Lot 86 - April Auction
Thornton Thunderbolt Pedal Locomotive & Tender
Back in last August’s auction, we at the Bangers & Cash restoration team got over excited about a 1950s Leeway Flyer pedal locomotive that came up for sale.
But after buying it, we discovered there were loads of them still about, so we decided to take a different track (pardon the pun) and make a lovely usable child’s toy - with a tender to put a doll/jack russell/small passenger in. Then the question was, do we keep it original or go for an American-style makeover? In the end, the spirit of Casey Jones won out and - a tootin’ and a blowin’ - we chose to go all Wild West with our inspiration.
So what we’re now bringing back to auction this April could perhaps best be described as a Leeway Flyer that dozed off and dreamt itself reborn in the good old US of A. We commissioned the wonderful creatives at the Restoration Den in Hellifield to turn that dream into reality, come up with a design and do the build. A metal cow catcher and fluted smokestack were added, plus a matching tender was created from scratch. Importantly, the pedal mechanism was fully restored and is now in good working order.
Acclaimed sign-writer Eddie Ralph was called in to hand-paint the new Thornton Thunderbolt nameplates - complete with four gold-leaf bolts - and TT logos. We think he has done a truly magnificent job. With cushioned seats in both the loco and tender, it’s now possible for two young children to play with and enjoy this beautiful and unique toy.
Dimensions:
Overall length of coupled locomotive & tender: 212cm
Locomotive length: 134cm
Locomotive width: 42cm
Locomotive height: 70cm
Tender length: 70cm
Tender width: 37cm
Tender height: 41cm
Available to view in our Thornton-le-Dale shop.
Submit best bid.