges.  Marshal had made a simple, wooden equivalent to the electric and clockwork train and track sets that were widely popular with the older children (and adults!) of the time.

Larrabee’s train sets became instantly popular with family and friends.  Over time, he became convinced that the sets could become a financial success.  While traveling all over the US in the late 1930’s, he also began a sales promotion effort for his trains.  By 1941, he had received a US patent for his train and track design.  He had also landed his first major customer … Marshall Fields Department Store in Chicago… and formally started his own company, Skaneateles Handicrafters (SH).  The first SH factory was a converted marine engine machine shop.

The product line of tiny trains was eventually expanded to include military vehicles during World War II ... and ultimately included cars, trucks, aircraft, ships, buildings, tunnels, bridges and many other accessories.

As time went by, educators recognized that SH-style train sets helped to stimulate a child’s imagination and creativity, while also developing problem-solving and motor skills.  Wooden railway sets from SH and other manufacturers became very popular in group settings such as pre-school, church school and daycare. They were safe and durable … and helped to develop socialization and team-building skills during group play.

The design of Larrabee’s trains changed very little from the 1930’s through the 1970’s.  SH sets were also widely sold under several different brand names, including Playskool and Creative Playthings.  Sadly, financial imperatives forced Larrabee to sell his company to a German toy manufacturer in 1980.  The company became the T C Timber/Habermaass Corporation.  The factory was soon producing German-style railway sets, and most of the original SH designs disappeared from the toy marketplace.  In 2002, toy production at the factory ceased and it was sold as a cost-reduction measure of the parent company.

Pictured here is an early SH train (ca. 1940’s), along with examples of the straight-cut connector track, associated blocks and the instruction booklet.  Also pictured is Military Set #150 from WWII.

Today, Marshal Larrabee’s original concept of the “little train” is more popular than ever.  Wooden railway sets are made and sold all over the world.  The track size (“gauge”) that he used is still the standard of the industry more than 70 years later.  However, in today’s jargon, most of these train sets are referred to as being “Thomas-compatible” or “BRIO-compatible”. In the following pages, we will take a short journey through wooden toy railway history.  You will see how different companies over many decades made their own versions of the “little train”.  All were successful adaptations of same basic concept.  All provided countless hours of imaginative play for their diminutive owners. 

ALL ABOARD! 

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